Quotes about focus (662 quotes, page 7)

“To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree. When it was first said that the sun stood still and the world turned round, the common sense of mankind declared the doctrine false; but the old saying of Vox populi, vox Dei, as every philosopher knows, cannot be trusted in science. Reason tells me, that if numerous gradations from a simple and imperfect eye to one complex and perfect can be shown to exist, each grade being useful to its possessor, as is certainly the case; if further, the eye ever varies and the variations be inherited, as is likewise certainly the case; and if such variations should be useful to any animal under changing conditions of life, then the difficulty of believing that a perfect and complex eye could be formed by natural selection, though insuperable by our imagination, should not be considered as subversive of the theory. How a nerve comes to be sensitive to light, hardly concerns us more than how life itself originated; but I may remark that, as some of the lowest organisms, in which nerves cannot be detected, are capable of perceiving light, it does not seem impossible that certain sensitive elements in their sarcode should become aggregated and developed into nerves, endowed with this special sensibilites.”

Charles Darwin book On the Origin of Species (1859)

On the Origin of Species (1859)

Imagination , Light , Sun , Nature

“The age difference between myself (29) + oldest House members is ~60yrs. For better or worse, young people will live in the world Congress leaves behind. That’s why I focus on our future: addressing climate change & runaway income inequality, ending school-to-prison pipelines, etc.”

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (1989) American politician

Twitter post, https://twitter.com/Ocasio2018/status/1076894689352142848 (23 December 2018)
Twitter Quotes (2018)

School , Housing , Future , People

“I changed my diet and I’ve not looked back since. You feel better, you look better. I cut out a lot of the stuff I shouldn’t have been eating and that was primarily meat, dairy, wheat, sugar — those were the four main things. … Once you get into a pattern I’ve found it quite enjoyable. It has helped me sleep and I wake up feeling less tired. I noticed a massive difference in how I felt in about a week. I have more energy and focus and it wasn’t difficult. I don’t like to use the word diet because that’s the reason I never went on a diet before — the word diet makes me miserable.”

Simon Cowell (1959) English reality television judge, television producer and music executive

Quoted in "Meat-loving Simon Cowell reveals he’s gone VEGAN as he turns 60 this year" https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/8924018/simon-cowell-vegan-60th-birthday/, thesun.co.uk (23 April 2019)
2010s

Sleep , Help , Making love , Feeling

“For years I lived under the impression that I was the master of my life, and the CEO of my own personal brand. But a few hours of meditation were enough to show me that I hardly had any control of myself. I was not the CEO – I was barely the gatekeeper. I was asked to stand at the gateway of my body – the nostrils – and just observe whatever comes in or goes out. Yet after a few moments I lost my focus and abandoned my post.”

Yuval Noah Harari book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century

21 Lessons for the 21st Century

Personality , Life

“The loss of many traditional jobs in everything from art to healthcare will partly be offset by the creation of new human jobs. GPs who focus on diagnosing known diseases and administering familiar treatments will probably be replaced by AI doctors. But precisely because of that, there will be much more money to pay human doctors and lab assistants to do groundbreaking research and develop new medicines or surgical procedures.”

Yuval Noah Harari book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century

21 Lessons for the 21st Century

Money , Loss , Art , Disease

“There is one very big difference between me and Boris, which is that I am foreign secretary and I have a very big job to do to try and get this deal over the line and that has to be my focus. I think that what matters is we have a cabinet that believes in Brexit.”

Jeremy Hunt (1966) British politician

Brexit: Jeremy Hunt says 'absolute priority' to avoid European polls https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47933511, BBC News, 15 April 2019
2019

Thinking

“I am very sorry that Andy Coulson has decided to resign as my Director of Communications, although I understand that the continuing pressures on him and his family mean that he feels compelled to do so. Andy has told me that the focus on him was impeding his ability to do his job and was starting to prove a distraction for the Government. During his time working for me, Andy has carried out his role with complete professionalism. He has been a brilliant member of my team and has thrown himself at the job with skill and dedication. He can be extremely proud of the role he has played, including for the last eight months in Government. I wish Andy all the very best for his future, which I am certain will be a successful one.”

