If you chase two rabbits….you will not catch either one ‘ Russian proverb  

At a dinner hosted by William H Gates, father of same Microsoft founder Bill Gates , for a number of hand-picked business champions, he asked them to write down on a piece of paper one word which they deemed was ‘the one thing’ that determined their success and significance in business and life .

Two guests wrote the same word :

FOCUS 

They were his own son Bill Gates and Warren Buffet – the two richest people in the world today.

The most important thing I have learnt in life is to focus my energy on what is important in life.– Bill Gates

An equally insightful and inspirational question is:

What’s the secret to life?

Personally, I’m a fan of Gary Keller’s version of ‘The Secret to Life’, which he reveals in his book ‘The One Thing’: the surprisingly simple truth behind extraordinary results.

He believes ‘The One Thing’, is the best approach to getting what one really wants in life. In order to get more, one must have less on one’s plate. Focus, Focus and then more Focus.

Success begets success when one narrows one’s concentration to one thing.

‘The One Thing .Just one thing .You stick to that and everything else doesn’t mean shi*t.

Jack Palance playing the gritty cowboy ‘Curly’ in the movie City Slickers

Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers: The Story of Success believes that the most important determinant of success is the 10 000- Hour rule. He reckons if anyone dedicated that much time to something, they would make a success of it.

Talent and opportunities are abundant, but perseverance and hard work are what count in the end.

Human Greatness, defined as’ Sustained Success and Significance’, is commonly determined and driven by how narrow one can make one’s focus. Doing too many things , both personally and professionally, is the sure fire fastest way to human implosion – the very opposite of human greatness.

Less is often more in the lives of the great champions.

* For more insight, innovation and inspiration please do visit www.thegameplan.co.za., where you can request a copy of Rob’s free eBook: The Game Plan: What the Great Champions know – but coaches seldom teach.  

The two most important days in your life are the day you’re born and the day you figure out why?  Mark Twain

Everyone is in marketing and selling, whether we know it or not .Beauty, strength, intelligence, kindness, wealth, power are all ways we advertise our value as human beings.

But, there’s a catch to  unleashing one’s full potential. It’s called BRANDING.

Branding is the hidden ‘magical multiplier’ which elevates one’s marketing and selling efforts to the next level .

And there are three magical P’s to power branding, namely Purpose, Priority and Productivity/Performance.

Let’s take a look at how they combine to create a game plan which is ’ made of the right stuff ‘.

Firstly PURPOSE.

Coca Cola’s purpose is ‘to create happiness ‘. Disney’s purpose is ‘to make children smile‘. Starbucks purpose is ‘to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, one neighborhood at a time’.

Great organizational brands are the ones that put purpose before profit, and it’s no different with personal brands.

An estate agent’s purpose is ‘to elevate people’s lifestyles’. A hairdresser’s purpose is ‘to make people feel good’. A doctor’s purpose is ‘to make people healthy’. Purpose happens when one’s passion meets the universe’s needs. And it becomes the key ingredient of productivity/performance .

The next ‘P’ is setting one’s PRIORITIES in life .

It’s one of the most important actions one can ever take. And it’s surprising how most people cannot clearly articulate their top five priorities in life. It’s important because there exists a very fine line between human greatness and human implosion, especially when it’s one’s job to push the human limits.

One only has to look at examples of great sporting champions , like Lance Armstrong, Oscar Pistorious and Tiger Woods. All were uncertain about their priorities in life. They got it  humanly wrong, and paid the price in real life.

While we are all unique human beings, definite patterns of commonality are in play. Here’s a practical guide as to how one’s ‘Big Five ‘ priorities should be stacking up in order to build a  power brand.

Number One is placing  YOURSELF FIRST – build your personal brand, Brand YOU ,  so that you come from ‘a position of strength’ – in order to help others.

Number Two is to  focus on ‘ YOUR ONE THING’ – YOUR PURPOSE .

It’s your vocation , the one thing that you’re expert at,  so that you can positively impact this world

– and make a significant difference.

Then come the other priority investments in life –  your FAMILY & FRIENDS , your  HEALTH & WEALTH and  your desired LIFESTYLE.

Invest time and effort, pay close attention to all ,  as they can easily be lost !

It’s wise to think of your top five priorities in life as a  “four legged table’ .  Consider  , YOURSELF as the table top . Invest wisely in Brand YOU,  by  focusing on all four priority legs –  to ensure that the table top ( YOU ) remains balanced .

With one’s purpose and priorities in place, the final ‘P’ which remains, is PRODUCTIVITY/PERFORMANCE – aligning one’s top three goals for the current year. Keep them focused on what’s important and meaningful in your life – and know when to say NO to all the other things that are not part of your plan.

Now one has the backbone of a GAME PLAN  which is ‘made of the right stuff’ ‘

–  the stuff of champions ‘.

It serves as one’s compass in good times, and one’s scaffolding in bad times.

And it provides the inspiration to conquer all those Monday morning motivational blues.

Branding is the difference between motivation and inspiration

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* Rob Opie is a Brand Strategist, Author and ‘Game Changer’ to organizations, sports teams and individuals. He helps take brands to the next level. For more insight, innovation and inspiration please do visit www.thegameplan.co.za. . 

If you like to read more in Rob’s ‘Game Changer’  Series –  please click on blog page above .

To find our more about Rob’s specialised marketing services please contact him personally  at  robopie@thegameplan.co.za

Most of us are ‘heads down’ – getting stuff done. And we have little or no time to sit down and consider what some of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs are doing.

What they are doing is fast changing the way of the world.

Steve Jobs coined the phrase ‘Think Different ‘and it has spawned ‘the next level’ of game-changing innovation.

Consider South African born Elon Musk, Airbnb’s Brian Chesty, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Whatsapp’s Jan Koum, Linkedin’s Jeff Weiner and Uber’s Travis Kalanick.

Some call it X-ponentiality. Some call it ‘drastic disruption’. And some now refer to it as U-berfication – which can best be described as:

the slimming down of application interfaces into push button experiences that do one thing.

It’s the next level of consumerization. Industries which fail to innovate are at market share risk, as these ‘game changers’ leverage advanced knowledge and digital technology to bring on more convenience’ – saving you time – and saving you effort.

Elon Musk believes he can cut the travelling time from Los Angeles to San Francisco by more than 90 % with his hyper-loop plans. And now he’s focused on the world’s energy crisis, believing he can wean humanity off planet warming fossil fuels. At age 43, at the helm of SpaceX, Tesla Motors and Solar City – he’s only just begun.

Digital is the primary driver behind X-ponentiality. It’s fast changing the way of the world, and it’s no different right here in South Africa. Consider what Christo Wiese , Jannie Mouton, Whitey Basson ,Markus Jooste and other South African based ‘ Game Changers’ are doing. One only has to look at the exponentiality of select share prices on the JSE, to comprehend that they are busy changing the way things get done………… making next happen.

What do these ‘Game- Changers’ all have in common? Yes, they may well all be leveraging technology and talent to ‘up the game’, but there is something else.

It’s called  MINDSET– when’ head and heart’ is in the journey

They think differently and see an exponential world where digital convenience is driving abundance. At heart they’re fixers.

They see the world’s biggest problems, as the world’s biggest business opportunities.

And the biggest opportunities to shine.

Now that’s a potent way to view life itself.

*Rob Opie is the founder of The Game Plan , a Brand Strategist, Speaker, Author and ‘The Game Changer’ to organizational teams, sports teams and individuals.