What an Ancient Philosopher and a Goliath Frog Taught me about Focus
By: Aaron Barrette
Professionally I’ve been in the data space for several years, with a focus on data warehousing, advanced analytics and machine learning. Over the past couple of years the buzz has shifted to AI (Artificial Intelligence) with the broader goal to eventually build machines that are as smart as humans, with logical reasoning capabilities, the ability to process language, the ability to navigate and eventually develop advanced skills like emotional intelligence. It’s a fascinating and polarizing field.
It’s hard not to be tuned into tech today and not hear about AI. This post is not about that AI though.
There’s is another form of AI that I suspect a majority of the population doesn’t spend that much time thinking about. This form of knowledge has been around for thousands of years and encompasses all the guiding principles that we need to be successful in life.
I’m talking about Ancient Intelligence.
There’s a tremendous amount of wisdom in the ancient texts that have incredible and timeless relevance nowadays. The daily struggles that we all deal with in our efforts to become more attentive partners, parents and contributors are nothing new. Generation after generation humans have struggled with many of the same issues, with many, including great statesman and business leaders of the past, turning to Stoicism not just as a tool, but as a way of life. Theodore Roosevelt, Admiral James Stockdale, George Washington, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, to name just a small handful, have studied the philosophy over the years.
Stoic philosophy has had a tremendous influence on my life, in many ways immeasurable. Since being introduced to the philosophy nearly five-years ago I’ve devoured a wide variety of books, articles and podcasts on Stoicism. Like so many seeking wisdom, my introduction started with Ryan Holiday and his book The Obstacle is the Way.
Broadly, Stoicism is classic Hellenistic philosophy based the the texts of its three primary sages: Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and Seneca. The philosophy asserts that virtue (such as wisdom) is happiness and judgment should be based on behavior, rather than words. That we don’t control and cannot rely on external events, only ourselves and our responses.
What attracted me immediately to the philosophy is how easy to consume the teachings are. For the classic Romans and Greeks like Seneca the term philosophy translated to “lover of wisdom,” and the overarching value of the teaching of the sages is based on just how practical and timeless they are. They are absolutely jam packed with insight.
A great example is the concept of Focus. There are literally dozens of fantastic books that tackle the subject of focus and how difficult it is to really concentrate and be productive in a world of distraction. I’ve already written about one of my all-time favorite non-fiction books, Deep Work by Cal Newport. In the secondary title of the book Newport effectively captures the challenge we all have: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World.
Writing nearly over 2,000 years ago Seneca wrote the following:
“To be everywhere is to be nowhere”
Now that is real AI!
Of course nowadays we know much more about the science behind why trying to multi-task isn’t a good thing, but I feel many of us try to tie the distraction and difficulty focusing to modern issues such as technology, social media, the 24-hour news cycle, etc., but humans have always had to deal with distraction. Leave it to the brilliance of the ancients to perfectly capture this issue in seven simple words. The types of distractions and challenges have changed since the period that Seneca wrote Letters From a Stoic, but the effect of distraction on our productivity hasn’t changed.
The tendency to become distracted had long been a struggle for me, especially when it came to prioritizing my work day. I was always organized when it came to daily goal setting or having a to-do list, but often struggled with being everywhere and nowhere at the same time. From a goal completion standpoint I was always non-linear. If I had five things I needed to absolutely complete on a Monday I simply didn’t have the ability to start with number one and then move through the list to number five— until I discovered the concept of “Eat that Frog” by Brian Tracy.
Anyone who has been involved in professional selling for the past twenty-five years knows who Brian Tracy is. He is an incredibly prolific writer (over 70 books!) who focuses on personal development and motivational speaking. Early on in my sales career Brian was a massive influence, as his CD’s would often accompany me as I traveled from meeting to meeting.
In his 2001 book of the same name, Tracy introduced the concept of “Eat That Frog” and after I read it in 2010 it stuck with me, fundamentally altering how procrastinating would impact my day. The concept of eat that frog is simple: It comes from a famous quote by Mark Twain which is: “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” Tracy took the Twain quote and tied it into focus and goal setting. The idea is that there is always one larger overarching task that absolutely needs to be completed each day. Rather than procrastinating and focusing on other, minor tasks, the best thing you can do is intensely finish your biggest task right away in the morning, or “eat that frog.”
“Throughout my career, I have found a simple truth. The ability to concentrate single-mindedly on your most important task, to do it well and to finish it completely, is the key to great success, achievement, respect, status, and happiness in life.”
The bigger idea is that your most important objective of the day either has to be your biggest priority or it can become a hindrance on your performance. To better understand this, think of how the human brain works. If there is something you need to complete that is more important than all the other tasks you are working on the thought of that large task will overshadow your other efforts, adversely affecting your performance on your other tasks. The key is clarity. So take care of that most important task immediately, earn the satisfaction that you tackled it first thing in the morning, and then move on to a productive and fulfilling day.
So what have I done to set the stage for this big task? Simple. I went online and looked up “the biggest frog on earth” and found a picture of the Goliath Frog. This massive frog found in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea can grow up to twelve-inches from snout to vent and weigh as much as seven pounds. It is a HUGE frog. I now have a picture of the Goliath frog sitting on my desk, starting back at me. It reminds me to check off my biggest task of the day, right away, so I can free my mind to focus on other key actions. The sense of satisfaction and clarity I receive by doing this has helped my productivity immensely.
When I stare at this big ol’ frog it reminds me that focus and avoid the trap that Seneca laid out two-thousand years ago. I am now no longer everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
