As it turns out, they know more than you think they do. My little ones often act like seasoned and experienced adults while riding in the car sitting in their car seats. In other words, they are your typical back seat drivers with all the answers on directions and landmarks and full of four-year old wisdom. You wouldn’t believe the backseat lectures I have endured while chauffeuring them around town.

While in the car one day on a trip to Grandma’s house, we got stuck in some crazy traffic. The kind of traffic whereby you are stopped and sitting in the same spot on the highway for an extended period of time just like a parking lot. As a way of dealing with the car not moving at all, I started asking them math questions involving addition and subtraction to get their minds off the road congestion since it appeared we were going to be delayed for awhile.

We were doing very easy problems for my Pre-K kids. Using fingers on both hands to help them solve the problems, I would shout out how much is 3 plus 5? How much is 6 plus 4? All while holding up both hands and looking back at them so they could see my hands.

While into the game for about fifteen minutes the traffic started to creep. As I continued with the questions, gesturing with my hands and fingers, I heard the following, “Mom you need to focus and keep your hands on the steering wheel and eyes on the road” :-). When you consider the source this message was coming from, it was hilarious and I immediately started laughing under my breath. At that point, all I could say was “OK honey, I will focus and start watching the road now that we are moving again. Then I turned on one of their toddler tunes on the radio and began to think about focusing in a business context.

So what does this mean to you?

Thinking of focusing often reminds me of a section in the book entitled “The Travelers Gift” by Andy Andrews. When speaking of the seventh decision of success, he says, “I will persist without exception. I will focus on results. To achieve the result I desire, it is not even necessary that I enjoy the process. It is only important that I continue the process with my eyes on the outcome.” This speaks volumes with regard to the vision and mindset that most business owners should have. It is the key to success.

In the process of working your business do you tend to lose focus or get side-tracked? Does your 9-5 job or other family activity take you off course? In reaction to this noise, it becomes easy to slip or lose momentum at various stages in your planning if you let it. It is during these times you need to reflect on your “Why” and review your goals. This will inevitably put you back on track. Often exchanges like this present themselves out of thin air. Are there things happening all around you that keep you centered and focused? If so, then recognize them for what they are and let them motivate you to keep striving forward.