John Maxwell shares a fascinating story about lion tamers that changed how I think about focus.
When a lion tamer enters the cage, they bring several tools with them. But there’s one tool they absolutely cannot forget—in fact, their life depends on it.
Can you guess what it is?
It’s a simple stool.
Now, here’s the surprising part:
It’s not used the way you might expect.
The tamer holds the stool with the seat facing themselves and the four legs pointing toward the lion.
Those four legs—all coming at the lion simultaneously—create confusion.
The lion can’t decide which leg to focus on, so it freezes, unable to take action.
Maxwell uses this as a powerful metaphor for us.
Like the lion, when we’re faced with too many things at once, we freeze. We become paralyzed by choice and overwhelmed by options.
We can’t move forward.
Have you ever felt like the this?
- Too many goals
- Too many tasks
- Too many habits
Too many choices, staring us in the face, causing us to freeze – just like the lion.
All that power, harnessed and ready to unleash – but helpless and stuck.
This is why focus matters so much. And it’s why eliminating distractions isn’t just helpful—it’s essential.
Anyone who says “You can have it all, is lying.”
It’s more like “You can have anything you want, but you can’t have everything.”
Life is about choices and most of them – don’t matter.
Like John Maxwell said…
You cannot overstate the unimportance of practically everything.
If you find yourself stuck, consider deleting all your goals, tasks and habits and start from a clean slate.
Remember the power of one.
“What’s the ONE thing, that if accomplished – would make everything else easier or un-necessary?”
“What’s the ONE habit, that’s most important for me to FOCUS on and master, right now?”
And then choose to ignore everything else.
This isn’t neglect, it’s wisdom.
Being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.
Let us be wise,
PS: If you liked this message, you may also enjoy the full audio training it came from. You can listen to the full replay here…
PPS: If you’d like to learn about a morning routine that’s created absolute magic for my life and business, check out this free training.