The Dandapani workshop teaches participants how to better develop concentration and willpower.
As I sit here in a coffee shop during another snow day, I find myself struggling to concentrate on writing this blog. To my left is a crew of snow removers who are on their “lunch” break at 9 a.m. Behind me is a four-year-old talking with his mom. And to my right are a group of millennials chatting about what they did this weekend.
What is not happening is my concentration on this blog. Honestly, it should be pretty easy to write. The Dandapani workshop on developing concentration and willpower was only four days ago. I have a workbook, I took great notes, and have his website open as a reference. But I cannot stop listening to three other conversations while keeping an ear out for when my phone rings.
Dandapani talked about “concentration,” the ability to keep our awareness on one thing for a prolonged period of time. He also talked about “willpower,” the channeling of all energies toward one given point for a given length of time. And clearly, at this moment, I have neither.
This is not surprising, according to Dandapani, as we are not taught as children how to concentrate nor do we practice concentration. What we do practice is being distracted, and the more we practice the better we get. We have become so good at dealing with distractions that we started calling it “multitasking,” which, in fact, is the rapid movement between two, three, or four things. It is not simultaneous, it’s sequential, and unproductive.
In a business context I believe concentration and willpower translate into “focus”—the ability to be a master of a craft and deliver to the industry in a meaningful way.
This certainly holds true for EEI Communications. We are focused on content services, project management, and compliance. We are dedicated to solving our clients’ biggest communications challenges. In fact, over our 43-year history, our concentration on solving communications challenges for our clients plus our willpower to finish what we started has helped us through several economic and technology cycles.
As for me, I clearly need to continue to work on my ability to concentrate when many distractions present themselves. This will take some practice, as I have decades of bad habits to undo. But with a better awareness of what is distracting me and more practice on concentration, I, too, should be able to work toward mastering my craft—life.
About Dandapani: Dandapani is a Hindu priest, speaker on self-development, and entrepreneur. Of Sri Lankan ancestry, he grew up in Australia and after graduating university with a degree in electrical engineering, he left it all behind to become a Hindu monk under the guidance of one of Hinduism’s foremost spiritual leaders of our time, Sivaya Subramuniyaswami. For 10 years he lived a life of serious personal discipline and training at his guru’s cloistered monastery in Hawaii. Check out his website for more information.
Greg McDonough is the CEO of EEI Communications. To read more about Greg, click here.
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