Window Cleaner Focus at 20 Stories

A couple of weeks ago I conducted a seminar in Chicago for a very nice group of people. It took place at one of the stately hotels in the downtown area. Ahead of the event, as I was looking out my hotel window, I noticed a window washer across the street. There was something about him that captivated me. I've seen window washers before on platforms that are suspended from the roof on two sets of ropes or wires. The platforms have some small motors at each end that help lower the platform from one floor to another while the window washers work.
However, this particular window washer in Chicago was working alone. The building he was working on that day was about 40 stories in height. When I saw him, he was at about 20 stories off the ground. He was working alone that day and not on a fancy platform. He was suspended from one rope or wire and sitting on what looked like the seat of a swing. Looking at him from across the street, there just didn't seem to be much holding him up. However, the apparatus seemed to work fine for him. He was working very quickly and, apparently, with great efficiency.
Hanging from the right side of this "swing" was a container that obviously contained some soapy water. He would put a large brush into that container and then soap up the particular window in front of him.
Then he took a squeegee from the other side of his belt and he cleaned off the soap. He did so with great precision. He worked on two sets of windows at each floor. Once he was through with the ones on the right, he simply swung over to the left and cleaned those. Then he did something with his rope or wire and it quickly lowered him to the next floor below. The process was repeated at every floor. Here's what amazed me about this Chicago window washer. He seemed oblivious of how far up he was or his small perch. I, personally, do not do well with heights. If I had to do what that man was doing, the word "petrified" would come to mind.
He seemed very comfortable. When he swung from side to side, it was as if he was on a swing set in the park. He was totally focused on his work. It's as if nothing else mattered. He was there to do a job and he seemed to be doing it very well. He wasn't letting anything keep him from completing the task at hand. He didn't let the height or, on that day, the breeze in the air keep him from doing his work. He was determined to stick to the job until it was done. I would imagine that in his job it is imperative to be totally focused since safety is a critical element.
What if we were able to apply the same type of focus to every important task in life? No matter what was going on around us, we would simply focus and keep attending to one important thing at a time? There are many distractions these days. The economy, relationships, our health, finances -- these are all things that can distract us. I'm not saying that we shouldn't be doing something about these topics. However, there is great power in being able to focus on one important thing at a time and to keep doing that thing until it is completed.
A focus affirmation:
I focus on one important thing at a time and keep working on it until it is done.