Practice Focus – Brian Price (Olympic Gold & Silver Medalist, Speaker, Cancer Survivor)

Brian Price is a leader and a champion. At the age of seven he was diagnosed with Leukemia and battled for five years before beating the disease into remission. As a result of the chemicals from his treatments, Brian was unable to reach his full growth potential and while his height was restricted from what it might have been, it did leave Brian the perfect size to be a coxswain.
He is a three time Olympian, a world class coxswain, and a motivational speaker. In his Paper Napkin Wisdom, Brian shares with us one of the lessons he learned from his coach Mike Spracklen: “Focus is doing what you say you’re going to do.”
Focus, says Brian, is something you have to practice. Even when you’re the best at what you do, you can’t just assume you’re going to be focused because there are so many things that can take your mind away from doing the task at hand. It’s difficult, he says, because focus isn’t something that’s quantifiable. Focus is not something easily measured; it helps if you have someone who knows what you’re capable of and can be there to call you out when you lack it.
The way Brian talks about focus speaks to its importance both as an individual effort and as a team effort. You need to be focused not just for yourself, but for your team. If you’re distracted, that has the potential to distract your team and soon the group dynamic falls apart. A big part of succeeding at working as a team is practicing that focus together, being ready, and preparing to be ready.
Brian talks about the way the men’s Olympic rowing team practiced together with different goals at specific times during the practice: there was a system. A regime and a clarity that meant everyone knew the plan and all of them were able to focus on that and on improving. The method is one that can easily be applied to a team of any nature: Take a big goal, break it down into little steps, then manage those steps, and prepare for them beforehand. In practicing as a team consistently, you can structure your team and share a vision that is so clear, it creates alignment naturally.
“You can’t just light switch, be focused,” says Brian “you’ve got to practice it all the time.” He emphasizes that focus is a journey, not a destination. We so often think of the word focus as a synonym for ‘concentration’. As though all we need to do to focus is pay attention and while that is true in a way, it undercuts the importance of what we need. We need to not just pay attention in a moment; we need to be prepared, dedicated, and mentally engaged; that is true focus.
Think about a goal you have for yourself or your company. How much progress could you make on that goal if you practiced focusing on achieving it? Focus, like any other skill, requires practice and it’s the key to success- just ask the Canadian Men’s Rowing team.
Listen to my conversation with Brian here: