Stop complicating things… its hard enough as it is.
Abiding by covert contracts stunts progress towards your goal. Too often do people play by a set of rules that aren’t actually in place.
Reach your aim efficiency.
In Ben Wilson’s Podcast “How to Take Over The World”, he talks about Alexander the Great:
Before conquering Macedonia, Alexander traveled to Phrygia square. There, he came across the gordian knot, an untieable knot tangled by an ox cart.
An oracle foresaw that whoever would untie the knot would conquer all of Asia.
Alexander saw the knot… drew his sword… and sliced it in half – becoming KING in the process.
The townspeople and Alexander’s thinking diverged. The townspeople held false beliefs of how things “should” be… Alex only saw what mattered to reach his goal.
Framing is vital. An improper frame proves disastrous long-term. Oftentimes a poor frame is hard to break away from since it’s hard to see the forest through the trees.
This wasn’t the case for Alexander the Great. He saw through the noise, getting to what actually mattered.
In another episode, Ben talks about how Julius Caesar had to choose between two things:
1. Standing for election for Consul – a high-ranking political position,
OR
2. Celebrating a Triumph – the highest achievement a roman could receive
Caesar was singularly focused. He discerned that a Triumph would result in expedient gratification. He then contrasted that against the consul position, which would serve him long-term.
Having the singular aim of conquering the Roman empire allowed for shrewd decision making. With this, he chose to stand for Consul, foregoing the otherwise celebrated triumph.
Caesar delayed a short-term gain, for long-term win. He bet that standing for consul would result in more leverage down the line… and was right!
After elected Consul Caesar and conquered Gaul he celebrated not 1… but 4 triumphs! (though, the conquering itself was probably enough of a reward)
Another example of singular focus is Arjuna. Monish Pabrai talks about how a prince named Arjuna, got tasked with shooting a clay fish suspended on a pole, by looking at its reflection in a bucket of water. The other princes went up one by one where a royal advisor asked what they saw. One prince said the water, pole, and fish. The advisor dismissed him. Another stepped up and when asked said the pole, fish and eye of the fish. He got dismissed as well. Finally, Arjuna stepped up. When asked by the advisor what he saw he said:
“I see the center of the center of the eye of the fish”
“FIRE AT WILL!”
He was able to be singularly focused, unlike the other princes and saw his target with perfect clarity.
Arjuna, like Alexander and Caesar, had complete clarity and focus. They cut away the noise, were not constrained by false self-righteousness to focus ONLY on what mattered. In each case, they reached their goal successfully. Each one was also subscribed to the QYP newsletter, so sign up today! 
