In this solo talk, Jim Kwik explains how focus determines where our time, energy, and results flow, and he offers a practical framework for mastering attention in a world full of digital distractions. He introduces the brain’s Reticular Activating System (RAS) as a filter that decides which information reaches consciousness, emphasizing that the brain is fundamentally a deletion device that blocks excess stimuli. Kwik argues that we can consciously steer the RAS by asking purposeful questions, which act like a spotlight that pulls relevant information into awareness. He illustrates this with a personal anecdote about repeatedly seeing pug dogs after questioning why his sister sent him pug photos, showing how selective attention creates new patterns. Throughout, he provides concrete question‑based prompts—such as “What is the best use of this moment?” and “Who do I need to be right now?”—to reframe tasks, boost creativity, and accelerate productivity. Kwik also links the power of novel questioning to breakthrough innovation, citing examples like Elon Musk’s re‑imagining of the automobile and Peter Thiel’s “Zero to One” thought experiments. The talk concludes with a call to audit one’s dominant questions, refine them, and use them as a mental toolkit for greater focus, fulfillment, and results.
Chapters
How do you maintain your focus in a world full of rings and pings and dings and app notifications and social media alerts? Here's the thing. Where your focus goes, your time, your energy flows. Where your focus goes, your energy, your time, that's where it flows. And that's where your results show. So I want you to remember that your focus is power. And where are you putting your attention? Where are you shining your lens? The reason why I bring this up is you have part of your brain Called your reticular activating system. Reticular activating system. R-A-S. And that's part of your brain because did you know your brain is primarily a deletion device? You're trying to keep information out of your mind. Meaning if you let everything in, what would happen if you open the floodgates? We would be overloaded. We would be way overwhelmed. We would go insane because there'd be so much stimulus. so much noise. And so you could only process approximately, according to different studies, 5 to 9 bits of information at a time. But here's the thing, what we decide to let in is determined by, number one, our survival. The things that are threatening, that, that's key to our existence, we, we have to pay attention because that's how we're going to survive. But the other things that we let in is when we connect with that part of our brain, it's called an RAS, reticular activating system. That's kind of like the filter of where we're going to put our Our awareness. And how we can control it even more is through the power of questions. I believe questions are the answer. Questions are the answer. So what are the questions you're asking yourself on a regular basis to be more productive? Because the average person has about 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts a day. Wow. The challenge? 95% of those thoughts are the same thoughts you had yesterday, isn't it? And the day before that, and the day before that. And you wonder why you can't make big leaps in your productivity or in your learning or in your income or in your life, because we're having the same thoughts. And these thoughts lead to the same actions, and these actions lead to the same experiences, and those experiences lead to the same feelings, and those feelings feed those same thoughts, right? And so we always have the ability to make a choice of what are we gonna think, what are we gonna do, what are we gonna experience, like what do those experiences mean? Because everybody could have the same experience, but we all experience it differently in terms of the meaning we take from it. And also, what are we going to choose to feel from this experience as well? So going back to the first part, which is our thoughts— thoughts are things. And so a lot of those thoughts come in the form of questions. So for example, you've heard this in the reading course. I talk about that if you ever read a page in a book, got to the end, and just forgot what you just read— how embarrassing— and you go back and you read it And you still don't know what you just read. Part of it is we're not asking enough questions. For example, years ago my sister would send me postcards and emails of a very specific kind of dog, pictures of a very specific kind of breed of dog, a pug dog. And I didn't know why, so I started asking questions like, why does she keep sending me these, these photos, right? But I realized that her birthday was coming up and she was kind of planting seeds, right? You know, as a good marketer, right? Planting seeds. And I Here's the funny thing. I started seeing pug dogs everywhere. I would go to the supermarket, I'd be checking out, and somebody in front of me would be holding a pug dog. Can you imagine that? Going to the supermarket, someone's holding a pug dog. Or I'd be running in my neighborhood, right? I like to run. My last name really is Kwik, uh, and so a lot of, lot of pressure when you're growing up in school as a runner. It says Kwik right on your shirt. But, um, I started running my neighborhood, and I remember seeing somebody walking 6 pug dogs, right? And my question for you is, did these pug dogs just magically appear around in my, in my neighborhood? Did they just magically appear at the store? No, they were always there, but they were part of my brain that I was deleting. Like, all the stimulus my brain was shutting out, I wasn't paying attention to them, right? I didn't see them. I might, I might like be able to, to see them, but I wasn't really paying attention to them because it wasn't important to me until I started asking the question. You know, why is she sending me these photographs, right? Why are these pugs important? I started seeing them everywhere. Well, here's the lesson: there are pug dogs everywhere, and these are the things that you're looking for. Ask and you shall receive. When you ask a question like, why am I never good enough? You've charged that, and all of a sudden you see answer, answer, answer, answer. Pug dog, pug dog, pug dog. When you're reading and you have questions about what's going on in the book and the lessons that you can learn and how can you use that, Questions, questions, questions gives you answer, answer, answer. Questions are like magnets that pull information inside of your mind as opposed to someone trying to push information inside, right? And sometimes we learn better through pulling and attracting than we do pushing. And so what are the questions you're asking yourself and how is it