The Context
Focus is the ultimate power source. And it’s available to all of us, regardless of personality type, work environment or creative tenor. It’s simply a matter of plugging into the right outlet. Finding the channel that activates our internal generator. That’s what’s possible when we choose an idea as large and as great as we are. Our sheer excitement at having discovered something worth doing makes the inability to focus vanish like a vapor trail. Instead of running around the forest putting a few chops in each tree, we create a big enough axe to demolish them all.
The Tool
Clearinghouse
CLEARINGHOUSE — A conceptual destination where you can unite all of her interesting elements, intermingling your interests and themes into a meaningful, cohesive whole
A clearing house is a central institution or agency that collects, maintains and distributes something between parties. London coined the term back in the early nineteenth century. Lubbock’s built a single room where clerks for local banks met each day to exchange checks and settle accounts, pioneering an innovative exchange process that helped streamline operations, save time, reduce labor, decrease cost, increase efficiency, mitigate risk and ultimately strengthen the banking industry. Two centuries later, clearinghouses are now used for a variety of transactions, from legal to financial to informational to technical. And so, even if you’re not hypnotized by the sexy industry of futures exchanges and commodities derivatives, there’s still an important lesson to learn from the concept of a clearinghouse. Because everyone has dreams. Everyone has things they want to do. Everyone has projects they want to realize in the world. Meaning, everyone is looking for tools to help streamline effort, reduce time, save cost and most importantly, maximize satisfaction. And that’s when the clearinghouse comes in handy. It’s not a physical institution that distributes something, it’s a conceptual destination where you can unite all of your interesting goals, intermingling your dreams into a meaningful, cohesive whole.
The Rest
And so, whatever dream you’re chasing, approach it as a clearinghouse. Instead of running around the forest putting a few chops in each tree, try creating a big enough axe to demolish them all. Because you can’t beat the satisfaction of knowing that all systems are operating. How is your dream a confluence of many smaller dreams?
The Benefits
Relieve yourself of the anxiety of focusing on one thing
Productively use all of the currency you’ve been building up all these years
Evaporate your inability to focus through the sheer excitement at having discovered something worth doing
Streamline effort, reduce time, save cost and maximize the satisfaction of combining many dreams into one