Focus on the Core and Eliminate Distractions

As an entrepreneur, your scarcest resources are time and attention. In an era of information overload, where trends and technologies evolve rapidly, chasing every “opportunity” will only dilute your focus and lead you astray. Real success often comes from doubling down on the core, saying no to everything else.

When Steve Jobs returned to Apple, he made sweeping cuts to the product line and redirected the company’s resources toward a few core projects. This strategy ultimately led to the creation of transformative products like the iPhone and iPad. His logic was simple: focus energy on creating extraordinary things.

For entrepreneurs, focus doesn’t mean abandoning innovation; it means channeling creativity into a well-defined area. By digging deep into one direction, you can build a moat that protects your competitive advantage. Continuously ask yourself:
“Does what I’m working on offer enough leverage? Can it become a sustainable, long-term strength?”

Passion: The Foundation of the Long Game

Entrepreneurship is not a sprint; it’s a marathon full of variables and uncertainties. Without passion for what you’re doing, it’s easy to lose motivation when faced with challenges.

Ask yourself this question:
“If I knew the road ahead would be full of obstacles, would I still choose to do this?”
The answer often reveals where your true passion lies. It is passion that keeps you moving forward during critical moments, rather than being derailed by short-term setbacks.

Elon Musk’s entrepreneurial journey is a testament to this. From SpaceX’s failed launches to Tesla’s production challenges, he faced numerous near-death experiences for his companies. While some called him crazy, he never wavered in his commitment to space exploration and making life multi-planetary. Eventually, SpaceX revolutionized the aerospace industry by achieving reusable rockets.

Control Variables and Avoid Costly Mistakes

The essence of entrepreneurship is controlling variables, not taking reckless risks.
Charlie Munger famously said, “Avoiding mistakes is itself a competitive advantage.” For entrepreneurs, errors not only waste resources but can also derail entire projects. Instead of chasing speed, avoiding avoidable mistakes often helps you go further.

In practice, this mindset aligns with the concept of Minimum Viable Product (MVP) from The Lean Startup:

  • Quickly validate assumptions with minimal cost while collecting critical feedback.
  • Avoid wasting resources on directions that prove unviable.
  • Make incremental progress toward the right goals with each iteration.

Great entrepreneurs constantly ask themselves:
“What can I learn from this step? Which variables are crucial to test right now?”

Slow Is Fast: Patience as a Competitive Edge

In a world that celebrates rapid success, “slow is fast” might sound counterintuitive. Yet, companies that prioritize patience and long-term value often outpace their competitors. Patience isn’t about avoiding opportunities; it’s about committing to enduring growth.

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is a prime example of long-term thinking. Every major decision at Amazon was guided by its potential for long-term market leadership, not short-term profits. As Bezos repeatedly emphasized in his shareholder letters:
“What matters most is long-term customer value, not quarterly earnings.”

This commitment to long-term growth enabled Amazon to build formidable moats in e-commerce and cloud computing. For entrepreneurs, chasing short-term wins might yield temporary growth, but only steady and consistent accumulation leads to exponential returns.

Deep Thinking: Asking the Right Questions

An entrepreneur’s greatest obstacle isn’t the competition—it’s their own cognitive blind spots. In a complex and ever-changing environment, asking the right questions is more important than rushing to solve problems.
Before making decisions, ask yourself:

  • “Is this the problem I should be solving?”
  • “Is this the most pressing issue right now?”
  • “Will solving this problem advance my core objectives?”

The core competency of elite entrepreneurs lies in identifying the underlying logic behind surface-level problems and allocating resources to solve the few that truly matter.

Not all problems deserve to be solved, nor do all variables require control. Your mission is to pinpoint the critical factors that determine success or failure and focus your efforts there.

Ultimately, we’re not just building products—we’re shaping better versions of ourselves.