David Cameron (1966) Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Resignation of Andy Coulson statement (21 January 2011) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/8273786/Andy-Coulson-resignation-David-Camerons-statement.html
2010s, 2011

Family , Time , Understanding , Success

“We intend to make use of the natural buffer zone of the Taiwan Strait and our geostrategic advantages (in the case of conflicts with Mainland China). We adopt innovative and asymmetric concepts to focus our investment on systems that are mobile, hard to find, agile, cheap, numerous, survivable and operationally effective.”

Chang Guan-chung (1959) Taiwanese military personel

Chang Guan-chung (2019) cited in " Taiwan seeking long-term U.S. logistic support: defense official http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201910080004.aspx" on Focus Taiwan, 8 October 2019

Making love , Nature

“In definitional terms, a process is simply a structured, measured set of activities designed to produce a specific output for a particular customer or market. It implies a strong emphasis on how work is done within an organization, in contrast to a product focus’s emphasis on what.”

Thomas H. Davenport (1954) American academic

A process is thus a specific ordering of work activities across time and space, with a beginning and an end, and clearly defined inputs and outputs: a structure for action.
Process Innovation: Reengineering Work through Information Technology, 1993

Strong

“I think we lose and we will miss a great champion on the track. He beat all the records so he has the best numbers in Formula One but I think maybe F1 will focus more on sport after that.”

Michael Schumacher (1969) German racing driver

Fernando Alonso, Formula One world champion and rival
BBC SPORT: Thoughts on Schumacher (2006)

Sport , Thinking

“His message is one of hope and peace, and he has inspired millions throughout the world. As an educator, the opportunity to learn has been central and the focus of my life. I have witnessed brilliant teachers and eager students turn classrooms into magical places. Prem Rawat reminds us that magic begins with people, and it’s within each person. That the possibility of peace and the possibility of living a life to the fullest begins with recognizing the value of life itself. That is, in my opinion, the deepest learning and is certainly a curriculum for everyone.”

Prem Rawat (1957) controversial spiritual leader

Dr. Eduardo Padron, President of w:Miami Dade College (June 16, 2005)
About, 2000s

Peace , Personality , People , Learning

“It might also mean greater business and government support for maternity and paternity leave and day care so that the middle class and the poor can get some of the educational benefits that the early academic intervention of the rich provides their children. Fundamentally, it means rethinking our still-persistent notion that educational problems should be solved by schools alone. The more we do to ensure that all children have similar cognitively stimulating early childhood experiences, the less we will have to worry about failing schools. This in turn will enable us to let our schools focus on teaching the skills — how to solve complex problems, how to think critically and how to collaborate — essential to a growing economy and a lively democracy.”

Sean Reardon American sociologist

No Rich Child Left Behind, 2013

Childhood , School , Democracy , Business

“There is a reason why I focus more in my carreer on practical things like relationships and what to do with emotions - it's because all of this interdimensional information that I could have a conversation about with you, DOES NOTHING FOR YOUR DAILY LIFE. Nothing. Really, it doesn't matter how many extraterrestrials there are in the universe and what they are doing in your day to day life… What matter's is whether you can have a relationship because life literally is relationships. Even if you want to have a conversation about the universe - it's about your relationship to the universe.”

Teal Swan (1984) American spiritual teacher

Universe , Life

“Jesus Christ has to suffer and be rejected. … Suffering and being rejected are not the same. Even in his suffering Jesus could have been the celebrated Christ. Indeed, the entire compassion and admiration of the world could focus on the suffering. Looked upon as something tragic, the suffering could in itself convey its own value, its own honor and dignity. But Jesus is the Christ who was rejected in his suffering. Rejection removed all dignity and honor from his suffering. It had to be dishonorable suffering. Suffering and rejection express in summary form the cross of Jesus. Death on the cross means to suffer and to die as one rejected and cast out. It was by divine necessity that Jesus had to suffer and be rejected. Any attempt to hinder what is necessary is satanic. Even, or especially, if such an attempt comes from the circle of disciples, because it intends to prevent Christ from being Christ. The fact that it is Peter, the rock of the church, who makes himself guilty doing this just after he has confessed Jesus to be the Christ and has been commissioned by Christ, shows that from its very beginning the church has taken offense at the suffering of Christ. It does not want that kind of Lord, and as Christ's church it does not want to be forced to accept the law of suffering from its Lord.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) German Lutheran pastor, theologian, dissident anti-Nazi