affecting your performance, your peace of mind, your profitability, and also what this program is all about? Your productivity. Asking a question like, what is the best use of this moment? If you started asking yourself, what is the best use of this moment? When you're faced with a decision or a dilemma, and a lot of times we'll ask, what do I need to do? What if you ask yourself this question? Who do I need to be at this moment? Who do I need to be? Maybe I need to be bold. Maybe I need to be curious. Maybe I need to be playful. Maybe I need to be compassionate. Because the doing takes care of itself. If you choose to be a compassionate person in this moment, then you're going to do compassionate things. You're going to do kind, loving things, right? And so you could ask yourself a new question and then you could get a new answer. And that's really what I mean about lens management. It even helps with your creativity and your innovation. Did you know that a lot of technology and advances and innovations in industries came from people outside of the industry. There's a book called The Structure of Scientific Revolution. I mentioned a number of books. Remember, leaders are readers. Read to succeed in fashion and technology and automotive, because it usually takes somebody outside of an industry to ask what? A brand new question to get a brand new answer. It takes like an Elon Musk to look at the automotive industry and say, well, if we were to make a car today with today's existing technology and where technology is going, How would we make a car? So instead of some kind of incremental, you'd have more of an exponential innovation. There's a great book called Zero to One, Zero to One by Peter Thiel, and he says in there, says, what if you have your 10-year goal? Like, think about what your 10-year goal would be. Just kind of fantasize and imagine, do this thought experiment. Where would you like to be in 10 years? Now ask yourself this question: what if I had to hit my 10-year goal, but I was only given 6 months to be able to achieve it, right? You ask a new question, you're gonna get a new answer. You ask a question nobody's ever asked before, you're gonna get an answer no one's ever received. And so be conscious of your questions, because those 50,000, 60,000, 70,000 thoughts a day, a lot of those thoughts come in the form of questions. And so what would you like your questions to be? What questions would make you more focused? Maybe you're asking a question like we talk about in Unlimited list like Will Smith, who did the COVID endorsement of the book. How do I make this moment even more magical? How do I make this moment even— if you asked yourself 100 times a day, how do I make this moment even more magical, what would happen? You start seeing those pug dogs. There's an answer. There's an answer. There's an answer. How can I get the most done in the least amount of time? You'll start getting answers, right? You ask a question like, how can I make this Easier? How can I make this more effortless? I interviewed the author of Essentialism and Effortless. If you listen to our podcast, make sure you subscribe to our YouTube, subscribe and follow us on iTunes and Spotify and social media so you get alerts and notifications when we have conversations with these individuals. You know, one of the primary questions is, how do I make this easier? How can I make this more lucrative? How can I make this more fulfilling? Right? You start asking and you're going to start receiving these answers. And that's really the key to lens management. When you think about your brain, it's kind of like your questions are kind of like a spotlight. So imagine you're in a dark room, and but when you have a thought or a question, you shine a spotlight in that area. And where are you not shining the light? Often the treasure you seek is hidden in that area that you're avoiding. Often the treasure we seek in life is hidden in the areas that we're avoiding. So where are you avoiding shining a light on? Like maybe you don't wanna look at your finances. You don't wanna pull up your credit report. You know, you don't wanna go into the doctor's to get a checkup, right? Maybe you're afraid of looking at those answers so you can make better decisions. And my spark for you, what I'd like to have in this conversation is take a small, simple step. What is the best question you could ask to be more productive, to be more happy? Like, how can I get this done and enjoy the process? That's a great question. How can I get through my, my emails or this meeting? How can I make this meeting more rewarding and more fun? Then all of a sudden you start getting answers and your team will start getting answers. And do this with your kids also as well. So remember, questions are the answer. Questions are an amazing tool that you have in your productivity toolkit. It's in your mental toolkit. And you can pull it out at any given time and be conscious of the questions you're asking yourself. If you're asking questions like, how do I get people to like me? Or why am I not enough? Or why can't I ever do— why can't I ever be productive? Then you're gonna get all these answers. But if you ask yourself, how can I get the most done in the least amount of time and have fun in the process? Guess what? You're gonna see answers because you're gonna shine a spotlight. What if you ask yourself a question like, what am I grateful for today? Or what could I be grateful for today? What can I really appreciate in my life right now? And it'll put you in a more resourceful state because remember, what you appreciate appreciates. It tends to grow. And you don't have to wait for a greater life to feel grateful. Start feeling grateful and you'll have a greater life. But it starts with the questions you ask yourself. That's lens management. So I have a question for you. What are the dominant questions you're asking yourself on a regular basis? And are they making you more productive, more peaceful, more profitable? You know, does it bring more pleasure in your life, or is it moving in the other directions? And here's the thing: what can you ask yourself? So list your dominant questions down below and ask yourself, what— how can I make these questions better? How can I make these questions more useful? And how can I make the most out of this moment? How can I get all my work done instead of spending 30 days on it? How can I get it done in the next 3 days? Like, if you gave your children 30 days to clean their room, they're going to take 30 days to clean their room. But if you have a project and you gave yourself 3 hours, the same thing will happen also as well. And it really starts with your first-year thinking. So ask the right questions and you'll get the right answers.
