Excerpted from the book “Odditude… finding a passion for who you are and what you do,” coming out March 2007 from HCI Publishing - check http://www.johnpowers.com/ for information.

It takes focus to find and live your ODD. Today, we all have a “remote control” mentality. In this modern, fast-paced world, most of us have lost the ability to concentrate, to focus, for any length of time, on any one thing including our ODD.

We cannot get our minds to sit still long enough so that we can organize our thoughts to get where we want to go.

The typical television viewer now has an attention span of about three seconds. People who create TV programming know this. That’s why so many shows today begin with the actual program rather than the theme song and credits. Television producers realize if they don’t grab your attention within the first three seconds, you’ll click to another channel.

In fact, how many times have you been in a conversation with someone and wished you had a remote control so you could switch to somebody more interesting?

Many people have come to do with their lives what they do with their television’s remote control: they skip from one moment to the next. They have no patience with their jobs, their business associates, friends, their mates or creating a game plan that will help them live their ODD.

The solution - create a moment in your day called “Sacred Time” where you focus on what you believe is important. It may only be a few minutes. But block out everything else. No phone calls, no conversation, no music blaring.

You might choose to use this “Sacred Time” to reevaluate the direction your life is taking. You may ask yourself, “What are the truly important goals in my life? What am I doing to achieve them?” Write down your conclusions even if it’s just a few words. Do it every day. You’ll be amazed at your progress.

Alice, a single mother, has designated 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. every night as the “Sacred Time” she shares solely with her child. She told me, “I can’t do it every night. Sometimes, something comes up that I have to take care of. But since I’ve created ‘Sacred Time,’ I’m spending far more quality time with my child than I ever have before.”

Tom runs a multi-million dollar corporation. His “Sacred Time” is 7:00 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. every morning at his desk before anyone else arrives at work. He first analyzes his previous day’s activities. Then Tom plans his upcoming day and reviews his long term goals. Tom said, “I often get more accomplished in that forty-five minutes than I do in a day full of meetings.”

BECOMING YOUR WIZARD OF ODD: Creating “Sacred Time” gives you the ability to focus on both living and achieving what makes you ODD.

BEING A WIZARD TO OTHERS: If you are in a position of influencing others, “Sacred Time” can change you from someone who is constantly “putting out fires,” to a leader who instills in his or her colleagues that desire to achieve their ODD.

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