278. Focus is Your Superpower

Episode Transcript

Marissa: [00:00:00] All right guys. We are officially back on focus on this and I cannot tell you guys how excited I am. It has been far too long. I know you guys have been feeling it. I’m feeling it. I’ve been itching to get back here and I am so excited

because today’s episode. Really this new season, this new era of focus on this is unlike anything that you guys have experienced thus far.

So I’m really excited because this year we’ve got a new co-host with me, and this is not just somebody that we picked randomly and brought in. This is somebody who is very close, literally somebody in my family, somebody who is super close inside of full focus. And I am so excited because what you guys don’t know is that he is actually the brains behind all of our incredible content here at Full Focus.

It’s gonna be a phenomenal experience. It’s gonna be a great new era of the show, and I cannot wait to bring this amazing [00:01:00] content to you guys. So before we jump in, I wanna ask you guys a question. Why does focus matter more than ever in 2025? That’s what we’re gonna be discussing today, and I am so excited to jump right in.

Welcome back to Focus On This. We’re still the most productive podcast on the internet, but this is where we remind you of something you already know. It’s not about getting more things done, it’s about getting the right things done, both in work and in life. So I’m so thrilled to get to introduce officially my new co-host, my brother-in-law, our chief content officer, Joel Miller.

Welcome.

Joel: Hey, thanks for having me. I am so glad to be here. And how much do I owe you for saying that? I’m the brains behind everything because

Marissa: we’ll work the details out later.

Joel: All right.

All right.

Marissa: I am so excited that you’re here, Joel, because this is a [00:02:00] really fun experience to get to introduce you to our listeners, our audience, our community in a way that you’ve kind of been behind the scenes.

For, I mean, how long have you been here? Since the inception of full focus?

Joel: Not quite, but since 2014.

Marissa: Okay. So we finally are bringing you front stage so everyone can get to know you, and I am so thrilled. Before we jump into the content today, I thought it would be fun. For people to get to know you because most of the people here probably know me, but they have not gotten to know you yet.

So I have some questions that I would like to ask to get us going. So first of all, can you give us the basics who you are? Obviously you’re my brother-in-law, but which one of my sisters are you married to? Tell us a little bit about you before we jump in.

Joel: Well, I am married to Megan, so that clears that one up.

I started with the company in 2014. I was actually kind of a freelancer before that. My background is an [00:03:00] editorial and that’s where I came in to the company as a writer and an editor. Before that, I worked at Thomas Nelson. I was a vice president of acquisitions, which is a fancy title for, I go out and I find new authors, and then I edit their books.

That was a blast to do for as long as I did it, which was a little more than 10 years. Then I had the opportunity to come to Full Focus and try my hand there, and that was a blast. So that’s kind of roughly who I am. I’m the, I’m the word guy

Marissa: and you’ve actually worked with my dad, Michael Hyatt. Is it like 25 years?

Joel: It’s a really long time. It’s actually a little bit longer than that, so, wow. He started writing a column in the late nineties and I was his editor on that column. Way, way, way, way back.

Marissa: Wow. Wow. Well, that makes me feel. Very young in a lot of ways. I think that I was also my

Joel: pleasure. How much do you owe me for that?

Marissa: I feel like I was probably potentially in diapers at that point. Um, so it’s crazy actually how long you’ve known our [00:04:00] family. Yeah. And eventually you and Megan. Connected, fell in love. You have a beautiful family. You have five kids, so just give us a quick rundown of your children.

Joel: Yeah, my gosh. So two that I came into the marriage with Vin and Felicity.

They’re now, you know, more or less grown up and out of the home. Or I should stay outta the house. They’re always in the home in, in one form or another. And then Moses and Jonah, two wonderful boys we adopted from Uganda when they were quite small. Now they’re quite large. Moses is actually a running back and he weighs more than I do.

He is taller than I am and is considerably stronger than I am. Though it is worth saying, it is worth saying that I can deadlift him if I really need to.

Marissa: Wow. Hey, that’s impressive.

Joel: Yeah. Jonah. Jonah is 15. He is just starting to drive, which thankfully my temperament is rather even. And so that’s gonna be a fun little project.

