Singlemindedness...

Misbelief alone misleads; singlemindedness always leads to the goal.

Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

He who sincerely seeks his real purpose in life is himself sought by that purpose. As he concentrates on that search a light begins to clear his confusion, call it revelation, call it inspiration, call it what you will. It is mistrust that misleads. Sincerity leads straight to the goal.

Many are the paths that lead to success. The difficulty lies in keeping strictly to the chosen path, or in other words in retaining singleness of mind. There is one means only by which man can attain to a realization of the religious ideal of the Godhead, and that is through sincerity and singlemindedness in the conduct of everyday life.

A person with the tendency to respond will succeed in all walks of life; a person who is not responsive will become disappointed in all affairs of life. Responsiveness comes by interest, also by concentration, also by power of one's mind. ... Responsiveness may be explained as faith, trust, concentration, singlemindedness, a living interest, contemplation, and love. To respond means to give full attention and not divided attention but single attention. Responsiveness is focusing one's whole being to something of interest. When a person, even in his interest in worldly affairs, has so developed his faculty of responsiveness, then it becomes easy for him to respond to the call of the Spirit.

The mystery of responsiveness is that the responsive one must forget himself in order to respond; and the same mystery may be called the path to perfection. A person who is not capable of forgetting himself, however good, pious, or spiritual, will always prove imperfect in his life. All misery comes from the consciousness of the self. The one who does not forget is constantly called by his own limited life, which enslaves him constantly. The one who forgets himself receives the call of God