Precise thoughts, precise words and precise actions can change your life for the better. Precision can be learned.
I have two jobs: being a coach and serving as Managing Director of the companies that make up the Dan Roberts Group. I have found that the skills that have helped me become a good coach—knowledge, empathy, leadership, attention to detail, curiosity, and enthusiasm—have also helped the business succeed.
Precision in business means knowing your numbers and having clarity over your mission. Precision is not perfection. Perfection isn’t something I aim towards, as that can become very restrictive to both creativity and productivity. Precision is more about being in the moment and seeking clarity.
Mindfulness and precision go hand in hand
After failing to sell an atrociously bad movie script that I spent five months writing while living in a little hut in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands — followed by two months chillin with Miss Sweden at a tiny Indonesian island … good times! — I needed a challenge. One thing led to another, and at 25, I found myself working as a cook in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in the mountains of Queensland.
One day I was sweeping the courtyard and a monk came up to me and told me to slow down. He then gave me a beautiful explanation of being precise, ego-less and how to be ‘in the moment’. He never actually used the word ‘mindfulness’, but it was a perfect lesson in exactly that. The idea was to focus only on the exact task at hand.
Through precision and focus, I soon found myself getting into something close to a flow state — the psychological state that athletes, artists, dancers and fighters often talk about when they are so focused that everything seems to happen naturally. You stop trying to force things and simply let them happen. I had felt this playing sport before, so I was quite shocked to experience something similar while sweeping leaves!
I have come to learn that precision is fundamental to both mindfulness and high-performance living. Being precise, being focused on what you are doing and not letting your head get distracted will make you better at almost anything you want to do. How can you be more precise today in your thoughts, your words and your actions?
p.s. If you’re in your twenties reading these tips and you are completely focused on making money… maybe don’t be. Money matters, obviously, but I strongly recommend using your twenties to explore the world, yourself and ideas. Careers are fun, and making loads of money is nice, but I’ve met a lot of dull millionaires and billionaires over the years. Experiences, adventures and silly decisions… these are the things that give you real wisdom — and, often, make you the interesting guest everyone wants to talk to at fancy parties.