And then finally, Naomi, who is six and is like a little tornado of joy in our life. [00:05:00]

Marissa: She is. And I love those kids so much, obviously my nieces and nephews, and it’s so fun to watch these kids. The boys have. Towered over me at this point. I think Naomi is about my only hope. I’m five three. For those of you guys who don’t know me, I’m very short and I think Naomi is maybe my only hope for not towering over me.

Yeah. But I think pretty much everyone else is far surpassed, so

Joel: she did put on what feels like two inches in the last couple of weeks. So I don’t know. She might give you a run for your money.

Marissa: Time will tell for sure.

Joel: Yep.

Marissa: Okay, Joel, a lot of people who know you would consider you a minimalist, which is perfectly fit because you recently just created our full focus minimalist planner, which if you guys mm-hmm.

Haven’t seen is an amazing kind of just the essentials version of mm-hmm. Focus planner, however. I would argue that you’re almost a maximalist in certain areas.

Joel: Mm. Yes. And so

Marissa: I would like to hear from you, and if you’re watching on [00:06:00] YouTube or anywhere else, you can probably tell the first, uh, way that Joel is a Maximalist, but give us a couple examples of how you’re actually a Maximalist.

Joel: Well, if you can see behind me, around me, there are about 3000 books in this house and uh, that’s my last rough count. There’s piles over here and they may be adding to it. I have, I have to coal a lot ’cause I bring a lot in. But yeah, so when it comes to literature, reading books, the whole thing I have. A pile and I’m definitely a maximalist where it comes to that.

Yeah.

Marissa: Well go the Enneagram five, if you can’t guess already based on

Joel: Yeah.

Marissa: Thousands of books in his possession.

Joel: Yeah, it’s, I’m actually a five cubed, so it’s like, uh, it’s extra.

Marissa: That’s amazing.

Joel: Yeah. Another thing that I can be a little bit. Maximalist about is actually any new experience or product or whatever that I happen to get a kick on, uh, at a moment.

And so it could be like, I’m [00:07:00] really into Turkey jerky right now for whatever reason, and I have a lot of Turkey jerky each day. I,

Marissa: if we were taking sponsors on this podcast, which we’re not, but if we were the most natural for you at least, I don’t know about, for me, it would be a Turkey jerky. Sponsor.

Joel: Oh yeah, a hundred percent.

Yeah. I just figure like I’m trying to get some extra protein. Like that’s a great way to do it. And rather than do what sensible people do, which is like, you know, do things in moderation, I’m highly immoderate when it comes to the things I get going on. And then I, then I, after a couple of months, I. Go and get on a different kick, so

Marissa: that’s amazing.

Joel: Yeah.

Marissa: Well, the other area that I know that you’re a maximalist in is coffee. Mm. What’s interesting about Joel is that he pretty much exclusively drinks decaf, but he drinks what, like three, four French press containers. A day

Joel: on a slow day. I mean, I might do more like five or six actually on a, on a full day.

[00:08:00] I figure, you know, it’s hydrating and I know people have an argument about that, but I actually check Chachi PT and Chachi PT told me no, it’s absolutely hydrating. So that’s how I prefer my hydration. I prefer it flavored with coffee beans.

Marissa: And this is how we know that chat, GBT is just. Going along with whatever you’re saying, just please you, because I’m pretty sure if we really fact check that we’d have a hard time finding evidence.

Joel: You might be right.

Marissa: We’ll go with it. Okay. Yeah, I’m

Joel: happy to not know for sure.

Marissa: Yeah. Okay. So what was the first concert that you ever went to and what was the last concert? You ever went to?

Joel: Oh my gosh. Um, I think the first concert I ever went to was actually the 70 Sevens, which was a local Sacramento band that I really had a thing for in my late teens and early twenties.

And they were a small band, you know, they were around, they toured and all that, but they were a tiny band. And so they never played huge venues. And [00:09:00] the first time I could get in to see them was at a bar. I think Fair Oaks, California, and they were, ’cause I was underage. I was like 18. I had to pay a cover just to get in to see them play.

It was a transcendent experience. All these amazing songs that I’ve been listening to, you know, there they were in front of me and you know, they were like five feet in front of me because it was this tiny little bar they were playing in. So yeah, it was great.

