Focus.

One thing that struck me about Steve Jobs after reading the Walter Isaacson-penned biography was the man’s emphasis on focus. Jobs said knowing what not to do was as important as knowing what to do. At Apple strategy sessions he’d condense lists of ideas into a single list of the best ten, then cross out all but the top three. When he returned to helm the company in the late 90s and was faced with a bewildering array of substandard products, he axed most of them and told his teams to focus on creating just four.

During his final medical leave Jobs met with and advised Google co-founder Larry Page. “We talked a lot about focus,” Jobs said later. “Figure out what Google wants to be when it grows up… What are the five products you want to focus on? Get rid of the rest, because they’re dragging you down.”

I’m not one for resolutions, but I’ve been kicking the last part of that statement around in my head these past few months. What are the five things you want to focus on? Get rid of the rest, because they are dragging you down.

My new favourite long weekend morning compliment: “Dad you make the best bacon and eggs EVER.”

J.D. Moyer, after he and his family went a couple of month-long periods without artificial light:

Since the only thing we have in life is quality of our consciousness, and sleep deprivation so obviously and negatively affects the quality of our consciousness, it makes sense to prioritize sleep. Most people would agree, but almost nobody does dedicate enough time to sleep. Why? The ubiquity of artificial light.

From God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, by Christopher Hitchens:

One must state it plainly. Religion comes from the period of human prehistory where nobody — not even the mighty Democritus who concluded that all matter was made from atoms — had the smallest idea what was going on. It comes from the bawling and fearful infancy of our species.

Much to my boys’ disgust I am the handball master — as shown through my successful deployment of the hellishly difficult ‘puppyslap’ move.

Having the intention to do morning zazen is good, but having the alarm clock across the other side of the bedroom is better.