Source: Discipleship (1937), Discipleship and the Cross, p. 84

Law , Death , Suffering , Christ

“It is never challenging when you only do one thing in life. It is difficult to do everything, but if you specialise in one thing, you can focus with your head bent over one single thing the whole day and you have less likelihood of getting things wrong.”

Brunello Cucinelli (1953) Italian entrepreneur and philanthropist

Source: CEO Talk | Brunello Cucinelli, Founder and Chief Executive https://www.businessoffashion.com/amp/articles/ceo-talk/ceo-talk-brunello-cucinelli-founder-chief-executive-brunello-cucinelli Imran Amed, Business of Fashion, 1 July 2014

Life

“Women were my obvious focus…because it is not always easy having power and being female…That’s the way it was. It wasn’t that all men were terrible or that the situation was unbearable. It was a cultural problem.”

Goldie Hawn (1945) American actress, film director, and producer.

On playing female characters during the 1980s who were women caught in a macho world in “Goldie Hawn: ‘I was born with a high set point for happiness’” https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/apr/13/goldie-hawn-i-was-born-with-a-high-set-point-for-happiness in The Guardian (2020 Apr 13)

Way , Problem , Women , Men

“What we were doing was sort of trying to use our relationships that we had built up, first through Young Republicans and then through NCPAC, and to create a business that would focus on political consulting.”

Paul Manafort (1949) American political consultant

Get Me Roger Stone (2017)

Business

“The second reason I focus on capitalism is that the responses to today's economic collapse by Trump, the GOP and most Democrats carefully avoid any criticism of capitalism. They all debate the virus, China, foreigners, other politicians, but never the system they all serve. When Trump and others press people to return to churches and jobs—despite risking their and others' lives—they place reviving a collapsed capitalism ahead of public health.”

Richard D. Wolff (1942) American economist

COVID-19 and the Failures of Capitalism (2020)

People , Health

“In the light of the coronavirus pandemic, I focus criticism on capitalism and the vulnerabilities it has accumulated for several reasons. Viruses are part of nature. They have attacked human beings—sometimes dangerously—in both distant and recent history. In 1918, the Spanish Flu killed nearly 700,000 in the United States and millions elsewhere. Recent viruses include SARS, MERS and Ebola. What matters to public health is each society's preparedness: stockpiled tests, masks, ventilators, hospital beds, trained personnel, etc., to manage dangerous viruses. In the U.S., such objects are produced by private capitalist enterprises whose goal is profit. It was not profitable to produce and stockpile such products, that was not and still is not being done. Nor did the U.S. government produce or stockpile those medical products. Top U.S. government personnel privilege private capitalism; it is their primary objective to protect and strengthen. The result is that neither private capitalism nor the U.S. government performed the most basic duty of any economic system: to protect and maintain public health and safety. U.S. capitalism's response to the coronavirus pandemic continues to be what it has been since December 2019: too little, too late. It failed. It is the problem.”

Richard D. Wolff (1942) American economist

COVID-19 and the Failures of Capitalism (2020)

History , Light , Health , Nature

“The publishing world tends to focus more on the “young”, less on the “adult.””

Juno Dawson (1981) British youth fiction author

But I spend lots of time with teenagers and they’re truly the broadband generation. They’ve been online all their lives and seen things that would make milk curdle: beheadings, graphic violence, hardcore porn. Shielding them is never going to work. What makes this book YA is that it tackles issues in a non-judgmental way. We know these things exist, so let’s talk about them…

On why her young adult novel Clean contains drugs, sex and swearing in “Juno Dawson: ‘Teenagers have seen things that would make milk curdle’” https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/apr/01/juno-dawson-clean-interview-transgender-anorexia-drugs in The Guardian (2018 Apr 1)

World

“Problems arise from shackles imposed by ourselves.
Our minds are entangled by trifles.
Take my advice to shake off all the worries and focus on finding yourself a way out,
bide your time and every cloud has a silver lining.”

