25 Quotes On The Power of Focus and How Important Focus Is For Success

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Excerpt: We are in the midst of a battle against distractions—and many of us are losing. Read our 25 quotes on the power of focus and fight back.

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Introduction: The Battle Against Distraction

The ability to focus, or more clearly stated, the ability to block out distractions—especially in today’s world—is absolutely critical in producing the best work of your life. Think about it.

Distractions are the things that take your attention elsewhere—away from what it should be/ could be doing. And when your attention is over there, it’s certainly not over here—focused on the deep, thoughtful work that requires long chains of uninterrupted time for thought, flow, play, introspection, and execution. And the more that your attention ends up over there in distraction, either deliberately or unexpectedly, the work you could be doing over here gets sidetracked and lost.

Bringing to light the best of what you have to offer requires digging—a lot of digging. And the catch with this type of digging is that every time you get distracted from your “dig,” you don’t get to pick up where you left off—you have to start from the surface again. And the same is true if you get distracted again–back to the surface.

This is the battle we face every day.

Our phones, TVs, computers, tablets, radios, friends, and family members are constantly FIGHTING us for our attention. And every time we respond to those distractions (unless it’s for deep reasons), we’re choosing to access the endless supply of superficial over the opportunity to dig deep and explore the endless depths of our being—and that’s a hefty price that we’re choosing to pay.

And that’s not even the scariest part.

The reason that this battle against distraction is so hard, is that many of us actually like getting distracted, or more clearly stated, are being wired to like it. Social media is designed to show us what we want to see and hear about—so why wouldn’t we want log in? Advertisements specifically target us and are catered to our preferences so that we see things we actually want to see and might want to potentially buy—so why wouldn’t we listen and click through?

We have endless ways of checking in on people we admire, care about, and want to hear from—so why wouldn’t we want to turn on notifications and alerts?

These distractions make us feel good—and there is an unlimited supply of distractions at our disposal. The problem is that the “feel good” these distractions provide is designed to be short lasting—after only a few minutes, the timelines completely change, the ads recycle, new posts are up, and new conversations are being had. And this is every few minutes! And we’re being wired to crave it, to fear missing out on it, and to keep liking the distractions more and more.

The reality is, many of us are losing the fight against distractions and we’re ALL paying for it. When you aren’t able to put out your best work, we aren’t able to enjoy the manifestations of your best work.

We need your best work. The world needs your best work. We need more substance and depth. And if you’ve ever been deeply impacted by someone else’s deep work, don’t you think you at least owe it to them to pay it forward? The world is swimming with superficial and shallow.

This is the sacrifice we make for having rings, pings, buzzes, beeps, and just plain LOUD DISTRACTING NOISES around us all of the time. Don’t you think you could block out at least 20 – 60 minutes a day for deep, personal work? If not, are your priorities really in check?

Free yourself from the rings, pings, buzzes, and beeps and do more of the work that challenges you to the core. Fight for that time and don’t let anyone change your mind about it. Remember, you’re not doing it just for you, you’re being stubborn for them, too.

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The List: 25 Quotes On The Power of Focus and How Important Focus Is For Success

Below, you will find 25 of our favorite quotes on the power of focus and various points outlining how important focus is for success.  Topics that are discussed include how focus can take you from ‘dabbling’ your way through life to controlling and creating your way, the ease of distraction versus the challenge in blocking distraction, how focus can actually give you freedom rather than restriction, and more.  Take your time reading through our collection of thoughts and be sure to let us know what you think in the comment section below.  We hope they find you well.

“What you aim at determines what you see.”

Jordan Peterson, via 12 Rules for Life (Page 96)

“All who have accomplished great things have had a great aim, have fixed their gaze on a goal which was high, one which sometimes seemed impossible.”

Orison Swett Marden

“We’ve got to remember that we get whatever we focus on in life. If we keep focusing on what we don’t want, we’ll have more of it. The first step to creating any change is deciding what you do want so that you have something to move toward.”

Tony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within

“What you choose to focus your mind on is critical because you will become what you think about most of the time.”

Noel Peebles

“When we blather about trivial things, we ourselves become trivial, for our attention gets taken up with trivialities. You become what you give your attention to.”

Epictetus, The Art of Living

“Getting distracted by trifles is the easiest thing in the world… Focus on your main duty.”

