We live in a world of constant interruption. We are endlessly bombarded with email, text messages, social media updates, RSS feeds and advertising. Access to information has opened up a world of opportunities to live where ever, doing whatever we want, but it it comes at a price. Success has become less about gaining experience and knowledge and more of radically excluding other appealing options. The ability to focus has become the ultimate driver of success.
Are you a Wolf or a Rabbit?
I’m not totally convinced. I would agree that stripping out distractions is important, as well as fully finishing what we set out to do, but I don’t necessarily think that we have to singly focus to accomplish these goals. I think there is value in diversifying ourselves, not only by distributing our income amongst multiple sources, but also for gaining insights and novel approaches to problems by making connections that others don’t have the opportunity to see because they are so narrowly focused.
Thanks for the comment Forrest.
I agree that diversity fosters creativity and can reduce risk. I am thinking more in terms of one over-arching dream or ambition that we want to accomplish in life. For example, if your goals are to work in a cafe, play in a band and start a website, then it is not hard to accomplish all three. They are not particularly difficult objectives and this level of diversification can provide some multiple income sources and make your life more interesting.
However, if you wanted to start the next Starbucks chain, have a stadium touring band AND an A-list blog, then attempting all three is a certain recipe for accomplishing none of your goals. High levels of success require high levels of discipline and focus.
Once you are at the top of your game in one field, it is possible to diversify to some degree (rock stars become actors, athletes become entrepreneurs, etc.) But if you are not famous or rich yet, focus is essential.
I love reading biographies of famous people because you can see that their entire lives were focused around their chosen field. They all put in their “10,000 hours” without exception.
Thanks for your attention!
My favorite famous person of all time didn’t. Ben Franklin is probably least known for the thing he put most of his time and training into – printing. Instead we know him as a diplomat (signer of the Declaration of Independence, ambassador to France) and an inventor (Franklin stove, bifocals, electricity*). And we forget that he spent his teenage years apprenticed to a printer, wrote & edited the Poor Richard’s Almanac, opened Philadelphia’s first library, and founded the U.S. Post Office.
*Ben Franklin neither invented or discovered electricity. Static electricity was first described in 600 BC, and the word electric was coined in 1600. Ben Franklin (re)discovered the fact that lightning was electrical in nature in 1752. (the Arabs discovered it first in the 15 century!)
Hi Edward,
Thanks for the comment. I agree that it is very possible to do many things in our life, but they generally need to be done in sequence not parallel. I don’t know Ben Franklin very well but I would guess that he did all of those things over the span of a lifetime not a few years.
Some more examples,
Darren Rowse’s Problogger was a huge success before he started the photography site.
Leo Babauta, built a huge following on ZenHabits before he diversified into minimalism, A-list blogging, etc.
Bill Gates First did Microsoft, then his philanthropy
Bon Jovi was a rock star before he got into movies, and then bought a football team, now politics
Obama, Michael Jordan, U2, etc.
I believe it really depends on what level you want to achieve. Most of us operate at a hobby level with most of our interests. Of course, that is completely okay. I run, play guitar, do graphic design, learn foreign languages, write several blogs, swim, lift weights, travel, etc. All bring me some enjoyment, but I am not great or world class in any of them because of a lack of focus.
I am really trying to exclude enjoyable parts of my life to focus on one or two main interests but there are just too many cool things to do in the world. 🙂 My projects suffer as a result.
While his achievements were spread out over a lifetime (or at least 40 or so years), they were also largely in parallel.
Bon Jovi (fellow Jersey boy) and Bill Gates aren’t good examples because the things they did later in life were very dependent on their earlier success. Bon Jovi would never have bought an arena football team if he didn’t have the money he made as a singer. Bill Gates philanthropy is financed by his Microsoft earnings.
While Franklin’s efforts in politics and science were fueled by his work in printing (both in income and his great access to books), those three grew in tandem as opposed to discrete stages of his life.
Thanks Matt,
Unfortunately, I’m a rabbit too. I know I need to focus but there are just too many cool things to do in the world.
Right now I’m a rabbit. But I’m sharpening my claws and teeth and eschewing herbivore for carnivore.