Marissa: That’s amazing. And the last one that you went to?

Joel: The last one is tricky. I. Over the Christmas holiday last year, Meg and I went to see Nate Barky at, uh, at the Ryman do his Christmas special. So we got tickets to go see that. That was fantastic. A lot of fun, and there were a lot of musical parts to that. I don’t actually remember if that was the last, last one though.

Marissa: Wasn’t it Bob Dylan and somebody else?

Joel: Oh my gosh, yes, of course. Come on. This is what happens when you’re almost 50. Apparently you forget very big and obvious things. Yes. Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson came [00:10:00] through and so Meg actually got me tickets to go with my eldest Finn and. He had never seen Willie Nelson in concert, nor had I, but we had both seen Dylan once before and so, you know, we were like, we gotta go back.

I mean, both these guys, I hate to say it this way, I sound like an actuarial table, but they’re not gonna be with us for long. And I’m like, I gotta see these guys again. In the case of Willie Nelson the first time, and apparently. This tour that he was on was the last tour he was ever gonna do. So yeah,

Marissa: that’s pretty bucket list.

Joel: Yeah. Yeah. And it was awesome. Dylan’s performance was a little lackluster. Like he, it sort of felt like he, uh, he was a little tired, but. Willie Nelson was something else that was amazing.

Marissa: I’m telling you, he’s still kicking. I mean, how old? He’s still kicking. Is he 90 at this point?

Joel: Yeah, he’s up there.

Marissa: Yeah.

It’s pretty impressive. Well, something to aspire to the braids might be helping, you know?

Joel: Well, if I could grow him, I would.

Marissa: Exactly. And those of you who are not watching, Joel’s very bald. So quite, I don’t think that that’s gonna be happening [00:11:00] anytime

Joel: soon. No.

Marissa: Okay. Last, last question and then we’ll move on.

If you had a walkout song like they do in the UFC, what song would it be?

Joel: Oh man, this is actually really tricky to answer ’cause I’ve got probably like 14. Potentials.

Marissa: Yeah,

Joel: I would say, uh, this is like maybe not, uh, an obvious one for people, but I would pick free for all by Art Blakey.

Marissa: Oh, okay. I don’t even know this one.

We need to like make sure to look it up later. I will.

Joel: Yeah. Yeah. You gotta

Marissa: text it to

Joel: me. It’s intense. It’s like if, uh, if in the 19 early 1960s if there were a heavy metal version of jazz, that song would be it.

Marissa: Honestly. Joel, that’s pretty much you in a nutshell.

Joel: Yeah, pretty much

Marissa: like decaffeinated heavy metal.

Jazz, that’s you.

Joel: That’s me. Yeah.

Marissa: That right?

Joel: Mm-hmm.[00:12:00]

Marissa: I am so excited. As you can tell, Joel and I are very comfortable with each other. We’ve been in family together for, I don’t know, however long you and Megan. 16 years now. 16 years. Okay. Here you go. So this is gonna be a fun new iteration of the show and I’m just so excited before we jump into kind of our main segment today.

And we’re, we’re mostly here to talk about a. Focus and the challenge of it today and, and the world that we live in. But before we jump in, I wanna say a huge thank you to Ken, my former co-host, whom I miss dearly, who is such an amazing guy and such a blast. He’s not going far. He is still inside of our full focus planner community.

He is there. You guys can still tease him. Give him a hard time. He’s still doing it to me. He is texting me regularly.

Joel: I get memes all the time.

Marissa: Yes, all kinds of memes. And so feel free to, uh, do [00:13:00] that with Ken. So Ken, you’re amazing. We miss you already and we’re excited for this new season of your life and your career, and we can’t wait to cheer you on.

So, Joel, are you ready to jump in?

Joel: Uh, I was born and ready, as they say.

Marissa: All right. Lead us into kind of the state of focus and the challenges that we’re facing.

Joel: The state of focus is that there just isn’t any, you know, if you, if you think about the challenges that we all face, just take the work environment.

Uh, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal several years ago that said, and this is. Now far worse that the modern work environment is designed to, you know, Rob you of focus and wow, you can just think of the emails you get, the slack pings you get, the messages you get on other platforms, the meetings, the surprise meetings, the even good work that matters can be an interruption to work that matters more.

