--- title: "Lessons Earned: Keep Your Focus" description: If you want to achieve something extraordinary, “you can’t let yourself get distracted,” writes John Sanderson. image: https://insights.sandersonllc.com/hubfs/Lessons%20Earned%20Graphics15.jpg --- - [716.566.2420](tel:716-566-2420) - [Client Login](https://www.sandersonllc.com/client-login/) [![Sanderson Wealth Management](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/hubfs/Sanderson_October2019%20Theme/Images/sanderson-logo-stacked@2x.png)](https://www.sandersonllc.com/) - About - [Services](https://www.sandersonllc.com/services/) - [Our Team](https://www.sandersonllc.com/team/) - [John Sanderson](https://www.sandersonllc.com/team/john-sanderson/) - [Justin Sanderson](https://www.sandersonllc.com/team/justin-sanderson/) - [James Warner](https://www.sandersonllc.com/team/james-warner/) - [C. Michael Bader](https://www.sandersonllc.com/team/mike-bader/) - [Caleb Jennings](https://www.sandersonllc.com/team/caleb-jennings/) - [John Gullo](https://www.sandersonllc.com/team/john-gullo/) - [Timothy Domino](https://www.sandersonllc.com/team/timothy-domino/) - [Debbie Todaro](https://www.sandersonllc.com/team/debbie-todaro/) - [Karen Nicpon](https://www.sandersonllc.com/team/karen-nicpon/) - [Joe Bartelo](https://www.sandersonllc.com/team/joe-bartelo/) - [Phil Frattali](https://www.sandersonllc.com/team/phil-frattali/) - [Evan Kraft](https://www.sandersonllc.com/team/evan-kraft/) - [Tucker Weppner](https://www.sandersonllc.com/team/tucker-weppner/) - [Angelo Goodenough](https://www.sandersonllc.com/team/angelo-goodenough/) - [Regyna Taberski](https://www.sandersonllc.com/team/regyna-taberski/) - [Eric Weiher](https://www.sandersonllc.com/team/eric-weiher/) - [Cameron Radziwon](https://www.sandersonllc.com/team/cameron-radziwon/) - [Donna Schmitt](https://www.sandersonllc.com/team/donna-schmitt/) - [Amanda Melendez](https://www.sandersonllc.com/team/amanda-melendez/) - [History](https://www.sandersonllc.com/history/) - [Mission and Values](https://www.sandersonllc.com/mission-and-values/) - [Services](https://www.sandersonllc.com/services/) - [Private Wealth Advisers](https://www.sandersonllc.com/private-wealth-advisors/) - [Investment Consulting](https://www.sandersonllc.com/investment-consulting/) - [Financial Planning](https://www.sandersonllc.com/financial-planning/) - [Estate & Generational Wealth Planning](https://www.sandersonllc.com/estate-generational-wealth-planning/) - [Business Succession Planning](https://www.sandersonllc.com/business-succession-planning/) - [Philanthropy](https://www.sandersonllc.com/philanthropy/) - [Tax Consulting](https://www.sandersonllc.com/tax-consulting-2/) - [Prosper Financial Wellness](https://www.sandersonllc.com/prosper/) - Insights - [Market Snapshot](https://www.sandersonllc.com/current-market-snapshot/) - [Sanderson Insights](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/) - [Contact Us](https://www.sandersonllc.com/contact-us/) - [Careers](https://www.sandersonllc.com/careers/) # "Lessons Earned" by John Sanderson: Keep Your Focus by [John Sanderson, CPA, CIMA®](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/author/john-sanderson-cpa-cima) Mar 25, 2024 [Lessons Earned](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/tag/lessons-earned) In this series, we share some of John Sanderson's favorite insights and anecdotes from his book, “Lessons Earned.” Throughout the book, John shares dozens of lessons he has learned, starting as a young boy and culminating with his leadership as founder and chairman of Sanderson Wealth Management. ---   ![Lessons-Earned_Keep-Focused_icon](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Lessons-Earned_Keep-Focused_icon.png?width=100&height=114&name=Lessons-Earned_Keep-Focused_icon.png) It was supposed to be a beautiful winter night out with a client. We met in my office, and planned to walk five minutes down the street to Shea’s Buffalo Theatre to see Phantom of the Opera. I always loved going to Shea’s, a historic landmark where performers like Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope once graced the stage. Today, Shea’s is one of the only remaining theaters designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany—the famous stained glass artist who also worked for his family’s eponymous jewelry company. A night out at Shea’s was something I looked forward to for weeks. Perhaps I was distracted, then, when I stepped outside of our building and walked straight onto a patch of glare ice. Down I went—hard. My hands had been in my pockets to stay warm, so I landed on my shoulder, which shattered. The injury required surgery, they removed part of the bone, and I ended up with five pins in my shoulder to put everything back together again. The day after surgery, I went back into work. I didn’t want to lose a day when I could be serving my clients. It’s just how I’m wired. Some of my colleagues suggested that I could sue the building for unsafe conditions. After all, it was on their property. An attorney could argue that they had failed to properly clear the ice. Even without going to trial, perhaps we could have gotten a settlement. I thought about it. Then I thought about the effort it would have taken to sue. I had a choice—I could direct a sizable portion of my time and resources into a lawsuit, or I could keep putting all of my focus into my work. When you put it that way, it was an easy decision not to sue. It didn’t matter that I had a case, and probably could have won. I didn’t want to take attention away from my growing business. It was much more important to me to keep my company going forward—which would benefit all of my clients and all of my employees. Why would I spend even a small percentage of my time and attention, not to mention legal fees, just to possibly get a monetary settlement? Focus plays a key role in helping you get where you want to go. It’s crucial that you know what your priorities are and stay focused on them if you want to achieve your goals. (And yes, I recognize the irony; if I had focused on where I was walking that winter evening, I probably wouldn’t have slipped on the ice. At least now I always wear gloves so I can keep my hands out for balance.) So many people get distracted, or simply lose their focus over time. That’s fine for them, I suppose. But if you’re one of those people like me, who wants to achieve something extraordinary, you can’t let yourself get distracted. I can’t guarantee that you’ll achieve