I’m a sucker for what pmarca
calls productivity
pr0n. From early pioneers like Seneca,
Franklin, and Carnegie,
to today’s wonder-of-the-minute, I'm always looking for a better way.
Sometimes it's like that six year old with the
hammer, who saw everything as a nail.
Daniel
Goleman’s Focus
– The Hidden Driver of Excellence is a marvelous book. He
starts with a premise – that the ability to focus is the key to
success, and then includes some twenty studies, most of which I’ve
read, and his own detailed definitions of many, many aspects of
focus.
Just like Eskimos have a hundred
words for snow, Goleman has a comprehensive series of definitions
for aspects of focus, how focus occurs, how to encourage focus, and
how to manage focus. He even makes the point in the book that a
person with a deep interest in a subject will notice more about it
than an amateur.
When I read that part about interest
creating focus, I didn’t realize at the time it was self
referential to the author. I doubt Goleman does, even now.
What I really liked was that his
definitions are immediately useful. I’m reading his book and
inserting my own observed examples. There is a lot of data in the
book, but like true
best practices, they are immediately recognizable and useful.
As an example, answering the question,
“Why can I never remember what I did to make a perfect golf shot?”
Goleman writes (p.66) that there are two major streams of self
awareness, “I” is the continuing internal narrative explaining
our past and future to us, and “me” the raw experience of the
immediate moment.
After I read that, I just sat back
sucking my tooth and marveled.
Then of course, he got right into how
to harness that unharnessable raw experience. Made immediate sense,
too.
Treat yourself well in 2014. Make an
appointment to read Focus
– The Hidden Driver of Excellence.
But wait! There’s more! Check out
Tips 4 The Big Chair!
This new year extend your winning!
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