by Patricia Mayo

Too many people just dive right into a project without first taking into account exactly what they hope to gain.

Not only should this be your every first step, but you must also assess whether the task at hand will actually move you toward your goals - or at least make you happy.

If you have struggled with half hatched ideas that never seem to go anywhere, you just might be the victim of your own misunderstanding.

Self-Talk Miscommunication

You have to understand you in order to reach your truest and fullest potential. When you understand what really makes you tick, the chances of taking on a project that rubs you the wrong way decreases significantly.

Take for instance, let’s say you work a regular 9 to 5 gig at a fairly large company. You haven’t really known anything other than having a boss and working in an office with other people, but you have always wanted to work from home and be your own boss.

Pretty common dream, right? Here’s where most people make a big mistake.

What Makes You Tick?

First off, the praise structure working for a boss is very different from freelancing or owning a business. In other words, you’re not going to get a “good job” from anyone working for yourself - at least, not nearly as commonly.

In fact, as I’m sure most bloggers can empathize with, you will get much more not-so-constructive criticism than anything else. Your “good job” is getting paid, and the occasional thoughtful consumer response - be they a reader or someone who actually purchased something from you.

I have known many wage-slaves turned freelancer who found this out the hard way. Their performance faltered - it just didn’t seem quite as fun once you got to be on your own - and they couldn’t quite put their finger on why they were so unhappy.

Had they taken the time to understand themselves before moving out of their praise safety net, they could have chosen a path that suited them better.

Your Personal Why

The second big mistake is trapping yourself into a never-ending work loop. Being your own boss is all fine well and good - but what is the real point? Why do you want to work from home?

If you like the breakneck 60 to 80 per hour work week, but just don’t want to spend the gas money commuting to work, then just stop reading now - because who in their right mind becomes their own boss if not to have more freedom?

Certainly puts everything into perspective, doesn’t it? That is just one tiny benefit of defining your focus before you do anything.

Timeless Focus

Once you know what makes you tick and your personal why for doing something, you have the beginnings of what I call the “timeless focus” - the fundamental things which are true for every right-for-you goal that you will ever set.

Part of discovering your timeless focus requires asking yourself one question before taking on any task - be it reading an article, checking your email, or chatting with a colleague.

It’s really simple. Just ask yourself “what do I expect to get from this?”

Not only will asking yourself this one simple question help you to discover your timeless focus - it will also help you get what you want quicker, and express yourself more effectively.

I will walk you through the steps and dig much deeper into the power of focus in the premier issue of ComHacker Magazine. Feel free to voice your questions in the comments, and I will make every effort to answer them.

And thank you so very much for reading!

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Trisha, @mayobrains on Twitter