And so we often find ourselves in a situation where. [00:14:00] You know, we have just too many competing voices coming into our ears, too many competing visions coming into our eyes, and it’s very difficult to separate all that out so that you can get to the things that you need to focus on primarily. And then of course, there’s all these personal black holes that we have, you know, like the socials, the streaming services, and so on.

It’s just very challenging because we live in an economy designed. To commoditize our attention and so, right, everyone is busy trying to figure out a way, and they’ve got, you know, very well paid behavioral, uh, economists, psychologists, et cetera, whose whole job it is to high, like hijack your retinas and take over your life, basically.

Marissa: Yeah, it’s pretty crazy if you think about it. How much are. Environment on a day-to-day basis, whether it is at work or, you know, if we pick up our phones or we’re just even walking around our houses. Everything is designed to keep us unengaged from the real life in front of us. [00:15:00] And focus is so hard to come by these days.

I think. You know, they say that now we have the attention span of a goldfish. I don’t know. Do you know if that’s true?

Joel: I, I’m sorry, what? What did you say? I was busy checking my phone. Just kidding. No.

Marissa: Yeah.

Joel: Uh, yeah, absolutely. I, I don’t know how long the attention span of a goldfish is, but I feel like I’m doing well if I ex exceed that.

Right. We’ve read those articles. It is astonishing just how, how quick it is to lose focus.

Joel: Yeah. And the cost of that is that. Like it’s hard to get it back sometimes. So maybe there are moments where like a small interruption is just a small interruption, you can kind of snap back quickly. But there are other times where, you know, like we’ve got a whole mental framework in our head to solve a particular problem.

And then, uh, this. Incoming message comes in, we have to change the frame that we’re thinking with, and then it’s really hard to reconstitute that other frame that we had beforehand to get back into that thinking, and all of a sudden it’s like 20 or [00:16:00] 30 minutes later and we’re still not back to where we were.

Marissa: Yeah. It’s like borderline impossible, honestly. Yeah. Yeah. It takes way too long. I think they call that task switching, and it’s super challenging to go from one thing. Into something else and then back. And it takes a period of time to regain your focus. And I know for a lot of us, we’re feeling this. We feel stressed out.

It’s like we’re frantic. We’re running from one thing to the next. Yeah. Where do I need to put my attention and my energy and, and we’re just, we can’t keep up, you know? Right. Which often. Ends up pushing us into total burnout. And I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve had several periods, especially where on social media where I feel like I just need a break.

The dopamine hit after dopamine hit is so intense.

Marissa: it’s like I just lose interest in. The day-to-day regular, mundane kind of activities. And so having those sense of reset or [00:17:00] detox or whatever you wanna call it, can be helpful, but it’s not a good strategy long term. And the truth is we’re heading into the busiest.

Season of the year.

Joel: Yep.

Marissa: And starting on Monday, we’re gonna have our official first episode for you guys. This is technically kind of more of a, a preview, a teaser of what’s to come, but this is where we are rushing around. It’s Q4. Those of us who. You know, our professionals, which I know is all of us. This is usually our busiest time of the year where we are just running nonstop from one thing to the next.

And then personally, you know, we’ve got crazy full calendars all the sudden. Mm-hmm. Everybody is asking for our attention and our time, and if we’re not careful, again, we’re gonna be just rushing towards burnout.

Joel: You mentioned the dopamine part of it. The other part of it is like cortisol, like

Marissa: Yeah.

Joel: In order to keep up with that, in order to address the.

Onslaught, uh, that hits [00:18:00] us. Our bodies are like ramped to do that, and we can just find ourselves fatigued so much more easily because we’re like redlining all the time, you know, just to manage it. And that’s not a good way to be. And it’s certainly when we think about winning at work and succeeding at life, that’s a great way to not do either, uh, because you’ll essentially, you know, fry your circuits.

Marissa: It’s really, really true. Yeah. And I feel like this is the time too, where we’re just Yeah. Flatlining it in terms of cortisol. It’s like we’re constantly burning through that reserve that we’ve got. Yeah. And there’s just nothing left over at the end of the day.