Epictetus, The Art of Living

“Nothing can add more power to your life than concentrating all your energies on a limited set of targets.”

Nido Qubein

“One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular.”

Tony Robbins

“You don’t get what you want in life. You get what you focus on and expect.”

Tony Rush

“Success usually comes down to choosing the pain of discipline over the ease of distraction.”

James Clear, Blog

“What you don’t do determines what you can do.”

Tim Ferriss, via James Clear’s Blog

“Sticking things out is overrated, particularly if you stick out the wrong things.  In fact, I think you’d be much better off quitting most of what you do so you have the resources to get through the hard slog I call the Dip.  The challenge, then, is to not quit in the Dip, but instead to quit everything else so you have the focus to get through the slog of what matters.”

Seth Godin,Whatcha Gonna Do With That Duck?

“Focus not on what he or she does, but on keeping to your higher purpose. Your own purpose should seek harmony with nature itself. For this is the true road to freedom.”

Epictetus, The Art of Living

“Often he who does too much does too little.”

Italian Proverb

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“Activity is not output.”

Andrew Grove

“When you do too many things at once, it’s impossible to be present-moment oriented. Thus, you not only lose out on much of the potential enjoyment of what you are doing, but you also become far less focused and effective.”

Richard Carlson, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

“What tasks are more important? It’s hard to know when you’re caught up in the flow of things, just doing things left and right, quickly switching between tasks, and so on. Everything seems important. But when we step back and think about what matters most, what will make the most difference in the world and in our lives, we can see what we need to focus on, to make time for. We can’t step back unless we’re aware that we’re getting caught up in less important tasks.”

Leo Babauta, Zen Habits

“No horse gets anywhere until he is harnessed.  No steam or gas ever drives anything until it is confined.  No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled.  No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined.”

Henry Emerson Fosdick

“Commitment gives you freedom because you’re no longer distracted by the unimportant and frivolous.  Commitment gives you freedom because it hones your attention and focus, directing them toward what is most efficient at making you healthy and happy.  Commitment makes decision-making easier and removes any fear of missing out; knowing that what you already have is good enough, why would you ever stress about chasing more, more, more again? Commitment allows you to focus intently on a few highly important goals and achieve a greater degree of success than you otherwise would.”

Mark Mason, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

“A man should conceive of a legitimate purpose in his heart, and set out to accomplish it. He should make this purpose the centralizing point of his thoughts. It may take the form of a spiritual ideal, or it may be a worldly object, according to his nature at the time being; but whichever it is, he should steadily focus his thought forces upon the object which he has set before him.  He should make this purpose his supreme duty, and should devote himself to its attainment, not allowing his thoughts to wander away into ephemeral fancies, longings, and imaginings. This is the royal road to self-control and true concentration of thought.  Even if he fails again and again to accomplish his purpose (as he necessarily must until weakness is overcome), the strength of character gained will be the measure of his true success, and this will form a new starting point for future power and triumph.”

James Allen, As a Man Thinketh

“The whole world is inside each person, each being, each object.  To know any part of the world deeply, intimately, is to know the whole world.  Each of us, then, must find our own particular domain – that little corner of the world in which we can drill for gold.  For the acupuncturist it is knowing the body through the language of Chinese medicine.  For the painter, it is knowing the world through through paint and the canvas.  For the writer, it is knowing the world through words.”

Stephen Cope, The Great Work of Your Life

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“Leaders need to keep a singular focus, each and every day, on their ultimate goals; they need to keep them at the front of their minds as they choose their actions and strategies.  This seems so obvious but, at the same time, incredibly busy days when people are constantly asking for your attention make it easy to lose a central, goal-oriented focus.  Thus, even something as simple as putting a Post-it note that describes your ultimate goals on the corner of your computer screen can help you keep focused and slow you down so that you can facilitate and orchestrate your team’s actions directly toward your ultimate goal.”

J. Keith Murnighan, Do Nothing!

“To truly appreciate something, you must confine yourself to it.  There’s a certain level of joy and meaning that you reach in life only when you’ve spent decades investing in a single relationship, a single craft, a single career.  And you cannot achieve those decades of investment without rejecting the alternatives.”

Mark Mason, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

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