September 13

Focus, Function, Fire

There are three key elements that work together to help you thrive in creative work:

1. Focus:What you allocate your finite attention to and spend your mental bandwidth on.
2. Function:The processes through which you solve those problems.
3. Fire:The underlying why behind what you do each day; the deeper
4. drive or core motivation that propels you forward.
5. When someone drifts off course or when it feels like things just

aren’t working, it’s usually because one of these three elements (or a combination of them) is misaligned. For example, they are focused on the wrong problems. Or their processes are so complex that they can’t make meaningful progress. Or they’ve lost touch with their deeper sense of purpose.

As you consider your work today, how well aligned are these three elements with what you’re actually trying to accomplish? Is your focus in the right place? Are you solving the right problems at the right time? Are your processes working well, and are they efficient? Do you understand why you are even doing the work?

When focus, function, and fire are integrated, you will experience deep engagement in your work.

To be effective, every creative pro must coordinate three ele- ments: focus, function, and fire.

QUESTION

How well are focus, function, and fire aligned in your life?