Deng Feng-Zhou (1949) Chinese poet, Local history writer, Taoist Neidan academics and Environmentalist.

(zh-TW) 枷鎖纏身困擾滋，紅塵瑣事縛如絲。
勸君滌慮尋方向，可待雲開日照時。

"Struggling" (奮發)

Source: Deng Feng-Zhou, "Deng Feng-Zhou Classical Chinese Poetry Anthology". Volume 6, Tainan, 2018: 82.

Way , Problem , Time

“'Because it's there' could never be enough of an explanation for entering politics. ... My focus on work comes from my own childhood and my own personal experience.
My parents, particularly Dad, taught me through word and deed that the world does not owe you a living.
That you should expect throughout your life to be required to earn what you intend to spend.”

Julia Gillard (1961) Australian politician and lawyer, 27th Prime Minister of Australia

From the autobiography

Childhood , Personality , Parent , World

“Most of us struggle for years against beliefs that have been deeply rooted in our being. We do everything we can think of to try to resist and fight against the beliefs when all we really need to do is sit down and directly pull these roots up so we can see them clearly and then replace them. It may be a bit time consuming, but look at it this way… you have the choice to struggle against them every day of your busy life or to take an hour or two of your time and focus specifically on doing the work necessary to alter them for good so you no longer have to struggle against them.”

Teal Swan (1984) American spiritual teacher

Time , Business , Thinking , Way

“When people are afraid, people become narcissistic. It is not that people are ‘bad’ for doing this. It is simply that the focus naturally shifts to self-preservation. It is a knee jerk reaction… One that is biologically wired into us.”

Teal Swan (1984) American spiritual teacher

Bad luck , People , Nature , Self-confidence

“We must also focus on helping those most vulnerable to having their jobs displaced due to the rapid pace of technological change, and work together to assist them in learning a new skill so they can continue to provide for themselves and for their families.”

Ivanka Trump (1981) American businesswoman, socialite, fashion model and daughter of Donald Trump

6 March 2019 https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-american-workforce-policy-advisory-board-meeting/
2019

Family , Help , Learning , Change

“The word “warrior” is not added lightly. A warrior makes himself aware of the barriers to achieving his purpose. Then, rather than focus on what is standing in his way, a warrior focuses on how to get past those barriers. Which is exactly what he’ll be teaching his children.”

Warren Farrell (1943) author, spokesperson, expert witness, political candidate

Source: The Boy Crisis (2018), pp. 176

Way , Past , Children , Making love

“High pressure salesmen focus on the short term incentives to outweigh the long term cons”

Isaac Mashman (2000) businessman, speaker

“To focus on your legacy when you’re alive, is to detract from the time you could spend building it.”

Isaac Mashman (2000) businessman, speaker

Time

“The centre of all our efforts in caring for the sick must be the person himself or herself. Our attention must be directed to each person at this particular moment of their journey of life. In our modern world, and even within our health system, we face the danger of depersonalisation. Too easily, we can focus on procedures and techniques, on the task at hand and the hoped-for outcome. The challenge is to remain focused on the particular person before us, on their physical well-being and also on their emotional, mental and spiritual well-being. It is their particular fears and hopes, struggles and frailties that we are called to receive and to carry with them.”

Albert LeGatt (1953) Catholic bishop

World Day of the Sick https://www.archsaintboniface.ca/media/Archeveque-Archbishop/World-Day-of-the-Sick-2015_1.pdf (February 11, 2015)

Fear , World , Personality , Life

“If our engineers became politicians, Huawei would have collapsed. Engineers should focus on developing good products. They don't need to read about politics. What's the point of them caring about political issues? If our engineers are all out protesting, who is going to pay them?”

