The Entrepreneur

Focus is an important skill to master these days. Don’t underestimate its power.

Do creative work first. Typically, we do mindless work first and build up to the toughest tasks. That drains your energy and lowers your focus. "An hour into doing your work, you've got a lot less capacity than (at the beginning)," Rock says. "Every decision we make tires the brain."

We are truly focused for an average of only six hours per week. You want to be really diligent with what you put into those hours.

Notice where and when you focus best, then allocate your toughest tasks for those moments.

Practice concentration by turning off all distractions and committing your attention to a single task. Start small, maybe five minutes per day, and work up to larger chunks of time. If you find your mind wandering, just return to the task at hand.

When multitasking is the norm, your brain quickly adapts. You lose the ability to focus as distraction becomes a habit.

Any meaningful task or routine takes a large part of one’s focus. Before starting anything, ask yourself why you should do it. With your answer, there will be that output you so desire — and so you value the task. Don’t stick within borders of “approved” output; have your options opened for new, fun ideas.

Don’t lose precious time and be distracted with discomfort. Get a really good chair with great back support; make sure your desk or worktable is well-structured as well. That way you can work for many hours and not find your body and eyes getting strained.

Drinking water isn’t only healthy, it refreshes you as well. Once you feel the first sign of fatigue or hunger, a glass of water can push them away. Then you can finish what you’re doing and rest at a later time. Besides, not all stomach rumblings are signs of hunger and drinking a glass of water usually deals with it.

Stay away from social networking sites. Not only will it defeat your purpose of staying focused at work, but there’s plenty of information there that could get your mind unnecessarily perturbed — like a friend’s status about her heartbreak, or someone from work getting a raise.

Pinpoint the problem. What causes you to lose focus? Is it fatigue, hunger or a Twitter addition? Figuring out the issue is the first step toward trying to fix it.

Plan ahead. Envision what the workday will look like before it happens. Write down what things need to get done or what you want to accomplish. Setting goals can help people stay on track.

Meditate. Scientists have discovered that meditation may enhance certain brain functions linked to attention. It can’t hurt to try shutting everything off to get more done in the long run.

Meditation is about mindfulness. This is supposed to be how we live all the time. However, we usually keep ourselves busy with unimportant things and struggle with choosing what to focus on. This brings chaos to the mind. By meditating, however, you become one with the present moment.

Work offline. One survey found nearly 60% of disruptions at work come from email, social networks and cell phones. So for tasks that don’t involve the Internet, try using old-fashioned paper and pen — perfect for brainstorming! Put your phone on silent and limit time on social media too.

Reward yourself. A little motivation can go a long way. Say, “After I finish this page, I’ll go buy a cookie!” Watch that to-do list vanish in no time.

Take little breaks. Getting to the office early, working through lunch and staying late doesn’t necessarily mean getting more stuff done. Short bursts of hard work followed by quick breaks can be more beneficial than never taking a breather, since the brain may just burn out.

To perform better at work, learn new skills, be more productive, make decisions, study smarter, and make progress in basically anything that involves your brain, it’s advisable to work on how to focus better.

Your attention is your biggest asset, so it’s important to keep it where it’s supposed to be — on the task at hand that is getting you one step closer to achieving your goals and dreams.

Identify any distraction in your surroundings; then, remove it.mThe point is to not just learn how to focus, but also how to stay focused. And for that to happen, all distractions need to be eliminated. Let’s begin by identifying distractions.In order to make room for focus, you must first remove distractions.

Your willpower works like a muscle and so does your mind. A muscle needs exercise to be stronger. What you need to do in order to learn how to focus and do it effortlessly, is to train yourself to become more disciplined. In order to improve your willpower, you will need exactly what a muscle needs to grow— resistance.

Improving your willpower can help you learn how to focus better because you have more control over your mind— you will soon begin doing anything you should just by telling yourself to do it.

True focus happens when you’re only doing only one thing at a time and investing all your attention in it. It is actually another form of meditation— it’s what can get you in ‘the zone’ when you work. Doing more than one thing at a time is the biggest distraction of them all— and you’re the one choosing to do it.

Train your brain to stay focused by catching yourself before you fall into bad habits. Each time you feel yourself being distracted stop as soon as you can. The harder you make it to become distracted, the more your mind will stay focused.

To strengthen your focus, find a place that is free from distraction. Whether that’s a different part of the house or a cafe without wifi, the point here is to give your focus a chance to recharge.

Our mind is unable to focus on more than one thing at a time, and in fact, ‘multi-tasking’ just means switching from one thing to another very, very quickly. And the more we switch, the more energy we use (And the more energy we use, the less we have to stay focused on what matters).

Stress is a focus killer of epic proportions. Which really sucks considering that we’re most likely to be stressed when we need to focus the most. Instead, mindfulness training teaches us to not get swept away by stress or strong emotions by being more aware of what we’re doing and what we’re thinking about.

Exercise isn't just good for the body. It promotes brain health, too, which is important for memory capacity and concentration.

In particular, scientists think regular exercise may help stimulate the release of a chemical called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which some research suggests helps rewire memory circuits to improve their functioning.

One of the main symptoms of chronic sleep loss is poor concentration. Getting a solid seven to eight hours ahead of a busy work day could be the difference between being frazzled and being laser-focused.

