Focus
Kat Fergerson and
Focus
focus is not just a matter of the eyes but of the whole body and mind, of our entire being becoming more present and attuned to the world around us.
— “Seeing is forgetting the name of the thing one sees” by Lawrence Weschler (about the artist Robert Irwin)
Reggie James • Ask The Same Question
All of my startup experience summed up:
The right person with the precise right focus and completely unshackled is 10x as effective as 10 pretty smart people working hard in a vague general direction
Austen Allredx.comPeople tend to gravitate to different sides of the explore/exploit spectrum. If you are high on openness, like I am, exploring comes easy. But it is harder to make a commitment and exploit what you’ve learned about yourself and the world. Other people are more committed, but risk being too conventional in their choices. They miss better avenues for... See more
Henrik Karlsson • Almost Everyone I’ve Met Would Be Well-Served Thinking More About What to Focus On
Edwin Land, the scientist and inventor best known for co-founding the Polaroid Corporation and inventing instant photography, said, “My whole life has been spent trying to teach people that intense concentration for hour after hour can bring out in people resources they didn’t know they had.”
I fixed my phone addiction by having 2 phones:
1. Cocaine Phone - Full stack dopamine. Twitter. Instagram. TikTok. WhatsApp. Anyone can contact.
2. Kale Phone - Full stack serotonin. Notes. Kindle. Uber. Maps. Emergency number for 2-3 contacts.
Lemme explain...
What monks know about focus.
“A book is a tool. It’s a machine for thinking. And ‘all machines,’ as Thoreau once said, ‘have their friction.’ The time it takes to engage with ideas—whether factual or fictional, emotional or intellectual, accurate or inaccurate, efficient or inefficient—might strike some as a drag. But the time given to working
... See more
Jony Ive on what Steve Jobs taught him about the power of focusing:
“Focus is not this thing you aspire to…or something you do on Monday. It’s something you do every minute.”
“The Hedgehog and the Fox” by Isaiah Berlin divides the world into two types of people: hedgehogs, who are absorbed by one big idea, and foxes, who dance between many.