Tag: Focus

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A+ = Opportunity Cost

Are you the best?

To be the best, it takes hard work and absolute focus.

To stay the best, some say it is ten times as hard.

Why?

You need to keep the hunger while dealing with the praise, all while learning how to say no to the other opportunities that will happen as a result of your “A+ness.”

Now, being an A+ is a great thing. However, it takes a ton of work to stay there.

Ask yourself if being an “A+’er” is what you want, because, outside of exclusions, it is the only thing.

Seriously, the only thing.

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Get Out of Your Head

Don’t worry about the damn box.

If you’ve been in a meeting with a team on a deadline, you’ve faced this or something like it.

Instead of worrying about the next big problem, people, with a need to show they are participating, start a conversation about a trivial thing.

In the product world, it usually goes to a box. Suddenly, we need to worry about placement, color, action, and if it all makes sense. The meeting loses 10 to 15 minutes, and instead of maximizing a time of connection, we’ve all just talked about a box no one is going to use anyway.

We do that in our personal lives, too. Instead of worry about our next potential product, the broomstick suddenly gets essential.

You may not be able to change the meeting, but, you can change your behavior. When you feel it coming, take a breath and tell yourself “Stop worrying about the damn box.”

Then get back to work.

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It Doesn’t Happen Overnight

The idea that success is a straight line is how they trick you from taking steps to succeed.

Every single person I know is attached to much more failure than regular people.

The difference is, they use failure as a data point.

Instead of complaining, they try to understand:

  • What they think went wrong?
  • Who can they talk to try to understand a different perspective on why they failed?
  • How can they do better next time?

All the “success” porn that make people seem like overnight celebrities is a superficial track.

Consistent success is executing the boring stuff, having the self-awareness to ask for help, and setting a direction for the next project.

 

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Focus

One goal means focus.

Focus.

Focus can hurt.

The focus is the point.

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You Can’t Just Get It Off The Shelf

And that and that and that…

You’ll get nowhere trying to get everything off the shelf.

In fact, working for everything only heightens the chances you don’t get what you need.

Life isn’t a supermarket.

Our focus matters.

Work for quality over quantity.

 

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Stop Beating Yourself Up

False modesty isn’t fooling anyone

Stop it.

Stop self-deprecating; you aren’t masking your feelings of fear by beating yourself up.

You may fool amateurs. Professionals see it as a way to hide and a way to distract you from what matters, the work.

You can’t think and know at the same time, and the art of false modesty claims to “know” you aren’t good enough.

How about you take a different path?

 

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Art Means Focus

Art isn’t easy

The sharpest art strikes the viewer.

It’s a slap in the face.

“DAMN!”

And then you sit, staring, wondering how a stranger can do that? How can they make you feel that way?

Creating something that penetrates consciousness requires sharp definition. One idea attacked like hell.

That’s hard. You have to tell people no, that word that you hear you can’t say yet.

Well, the bad news is if you wait for someone to tell you to say “No,”you’ll never make art.

The good news is you’ll be off the hook.

If you want to avoid trouble, don’t focus.

If you want the hell of standing out, get simple.

 

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One Thing Only

The sin of “too much.”

Whenever I create any document, I have to take a moment and stop myself.

From what?

The sin of “too much:”

  • Point of view
  • Goal setting
  • Figuring out

Too much of any of those things lead me to inaction (procrastination) or mediocre work. It becomes too easy to become “busy.”

The art of focus relies on ruthless prioritization. One goal. One point of view. Simple negates the need to “figure it out.”

We lead by work.

Do.

 

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Avoid Dust

All time isn’t equal

Focus matters when it comes to working with impact.

Every time you get distracted, you gather attention residue. Think of it like dust on your “windshield” of focus. When you decide to stop paying attention, you get dust. That dust makes it hard to see where you’re going.

If you ever had dust on your windshield non-metaphorically, you realize how annoying it is to clean. You can’t just “wait it out,” you have to stop and wash the windshield. Cleaning takes time.

Our minds automatically do this when we gather “attention residue.” The amount of time it takes for our “pit-stop?”

Twenty minutes.

Think about that the next time you think  you can “check email real quick.”

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSUlLtqaqIDQ6GeucgISZ0g

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Mission + Obsession -> Leadership

Leaders obsess about the mission, not the task

Don’t confuse your mission with your tasks.

Don’t give them equal energy.

Focus on your mission. Pay attention to everything necessary to complete it.

When you concentrate on the task, you put on metaphoric blinders, consequently making yourself ignorant to anything else. This tactic can work. However, it’s rare and often unhealthy. Ignoring doesn’t make something go away.

If you focus on the mission, you give yourself the opportunity to see a multitude of answers. You tap into divergent thinking. Divergent thinking can open the door to cool solutions. Furthermore, you’ll get insights you may have missed had you focused entirely on the task.

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