Ren Zhengfei (1944) Chinese businessman

Interview with the Economist (September 10, 2019)

Reading

“You can think: I have scored once, it’s enough,” he said. “You can lose focus, start freestyling. Or you can think I have scored once, so maybe I can score another. Is one enough, or do you want more? You need the button.”

Robert Lewandowski (1988) Polish association football player

"The Making of a Goal Machine" https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/sports/soccer/bayern-munich-robert-lewandowski.html (May 8, 2021)

Thinking

“Through the lens, I focus on the details that convey strong emotions and feelings-Edy kasawuli”

Edykasawuli7

Strong , Feeling

“The reason why some shows do not last is that their main focus is on making money bu that is not the case with me.What i seek is to add value first in people`s lives with what I do.”

Mai Chisamba (1952)

https://www.chronicle.co.zw/mai-chisamba-show-will-go-on-as-long-as-i-live-says-dr-chisamba/ The Chronicle ( May 25, 2019)

Money , People

“The only thing that is certain now is that we must focus all our energies solely on racial survival and allow no peripheral issues like argument over past institutions to divide our energies.”

David Lane (white nationalist) (1938–2007) American white supremacist, convicted felon

An Interview by Focus Fourteen with David lane
Focus Fourteen

Past

“At the end of the day, it would be wise to turn all of your focus and energy on achieving mental over physical strength.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

“Finally, to be an open-minded person, you must let go of how you look at things and focus on how they are in themselves.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Personality

“To love with all your heart is forcing yourself to go beyond the physical attributes and focus on something much bigger.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Heart , Love

“What you want is achieved by deciding that you can get it: where you focus your attention, attraction flows.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: (it) Quello che vuoi si ottiene decidendo che puoi ottenerlo: dove concentri la tua attenzione, fluisce l'attrazione.
Source: prevale.net

“Focus on the work because, personally, that brings me through the toughest day — that I’m focusing on the work at hand instead of [all] of these things that are bombarding me. The chatter in your mind is strong. So, you need to be stronger.”

Tzi Ma (1962) Hong Kong American actor

As quoted in "How ‘Mulan’s’ Tzi Ma Became Hollywood’s Go-To Asian Dad (Watch)" in Variety (4 September 2020) https://variety.com/2020/film/news/tzi-ma-mulan-hollywood-career-1234758692/

Strong , Personality

“When I heard I was nominated, I thought an actress should only focus on acting, and I didn't want to feel anxious wondering if I will get awarded.”

Kim Hye-ja (1941) South Korean actress

On her nomination for Grand Prize (Daesang) in "'Daesang' winner Kim Hye Ja says Nam Joo Hyuk convinced her to attend the 'Baeksang Arts Awards'" in Allkpop (2 May 2019) https://www.allkpop.com/article/2019/05/daesang-winner-kim-hye-ja-says-nam-joo-hyuk-convinced-her-to-attend-the-baeksang-arts-awards

Feeling

“Why can’t it be simple? If we were only to focus on gender, it would make things so much easier. But of course, it has been this yearning toward simplicity that has racialized feminism as white, that has been responsible for its false universals.”

Angela Davis (1944) American political activist, scholar, and author

Difficult Dialogues (2009)

Falseness , Universe

“[W]e must decide which choices in our lives really matter and focus our time and energy there, letting many other opportunities pass us by.”

Barry Schwartz book The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less

The Paradox of Choice (2004)

Time

“The compulsion to possess and hold on to things is not unique. Everyone who wants to follow the warrior's path has to rid himself of this fixation in order not to focus our dreaming body on the weak face of the second attention.”

Carlos Castaneda (1925–1998) Peruvian-American author

Source: The Eagle's Gift, (1981)

Dreams

“We unwittingly focus on fear and distrust, as if those were the only possible options available to us, while all along we have the alternative of deliberately centering our attention on the opposite, the mystery, the wonder of what is happening to us.”

