Who Is Getting Your Attention?

I recently finished reading The Power of Story by Jim Loehr. If you find that you are tired of hearing yourself explain your life with the same stories or you notice persistent patterns of not feeling engaged or inspired by the way you are living your life—this is a book to read.

This month, I want to share a small excerpt from the book on a topic I feel passionate about: making sacred connections with others. (Yes, I used the word sacred. Yes I do know it is not generally used in professional settings.)

Watch this 2 min. clip before reading on:


Apparently Loehr often shows the original full clip of the show (which featured the child, Jeff Erlanger), to his workshop participants because of, “Mr. Rogers’ extraordinary gift for engagement—for how he can make the small space, the eighteen to twenty four inches, between him and the little boy as sacred as a shrine...”

Loehr continues:

Who in your life do you give that kind of attention to? At least some of the time? Who gets that eighteen inches of close-up intensity? What gets you to focus with that level of commitment, of reverence for the moment? Is there someone or something in your life so sacred that nothing and no one- not ringing phones, not errands, not ballgames in progress, not the news crawl at the bottom of the screen or the one always running through your head, not money or career concerns, not insignificant noises or images whizzing by—could possibly break your concentration? ...that’s a kind of focus we so rarely give to things now. Why is that?

What’s the story we tell ourselves that prevents this from happening? Is our lack of full engagement just a stage in our life that will pass someday? Or is the story that life in the 21st century is too complicated? Or has it always been like this? Do we assert that technology is the culprit? Or do we blame the competitiveness of an increasingly global marketplace? Is our story that multi-tasking is necessary as never before?...Is our somewhat diluted attention really that big a deal? Absolutely. Because it’s not about time. It never was and never is. It’s about energy.

As you read this, I will be packing for cherished vacation time with my family. Of course Loehr’s message is meant for me as much as for any of you. I continue to strive for living the story of sacred connection—join me?