your dreams by staying focused, but I can promise that focus will take you further than you could ever imagine. ## Disclosure Reprinted with permission from "Lessons Earned: Stories from a Lifetime Spent Fully Invested," copyright © 2022 John R. Sanderson. This story reflects the author’s present recollections of people and experiences over time. Some identifying details have been changed and some dialogue has been recreated. While the author has made a concerted effort to provide accurate information, neither the publisher nor the author shall have any liability or responsibility for any adverse effects or loss caused, or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly, by any information included in this story. ### Let’s talk about your future. Schedule a consultation to learn more about our investment services. ## Filter Blog Posts ### SUBJECT - [Investment Consulting (166)](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/tag/investment-consulting) - [Financial Planning (150)](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/tag/financial-planning) - [Tax Consulting (44)](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/tag/tax-consulting) - [Estate & Generational Wealth Planning (15)](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/tag/estate-generational-wealth-planning) - [Firm News (11)](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/tag/firm-news) - [Lessons Earned (11)](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/tag/lessons-earned) - [COVID-19: Market Watch (10)](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/tag/covid-19-market-watch) - [Community (5)](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/tag/community) - [Philanthropy (4)](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/tag/philanthropy) - [Business Succession Planning (3)](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/tag/business-succession-planning) - [Prosper Financial Wellness (3)](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/tag/prosper-financial-wellness) - [Ukraine: Market Watch (1)](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/tag/ukraine-market-watch) See all ### AUTHOR - [Angelo Goodenough](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/author/angelo-goodenough) - [C. Michael Bader, Esq., MBA, CPA, CIMA®](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/author/c.-michael-bader-esq.-mba-cpa-cima) - [Caleb Jennings, MBA, CFP®, CIMA®, AIF®](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/author/caleb-jennings-mba-cfp-cima-aif) - [Cameron Radziwon, LSSBB](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/author/cameron-radziwon) - [Debbie Todaro](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/author/debbie-todaro) - [Evan Kraft, CFP®, CRPC®](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/author/evan-kraft-cfp-crpc) - [James Warner, MBA, CPA, CFP®, CIMA®](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/author/jim-warner-mba-cpa-cfp-cima) - [Joe Bartelo, CPA](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/author/joe-bartelo-cpa) - [John Gullo, MBA, CFA, CFP®, CIMA®](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/author/john-gullo-mba-cfa-cfp-cima) - [John Sanderson, CPA, CIMA®](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/author/john-sanderson-cpa-cima) - [Justin Sanderson, MBA, CFP®, CIMA®](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/author/justin-sanderson-mba-cfp-cima) - [Karen Nicpon, CPA](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/author/karen-nicpon-cpa) - [Phil Frattali, CFA](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/author/phil-frattali-cfa) - [Regyna Waterhouse](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/author/regyna-taberski) - [Sanderson Wealth Management](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/author/sanderson-wealth-management) - [Tim Domino, CPA, CFP®](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/author/tim-domino-cpa-cfp) - [Tucker Weppner, CFP®](https://insights.sandersonllc.com/author/tucker-weppner) ## Put our experience to work for your wealth. Schedule a consultation to learn more about our investment services. ## Background Schedule a consultation to learn more about our investment services. - [CONTACT](https://www.sandersonllc.com/contact-us/) - [CAREERS](https://www.sandersonllc.com/careers/) - DISCLOSURE - [COMPLIANCE](https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/118910) © 2022 Sanderson Wealth Management LLC [716.566.2420](tel:716.566.2420) Sanderson Wealth Management, LLC (“Sanderson Wealth”) is an SEC registered investment adviser located in Buffalo, New York. The publication of Sanderson Wealth’s website on the Internet should not be construed by any consumer or prospective client as Sanderson Wealth’s solicitation or attempt to effect transactions in securities, or the rendering of personalized investment advice over the Internet.  The information on this Internet site should not be construed as the provision of personalized individual advice from Sanderson Wealth. A copy of Sanderson Wealth’s current written disclosure statement as set forth on Form ADV discussing Sanderson Wealth’s business operations, services, and fees is available upon written request.  Sanderson Wealth does not make any representations as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability or completeness of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to or incorporated herein.  All such information is provided for convenience purposes and all users thereof should be guided accordingly. ACCESS TO THIS WEB SITE IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, TIMELINESS, OR RESULTS OBTAINED FROM ANY INFORMATION POSTED ON THIS WEB SITE OR ANY THIRD PARTY WEB SITE LINKED TO THIS WEB SITE. × ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "John Sanderson, CPA, CIMA®", "url" : "https://insights.sandersonllc.com/author/john-sanderson-cpa-cima" }, "dateModified" : "2024-03-25T20:03:01.096Z", "datePublished" : "2024-03-25T20:03:01.000Z", "headline" : "Lessons Earned: Keep Your Focus", "image" : [ "https://insights.sandersonllc.com/hubfs/Lessons%20Earned%20Graphics15.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://insights.sandersonllc.com/lessons-earned-keep-your-focus", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://insights.sandersonllc.com/hubfs/Sanderson_October2019%20Theme/Images/sanderson-logo-stacked@2x.png" }, "name" : "Sanderson Wealth Management" } } ```