The word "the" is the most common in the English language. Hot on its heels in terms of amount of usage is the word "and."
"And" is also a very important word when it comes to high achievement.
We have all heard about the importance of focus. Most of us suffer from distraction diseases of all sorts, including "Interruptidess," "smart-phone-check-obsession," "multi-task-mania," and "involvement-overload." Our natural tendencies are toward diversion and distraction, not focus. Even so, in the accomplishment of all high achievement, there is a degree of breadth required. There is such a thing as too much focus.
We have all heard that it is critical to "major on majors," that if we "fit the big rocks in the jar we can always get the little ones in later," and similar sayings. And these are all true. However, in our rush to simplify and focus, we must not forget that life is not that simple, and nobody accomplishes worthwhile goals without the ability to handle several things at once. The key is to know which majors to major upon, and which minors not to disregard.
You see, for every major task toward an objective, there is always a supporting cast of minor details. We may ignore most details as trivial, but some are not. I am reminded of coach John Wooden teaching his incoming freshman basketball players to turn their socks inside out and remove the balls of cotton that could otherwise cause blisters. Mastery and accomplishment are to some extent the product of understanding what details are important and which can be disregarded. We must learn what minor things play a supporting role for the major things. Once we know this, only then can we ignore details and smaller things, knowing that they really play no role in achieving our overall goal.
As leaders and high achievers we must master the "art of the both." Get good at determining which tasks are primary to accomplishing your goal, but then also discern which smaller ones play an important supporting role. In fact, it is by making these distinctions that you can then focus most effectively.
Sincerely,
