Can I Have Your Attention?. Steinhorst Curt
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Curt Steinhorst, Jonathan McKee
Can I Have Your Attention?
Copyright © 2018 by Wiley. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is Available:
ISBN 9781119390466 (Hardcover)
ISBN 9781119390480 (ePDF)
ISBN 9781119404385 (ePub)
Cover Design: Wiley
Foreword
This may sound crazy, but I love chaos. I love noise. We all do. But noise is terrible for focus. Focus matters. The what, when, and why of focus shapes every part of our life. In a world where no one can focus on anything, being capable of it is an increasingly critical and unorthodox differentiator.
If you were to read my resume, the last thing you would think is “this guy is focused.” I've always had an unorthodox approach to business and life in general. I have had a rap career (YouTube Jesse Jaymes for proof). I cofounded a private jet company that we sold to Warren Buffett. I partnered on a coconut water venture that was bought by Coca-Cola. Most recently, I hired a Navy SEAL to live with my family and wrote a book about the journey called Living with a SEAL.
Regardless of the optics, focusing on what's important is perhaps the single guiding tenant of every major life decision and stage. Life is too short to waste it on the unimportant. Yet the potential for distraction is always there for me. And I've fallen into that trap many times. I still do. That's why I recently went to live in a monastery. To get away from all the distractions. To shut off all the noise. However, living in a monastery isn't a realistic solution for most of us. That's what I love about the book you have in your hands.
Curt Steinhorst was introduced to me as someone who could help me focus my speech messages. He, in turn, helped me focus what I stand for. He is thoughtful. Not only as someone who has thrived in the distraction age – founding four successful start-up companies, speaking internationally on distraction and leadership – but as someone who has wrestled with the beast of distraction his entire life. Curt is not merely showing us how to cope. He knows distraction. Curt has not only had to overcome ADD, he has learned to overcome ADD in a time when the entire world has become immediately available, and he, in turn, immediately available to the world. Curt has not only learned to manage the demands of constant connection and technology, he has overcome them.
I like to encourage others: March to the beat of your own bongo drum. Can I Have Your Attention? is pioneering a new mindset. It's far too easy to let the noise of the world dictate the futures of our family, organization, community, and personal life. We can and must make intentional decisions about where we focus our attention, and put it toward the important things. That starts with you. I often remind others that they must cut the pie before sharing it. Take control of your time. You'll be surprised how much time you have to give to your family, your friends, your business when you eliminate the nonessentials. This book helps us get there.
Your business is a reflection of you. The better you are, the better your business will be. What's unique about Can I Have Your Attention? is that its concern is not so much distraction as it is the reason why we can't stay focused. Curt's goal isn't to create attention obsessed drones. With his eyes toward industry leaders and professionals, his goal is to help others become “Focus Wise”; to help leaders, professionals, spouses, and siblings reclaim their ability to focus.
In other words, no need to move in to the monastery full time. Can I have Your Attention? has the answers we need today.
Prologue: You Don't Have Jack
Everyone at work loves Harry, and it's easy to see why. He responds right away, at all hours (when does the guy sleep?) and in all places (including vacation, if necessary). “Team player” isn't strong enough to describe him. No one in his office makes phone calls anymore, but if they did, there's little doubt he would pick up.
Harry is the ideal of reachability in the digital age. Harry is a digital saint.
At 9 AM on Wednesday, Harry tackles a major case study due Friday. He's starting a day early, leaving nothing to chance.
By the third line, Harry stops midstroke. He needs Rachel's numbers from yesterday. After a quick Control S, he switches to e-mail and finds, among the 74 messages waiting there, an invite for a department meeting this afternoon. Is he even available?
Switching to his calendar, Harry sees “Vegas.” He winces. The trip is only two weeks away, and he hasn't arranged travel yet. But Harry isn't just responsive; he's also responsible, which means he can't book a flight now…not without comparing prices (on a site that aggregates airlines and fares – only it's weird to him that they point to competing sites…or maybe they just used to be competitors? Convenience or a monopoly? This really nags at Harry).
Off the calendar and on to his browser to scan prices. He could swear one of the companies used a pitchman from the old Star Trek series. Harry's dad loved Star Trek, which reminds him that he needs to find the J. J. Abrams reboot on Netflix. Or is it on Amazon? He opens two new tabs to check – not on either? But there's nothing else to watch! His girlfriend hates when he says, “Get whatever,” so he finds the