Joel: Yeah.

Marissa: So obviously we can tell that we’re in a pretty rough.

Spot. I’d say

Joel: if the state of the culture, the state of the nation, it’s tricky. It’s not a good spot if you’re not aware. I think the the magic response is to become self-aware, to just like plug into reality long enough to say, oh, this is happening to me. That means that I need to like marshal some different responses in order [00:19:00] to stay healthy and strong and focused.

Of course. ’cause that’s ultimately what’s gonna help is to like figure out what to focus on and then focus on that.

Marissa: Yeah, and I think this is really why. Focus matters now more than ever because it’s what turns intention into results. Right? Right. When we actually have the ability to focus on something, we’re not just, uh, having the intention of, cool, I want to do this thing.

It’s like when we actually have the focus, we can make it happen. Right. Which is beautiful. It’s also, I think, how we are able to say no. To distractions that keep bombarding us. Right? When we have that sense of focus, that sense of a clear, you know, it’s like I, I like to think of it like a laser when you are locked in to whatever it is that you’re trying to focus on.

It’s easy to say no to distractions that are coming because you’re so laser locked on that thing.

Joel:: Mm-hmm.

Marissa: On the flip side, it really allows us to say yes to the [00:20:00] things that matter, the things that are in alignment with what we’re trying to accomplish.

Joel: Yeah, a hundred percent. You know, Michael says in free to focus that every yes is a no and every no is a yes.

And if we walk through life with a lot of maybes. It’s actually really hard to stay focused because what we’re really saying is yes to everything. When it’s a maybe it’s a yes to everything until it’s a firm. No, and what that means is it’s like we have never made up our mind about what we’re gonna do, and as a result, we end up just having to reconsider everything when it comes up.

And that’s demanding.

Marissa: How exhausting is it? I mean, totally. Decision fatigue. Every single day we’re having to calculate, does this fit in or not? Right. And when you don’t have any kind of clear focus, it can be really challenging to determine is this a yes or a no? But when you have that sense of clarity, that sense of focus, that sense of priority, you know exactly what you’re looking for, it makes it very easy to say yes or to say no.[00:21:00]

Joel: Right. You know, the term decision is related to the term incision, which is much clearer in terms of what that means. When we think of an incision, we know that’s a cut. A decision is also a cut. It’s a way of saying, I am not gonna do this thing right. Am gonna do this thing. And so there’s like a clear dividing line between the yes and the no.

When you decide and if we choose to not decide, what we’re really doing is. We’re leaving too many options open to ourselves. Yeah. And that is cognitively demanding, psychologically oppressive at some level.

Marissa: That’s really good. I, to be honest, didn’t know where you were going with that.

Joel: yeah.

Marissa: But that is so good.

I’ve never thought of those two words being related or those two concepts being related. And it makes total sense now that you’ve described it. So how does this relate to our double win winning at work and succeeding at life? Because I think that. Our people who are listening right now, our community, they’re really committed to figuring out how to accomplish what we call the [00:22:00] double win.

Yep. Which is winning in your work life, your career success, but also feeling like they’re succeeding and making progress in their personal lives at home. In their relationships, in their spiritual lives, in their health, so on and so forth. So how does this concept of focus relate back to that?

Joel: I mean, I think it’s as simple as this.

That focus is what turns our intention into results. Whatever our intentions are. If we’re not focused, we’re not gonna get the result that we’re after because there’s just too many things competing for that attention. And if our attention is not focused on our intention, then we’re, we’re without luck, you know?

We’ll, we’ll have no hope to succeed.

Marissa: Yeah. I think this is what typically my dad talks about as drifting.

Joel: Mm-hmm. 

Marissa: we’re just kind of drifting from one thing to the next. We’re not actually having that level of intention, and this is what makes the double win possible. When you have that sense of clarity of this is [00:23:00] what’s important to me, yes, this is what matters to me.

This is what I’m trying to create and build in my life. It’s like everything else. Somehow falls into place, not as a magic bullet, but as a way of, it just kind of quiets the noise, right. And again, allows you to kind of laser lock on what it is you’re trying to accomplish.

Joel: Yeah. It’s like a filter that, yeah.

