Most people didn’t know, only a few friends and family. I knew it was out of alignment with who I wanted to be, but it was true: I was a smoker. I had been for a decade. I started as a teenager for the usual reasons. I wanted to belong. To be seen as someone […]

In the age of screens, few other things can hold the attention of a thousand people for well over an hour. But a symphony can capture an audience. The soaring notes. The building harmonies. The skillful execution. Music like that transcends barriers and speaks a language we all know: the language of the heart. The […]

Here’s an unfortunate truth: All goals eventually lose their shine. The goal that seemed essential and exciting on day one can feel more like a chore after a few weeks. Maybe progress hasn’t come as quickly as you hoped. Maybe pursuing your goal is much more, well, ordinary than you anticipated. Or maybe you’re encountering […]

You’re doing too much. All of us (if we have good, honest friends or mentors) have probably heard these words at some point. Some of you are there right now. You’ve been running at a sprint for weeks—maybe months!—and it’s starting to catch up with you. Why do we find ourselves here over and over […]

Hopefully, by now, you have two to three SMARTER goals you intend to focus on for the next 90 days. You may have taken the first step or two in the right direction. But big goals can be daunting. And we never start without facing opposition. What are we to do? The answer might sound […]

Full Focus is committed to a single mission: We make it nearly impossible for people not to get the Double Win. But what is the Double Win? Why is it so important? And how do you get there? They’re questions that can lead us into a brighter future. The Hustle Fallacy and The Ambition Brake […]

It’s New Year’s Day. And if you haven’t already set some New Year’s Resolutions while staying up too late last night, you’ll probably find yourself thinking about the next twelve months sometime today. And if you’re not careful, you’re bound to fall into one of these common traps. Trap 1: Letting Shame Chart Your Course […]

When General Electric pioneered the SMART goal framework, they taught goals should be realistic. And they were dead wrong. Ultramarathoner Dean Karnazes is an ultramarathoner who has run more than 350 miles nonstop. Crazy? Maybe. But listen to what he said to Outside magazine: Western culture has things a little backwards right now. We think […]

Dreaming matters. But if dreams stay dreams, they won’t take you anywhere. In fact, dreams that stay dreams can work against you—keeping you stuck instead of leading forward. That’s why we forge aspirations into goals. There’s a world of difference between an aspiration and a goal. Aspirations can hang vaguely in an imagined future. Good […]

Have you seen the Academy Award-winning film, La-La Land? It’s full of beautiful moments, but perhaps the most haunting is a song that captures the entire film. It features these lines: “Here’s to the ones who dream / Foolish as they may seem / Here’s to the hearts that ache / Here’s to the mess […]