Carlos Castaneda (1925–1998) Peruvian-American author

Source: The Eagle's Gift, (1981)

Fear

“I think if I got a role or a new series came in, then I’d have to focus on the shooting. At that moment, I don't think I can do modeling at the same time as acting, but, if I don't have a time [where I need to be shooting], then I could do modeling. I could manage. I'm a very flexible person!”

HoYeon Jung (1994) South Korean model, actress

Source: "“Squid Game” Star Hoyeon Jung on Her Rapid Rise, BLACKPINK’s Jennie, and What’s Next" in Teen Vogue https://www.teenvogue.com/story/squid-game-star-hoyeon-jung-interview (6 October 2021)

Personality , Time , Thinking

“In recent decades the effects of environmental change on insect populations has been the focus of my research. It is widely recognised that invasive alien species, climate change and habitat destruction are all major players in the declines of many insects. Ladybirds are no exception.”

Helen Roy (1969) British ecologist and entomologist

Source: Ladybirds: an interview with Helen Roy, Ecological Entomologist at the BRC https://www.nhbs.com/blog/ladybirds-helen-roy (14 May 2013)

Change

“In terms of economic achievements we still need better results - still unemployment and poverty is a main concern for the government of Mongolia, so we have to focus now more on economic development issues.”

Nambaryn Enkhbayar (1958) Mongolian politician, Leader of Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party

Source: "Mongolia, US Sign Developmental Aid Agreement" in Voice of America https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-2007-10-23-voa2/405655.html (1 November 2009)

“The tendency is to focus on the worst-case scenario and to shy away from potentially controversial science; it is time, I think, we looked instead at the benefits.”

James D. Watson (1928) American molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist.

Source: DNA: The Story of the Genetic Revolution (2003/2017), Chapter 13, “Who We Are: Nature vs. Nurture” (p. 372)

Time , Thinking , Science

“It's absolutely correct that climate and environmental movements should focus on systemic change and not on bamboo toothbrushes. It's mainly governments who control energy infrastructure. And yes governments should support community-owned energy initiatives.”

Carola Rackete (1988) German merchant navy captain

Source: Twitter https://twitter.com/CaroRackete/status/1274253317133271043 (20 June 2020)

Communication , Change , Support

“Domestic and matrimonial issues, which have been on the rise for a long time, will decrease if husbands and wives treat each other with love and respect and focus upon the demands of their faith.”

Mirza Masroor Ahmad (1950) spiritual leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

Addresses
Source: Address at Majlis-e-Shura UK https://www.alislam.org/articles/majlis-e-shura-uk-2018/, 23rd June, 2018

Time , Faith , Love

“You need to focus on what’s in front of you, what your character’s going through in that exact moment. I don’t want to know the future. I don’t want to know too far ahead.”

Andrea Brooks (1989) Canadian actor

Source: Katie McGrath and Andrea Brooks Interview: Supergirl Season 5 https://www.showbizjunkies.com/tv/supergirl-katie-mcgrath-andrea-brooks-interview/ (September 23, 2019)

Future

“The way you accomplish things is you focus on stuff where people are in agreement. What you do is seek common ground with people who are on the other side of the aisle and go get it done. What I found in Salem is about 80% was just the hard work of governing.”

Cliff Bentz (1952) American politician

Source: Bentz discusses wildfires, housing and uniting the country with Chieftain https://www.wallowa.com/news/local/bentz-discusses-wildfires-housing-and-uniting-the-country-with-chieftain/article_16f55588-1889-11eb-9dc1-dfde60328f0c.html (27 October 2020)

People , Way

“Invest for the future and do not lose focus. In life you should know what you want then it will not be easy for someone to shift your focus.”

Amantle Montsho (1983) Motswana sprinter

"Simply the Greatest" (2020)

Future , Life

“I’m just wishing I can play with higher-level players, so I can get used to that speed and focus while training at that speed. If I get used to playing with slower players, mentally it’s not pushing my limit.”

Beiwen Zhang (1990) badminton player

"Beiwen Zhang – Adapting To Every Challenge" in Badminton Pan America http://www.badmintonpanam.org/beiwen-zhang-adapting-to-every-challenge/ (15 December 2020)

Speed , Training