In all my years of owning a business there’s one thing I’ve witnessed to be true – that which gets my focus gets done or another way to say it is – my intention gets my attention.

Of course, as with so many things that are true about business, this is equally true about life in general. The things we think about create our actions and our actions create our present reality.

The reason I wander into this territory is that I’ve also discovered that if you acknowledge this phenomenon you must also accept that you have the ability to change what you focus on and change any aspect of your business or life.

Change your point of view and you can change your life.

For most business owners the real problem is the lack of a compelling future vision or any long-term view at all. I know you’ve heard this before, but it’s one of those once a day kind of notions. Creating a compelling picture of where you need to be in three years from now is not something your stop and do in a planning workshop, it’s something you think about in the shower and you take to work every day.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the moment of running a business that we get pushed and pulled into one course correction after another. Unless you have a view of where you are headed and catch a hint of that vision every day you’ll trudge through each step along the way.

I had a running coach once that gave me the best advice I’ve ever received. The advice had nothing to do with footfall, turnover or arm swing. He simply told me that if I wanted to be a better runner I needed to change what I looked at.

Instead of looking down at my feet or a few strides of pavement forward, as many runners do, he suggested that I look as far ahead as I could see and let that far off horizon pull me forward. I can tell you that this little piece of advice changes my physiology and literally yanks me forward.

I think the same is so true for business owners and here are the questions that may help you change your point of view.

• Have your framed your far off horizon?
• Is it a big enough vision to pull your towards it?
• How can you develop the habit of keeping your head up and fixed on your bigger vision?
• How will your new intention impact what gets your day to day attention?