Everywhere we turn there is uncertainty.

Uncertainty in

• The performance of the economy
• The impact of the carbon tax debate
• Interest rate movements
• Changes to human resource laws

and many more.

It is easy to lose focus on the important things in your business and your life.

Recently I have had a number of business people bemoan the fact that business is the toughest it has been for some time ... and from my experience, I cannot disagree.

However, I have observed that some businesses will continue to prosper during these times, and others will not.

So what separates the winners from the losers?

Obviously many factors contribute - but the one common factor is that the winning businesses have a clear focus. Clearly these businesses have an internal focus of control. They do not spend time worrying about things over which they have no control - all their energies are focused on the items they can control.

For example, consider the following responses:

External	Internal
My sales are down because the economy is weak	I can re-invigorate sales by mining my customer base for lapsed customers
The banks won't extend my overdraft	I can collect my debtors quicker by changing my follow-up system
Staff today do not show any initiative	I can better train and incentivise my staff so that they show initiative

It is clear who the winner is here.

Your challenge is to only focus on the things you can control.

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