Sam Altman on Focus Quotes

"The best way to get work done is to be very focused and have a very clear goal."

"Minimize your own cognitive load from distracting things."

"Focus is about saying no to a thousand good ideas so you can say yes to the one great one."

"I make sure to leave enough time in my schedule to think about what to do."

"Distraction is the enemy of great work."

"Don’t scale until you have product/market fit."

"The secret to high output is to work on a very small number of things and to be extremely intense about them."

"Don't get caught up in status games. Focus on the actual output and the goal."

"Great things happen when you get a small group of people to focus intensely on one problem."

"One of the most important things I've learned is to ignore the noise and focus on the signals that actually lead to growth."

"I think it is very important to have blocks of time where you can just think."

"I try to stay focused on the long term."

"If you are working on a problem that doesn't matter, it's very hard to get the best people to work with you."

"Don't chase status. Status is a zero-sum game."

"It is very hard to do something great without being intensely focused. Focus is the bridge between a dream and reality."

"Saying no to things that are 'good' so you can say yes to things that are 'great' is the hardest part of focus."

"I use a lot of lists to clear my head so I can focus on the task at hand."

"The days are long, but the decades are short. Spend your time on dreams that will matter ten years from now."

"I find it very helpful to have long blocks of time where I’m not interrupted."

"I don't believe in the 100-hour work week for most people, but I do believe in intense focus."

"Most of the great things in the world are done by people who were totally focused on one thing for a long time."

"Intelligence and energy are the two most important characteristics for a founder."

"Don't get distracted by the noise."

"I try to avoid context switching as much as I possibly can."

"Extreme focus is required for extreme success. You can't do everything, and if you try, you'll end up doing nothing well."

"If you are not working on the most important problem in your field, why not?"

"I think most people underestimate how much they can get done in a day if they really focus."

"You need to have a core of self-belief that is not shaken by what other people think."

"Saying no is a superpower. It allows you to protect your focus for the things that will actually change the world."

"Saying no to distractions is the only way to say yes to your primary goal."

"Focus is a force multiplier. Most people are not focused enough on their primary goal."

"Stay focused on the user."

"Focus is a force multiplier on work."