Keep Your Eye on the PrizeWhen I began to return to my artistic roots, I started with drawing. I used colored pencils to describe my inner world, and that of others (with their permission).

This image is an example of one of those drawings; I called them Energy Essence Portraits. They were personal mandalas that “spoke” to me as I drew. I kept a notebook at my side & recorded words that popped into my head while I drew.

In the beginning, I needed total silence to do these drawings; even music distracted me. This work required my total focus. That is why I would get up at four AM to ensure peace and quiet in the house.

After a year of silent drawing in the wee hours of the morning, my circumstances shifted and necessity conspired with reality to create times when the presence of others while I drew was unavoidable.

Fortunately I had honed my focus by that time and could draw without being distracted by others.

By the time I’d moved to Honolulu in 2000, I realized that my focus had become so strong that I could paint in public. Nowadays I paint at galleries and fairs so people can watch the painting unfold along with me.

Over the years I’ve realized that the more intensely I focus on my painting, the less time I paint at any one time. As a result of focusing so singularly, I am able to accomplish quite a lot in a short amount of time. This allows me to schedule short blocks of time in which to work on a wide variety of projects.

Focus is focus. It doesn’t matter what you focus upon, as long as your attention is aligned with your intention, your focus will be strong and pure.

You can start to hone your focus by setting aside 5–10 minutes at a time, 2–3 times a week, to devote to one task. Choose something you have wanted to do, but haven’t been able to make time for doing. Ideally this task will be one very close to your heart.

Do this task for 5–10 min at a time, 2–3 times a week, for three weeks. I promise you will be amazed at how much you accomplish in those 30–90 minutes of time. Your new-found ability to focus with intention on almost anything will sneak up on you.

The really good news is that focus, once honed, follows you from task to task. Your ability to focus on almost anything is a skill worth learning.

You can read more about focus here: http://dreamheartsmartart.blogspot.ch/