Just kind of gets rid of all that noise, or at least gives you the ability to quiet it.

Marissa: Yeah.

Joel: And you’re really not. In a position to do that unless you’re focused.

Marissa: Well, I’m really excited because over the next few weeks we’re gonna walk you through practical resets, weekly rhythms, and how to build the double win into your every day.

And I think this is what gets me really excited about this new era. Mm-hmm. Our podcast is we’re kind of going deeper than we have in the past. And so Joel, I would love. For you to share with everyone some of our upcoming episodes, what they might expect out of these, and yeah, [00:24:00] I think it’s gonna be really good.

Joel: Well, we have a number of great batters stepping up to the plate, as it were. So I just think about the next few episodes and I’m stoked about them. The first one that will hit. This coming Monday, October 13th is all about a having a fall reset. And you know, if you think about this Q4 problem that you were talking about, the statistics on this are not encouraging.

Like everything in the in the year happens in Q4 for all kinds of reasons. And this is true. Across industries. It’s true in our personal lives. It’s everywhere. And so we’re gonna have a way to help you recalibrate for Q4 to kind of get ahead of the crazy so that it doesn’t drive you insane. And then October 20th, the following week, we’re gonna talk about why winning Monday starts on Sunday.

And this is gonna be really a deep dive into the weekly preview process. My

Marissa: absolute. Favorite tool.

Joel: Yeah, it is like as close as you’re gonna ever get to a magic bullet in terms [00:25:00] of just keeping sanity, uh, uh, happening in your life. And then after that, the following week on the 27th, we’re gonna talk about how to, uh, what the double win looks like, both at work and at home.

And we’ll talk about like, real life examples of how to find balance, especially in this season. But really, those are lessons that are applicable, uh, at all times.

Marissa: I like this because we’ve talked, I mean, if you guys have been around full focus for really any number of time, you know, we talk about the double win a lot.

Yeah. That’s something that we continue to discuss and bring about. We have a whole other podcast in case you don’t know. Called the Double Win Show, where Megan Joel’s wife, my sister, and our dad, Michael Hyatt, uh, are the host, and they interview various thought leaders on this concept of the double win.

What I love about this though is we’re really gonna help bring this into 3D color.

 

Marissa: Yeah. So it’s like we’ve talked a lot about the double win, but now I think in this episode we’re really gonna create real life examples like you talked about, so [00:26:00] it’s clear what we mean when we say. The double win.

Joel: Yeah.

And just hyper practical. I think, you know, one of the challenges is people can be like theoretically aligned to a framework but not know how to do it. Yeah. And we wanna help you do it.

Marissa: Super exciting. Well, these are gonna be some phenomenal episodes. If you haven’t yet, make sure you hit that subscribe button so that these episodes immediately show up in your feed.  All right, Joel, what are some final thoughts?

Joel: I mean, ultimately focus is not just about productivity. It’s not just about work.

Focus is about a mindset that permeates your whole life, and it’s how you get the kind of life you want, because. You know, there’s like the stuff that you want to do and then there’s the stuff that everyone else wants you to do, and there’s only so much you and there’s only so much time. And so if you want to have time to do the things that you want to do, you have to get focused so that you can actually start saying yes to the things that really matter to you and no to those other things.

And just live more intentionally with your attention.

Marissa: Yeah, and I think the big idea here is you don’t [00:29:00] actually need more hours in your day. I think it’s easy for us to think that in order to accomplish what we want, both at work and in our personal lives, that we need more time. We’ve got to have more time.

And the truth is that’s not true. You just need more focus, and we’re gonna be here every single Monday to help you get more of that in your life.

We are so glad that you’re back with us and we’re so excited to be back with you guys and we cannot wait for all this incredible content that we’re gonna be bringing you guys. So thanks for joining us on. Focus on this.

Joel: This is the most productive podcast on the internet, as you know. So please share this with your friends and be sure to subscribe and join us at focus on this podcast.com so you can join the conversation.

Marissa: And we’re gonna be back next week on Monday, back at our regular scheduled time talking about how to reset for fall. So we cannot wait to talk about this. I’m personally excited about it ’cause I’m [00:30:00] feeling the need, uh, to reset

Joel: until then, stay focused.