Where Is Your Focus?
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never harm me. Right? Wrong! A pen is an incredible blade. Think about that for a moment. Not a sword. Not a weapon you'd expect. A pen. Words have power. Whether verbal or written, they have the power to lift or the power to tear down.
So, what are you listening to? What words are you paying attention to? What are you reading?
Whether fact or fiction — reading the right content expands the imagination, improves the vocabulary, and uses time productively. It gives you words to use.
You will become your own hero or your own villain using the words you choose, how you form your own stories, how you create your own narrative, how you pursue your own dreams. How you express yourself.
A pen is an incredible blade. Call it an assassin's tool. As you read, don't forget to write too. To write your own story — to reflect, to journal, to speak – to develop the gift of communication. Hone this craft. Write your speeches. Fill them with your own real-life stories.
I know this because I have stood in rooms I was not sure I belonged in. Led people while privately wondering if I was enough. Unsure of the words to use.
And the leaders who pulled me through were not the ones with the most impressive credentials. They were the ones who told their story, who shared their wins and failings—especially their failings—not for sympathy, but to teach. To teach the next generation. To encourage. To affirm and to correct.
So here is the truth every leader needs to hear.
Generative AI cannot do this. It cannot write your story because it has not lived your life. It cannot speak your truth because it has never carried your weight. Only you have walked your particular path.
So back to the question: where is your focus?
Here is what I have learned about where you put your focus.
What you feed expands. What you focus on grows.
Feed your mind a daily diet of negative news, doom scrolling, other people's noise — and that expands. It fills the space. It crowds out your own thinking, your own story, and therefore your own voice.
The countermove is simpler than you think.
Be conscious of what you are putting in front of your eyes. Be conscious of what you are listening to. And consider writing daily — even briefly. A short journal entry. A reflection. One thought captured before the noise begins.
What you focus on expands. Where your eyes go, your energy flows.
The question is not whether you have a story worth telling.
You do.
The question is what you are feeding — and whether your own story is getting any of it.
Own your story. It has power.
This week's reflection:
What are you currently feeding your focus — and what story of your own have you been starving?
Gary Good
Founder — LeaderLegacy