“Before this happened to me there were 10 000 things I could do. Now there are 9000. I could spend the rest of my life dwelling on the 1000 that I lost, but I choose to focus on the 9000 that are left.” – W. Mitchell, paralyzed, disfigured, inspired.

1) The world’s most valuable currency

2) Feedback from Standard Bank, Transnet, Chamber of Commerce…

The World’s most valuable currency

Choose where you pay your attention. That simple idea is a direct portal to happiness. It has delivered me from, irritation, gloom and even rage. Chose where you pay your attention.

When I focus on the dreadful, I feel dreadful. When I concentrate on what I’ve lost, I feel loss. When I replay a rejection, I feel rejected. When I pay attention to misery, I purchase misery. Our attention is the most valuable thing we own. This is currency whose purchasing power is far greater than money. That’s why you can be a billionaire and be miserable, you’ve paid for many things but you’ve paid your attention to the wrong things. Choose where you pay your attention. Attention is like a sail boat. Left on its own it will be blown chaotically across the ocean until it may smash against the rocks. Choice is the sailor, reigning in the sales, delivering us from rough seas, navigating to new shores. Sometimes the wind naturally blows us to joy, to passion, to contentment, but equally often we may need to steer ourselves from the maelstrom to better seas. Choose where you pay your attention. Right now. Feel the treasure of your bodily sensations. The warmth and weight of your bum on the chair, the delicious sounds and sights made possible by being a human creature on this enchanting planet.

Mediation, prayer, gratitude, contemplation; these practices help us to sail better, to navigate our attention. But you can do it immediately. Right now: Choose where you pay your attention. I am thinking of my friends, my loving mother who brought me miraculously into the world, my sparkling girlfriend. I am looking out at a beautiful blue Johannesburg sky. Oops, there is the wind, taking me to a failing investment, to someone who I reached out to and ignored me, to fear about my book’s failure. So I summon the words that deliver me from turmoil: Choose where you pay your attention. I am back, marvelling at the extraordinary gift of being alive.

Justin Cohen
www.justinpresents.com

FEEDBACK ON “WHAT’S YOUR STORY?” AND “THE POWER OF CONNECTION”

“That was an incredibly inspirational message. I took so much away from it. Thank you.”
Leila Fourie, Director, Card Division, Standard Bank.

“I never realised how powerful story is. This is going to have a big impact on our business.”
Mark Finlayson, MD, Direct Axis

“Okay, now I see that all those testimonials on your website are actually true!”
Gert Ludick, MD, Track Engineering, Transnet

“That was one of the best presentations I’ve ever heard.”
Andrew Horton, Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce
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