There is a real value in sharing moments that don’t live forever.

You are going to make a lot of mistakes. I’ve already made a ton of them — some of them very publicly — and it will feel terrible, but it will be okay. Just apologize as quickly as you can and pray for forgiveness.

Dare to be different. Often times we do all sorts of silly things to avoid being different but the things that makes us happen are the times we listen to our soul and allow ourselves to be pulled in a different direction.

It’s important to be thoughtful and mindful about the things you say to other people.

Have faith in yourself. Know that you will be capable of all the growth expected of you and that you expect of yourself.

The way you have to do is what you believe in and what you want to do. And we built a team around that idea. So when you built a team that is terrific who believes in building something really meaningful, you just keep going.

We do have a sense of entitlement, a sense of ownership, because after all, this is the world we were born into, and we are responsible for it.

We’re just going to keep executing on what we believe.

I think everyone is born creative but it can be suppressed by fear.

It’s not about working harder, it;s about working the system.

Conforming happens so naturally that we can forget how powerful it is – we want to be accepted by our peers – we want to be a part of the group. It’s in our biology. But the things that make us human are those times we listen to the whispers of our soul and allow ourselves to be pulled in another direction

On not giving up before Snapchat: “We would experiment and fail. We must have attempted nearly 34 projects.

On perseverance: “In times of despair, you may believe the cynic who tells you that one person cannot make difference – and there are times it may be hard to see your own impact. I beg you to remember that it is not possible at this time or any time to know the end results of our efforts.

Everyone is born very, very, very creative, but at some point it can be scary to try to do something new, that feels different.

Age doesn’t really matter. The first prototype of Snapchat launched when he was merely 21, and Snapchat became wildly successful just a year later. He joined the Forbes 400 at age 25, and became the world’s youngest billionaire.

If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. As an entrepreneur, you can’t be deterred by the idea of failure.

It’s okay to say no to money. Evan turned down several investors who tried to buy Snapchat because he believes in his self, his partners, and his hard-works.

Spiegel being asked, “When did you know that you wanted to start a company? What drove you to have that purpose?” Spiegel replied, “A lot of it is not wanting to work for anyone else. My dad had to cancel vacations and he got called from work. I used to thought that when I grow-up, I want to be the guy on the phone.”

Avoid standard terms Standard is really a code for “I have no idea what I am talking about.”

It’s not about the degree, it’s about the experience.

Evan Spiegel was asked a question from audience, “Do you think anyone can start a company?” His answer was simple and to the point, “Absolutely. If I can, you can.”

Evan Spiegel’s Way Of Doing Business. 1st one is the power of simplicity which is exactly what a customer wants. 2nd one is that despite all the success,he remained true to the principles with which he started the company. He did not allow himself to be lured here and there loosing sense of his pioneering principles.

Build a foundation for those who come after you. We must welcome those who come after us, and accept that while we have a part to play in building their success, we must also concede to their new ideas and conceptions.

Failure is inevitable and no one has the answers. It’s so true that often the biggest lessons in our careers are accepting the learning curve of failure and the acknowledging that you don’t know all of the answers, and are not expected to.

Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.

Start with good people, lay out the rules, communicate with your employees, motivate them and reward them. If you do all those things effectively, you can’t miss.

All things will be produced in superior quantity and quality, and with greater ease, when each man works at a single occupation, in accordance with his natural gifts, and at the right moment, without meddling with anything else.

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.

People often remark that I’m pretty lucky. Luck is only important in so far as getting the change to sell yourself at the right moment. After that, you’ve got to have talent and know how to use it.

Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.

Infinite striving to be the best is man’s duty; It is its own reward. Everything else is in god’s hands.

It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.

You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.

Sometimes, things may not go your way, but the effort should be there every single night.

Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.

How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees?

The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself.

He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.

Plans are nothing; planning is everything.

There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.

If you’re going through hell, keep going.

It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.

Learning never exhausts the mind.

Good leadership consists of showing average people how to do the work of superior people.

Our incomes are like our shoes; if too small, they gall and pinch us; but if too large, they cause us to stumble and to trip.

Love and work are the cornerstones of our humanness.

Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1.

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.

Gentleness doesn’t get work done unless you happen to be a hen laying eggs.

Never neglect details. When everyone’s mind is dulled or distracted the leader must be doubly vigilant.

Advocates of capitalism are very apt to appeal to the sacred principles of liberty, which are embodied in one maxim: The fortunate must not be restrained in the exercise of tyranny over the unfortunate.

He who wishes to be rich in a day will be hanged in a year.

Remember that failure is an event, not a person.

Confidence… thrives on honesty, on honhonor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection and on unselfish performance. Without them it cannot live.

Discussion is an exchange of knowledge, an argument an exchange of ignorance.

Maintain your car, home, and other personal belongings you rely on.

Luck is not chance, it’s toil; Fortune’s expensive smile is earned.

Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it.

Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.

The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would steal them away.

When you combine ignorance and leverage, you get some pretty interesting results.

Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.

Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose.

It's fine to celebrate success, but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.

This is a fantastic time to be entering the business world, because business is going to change more in the next 10 years than it has in the last 50.

Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.

Intellectual property has the shelf life of a banana.

The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.

Everyone needs a coach. It doesn't matter whether you're a basketball player, a tennis player, a gymnast, or a bridge player.