What does this have to do with values and wisdom? Even while pursuing values, one has to have the same level of concentration, a single-minded purpose and commitment in order to ensure that there are no slip ups in the journey. Being focused on one’s objective and goal is the sure way to be successful in life.

There is a story about a famous teacher, the teacher of all forms of warfare. He was teaching his students on the principles of archery. He called out his first student and asked him to arm the bow and prepare to shoot a distant target in the form of a toy bird. The objective was to hit the bird’s eye.

To each student, his simple question, before the arrow was released, was “What do you see?”.

Each student said things like “I see you Sir and my fellow students, I see the sky, the trees, the bird etc.” Only Arsalan, who later became a very accomplished and expert archer, said “I see only the bird’s eye”.

The teacher used this as an example with his students to explain the importance of focus. In order to be successful and accomplish one’s goals, one has to have the same intensity of Arsalan. When one is distracted by other things, it is easy to miss the target.

Staying focused is easier said than done, especially when the mind is so fickle and there are so many distractions around. Yet, champions have a special ability to de-focus from the distractions and concentrate on the core objective. If such a focus is achieved, one can scale great heights.