Focus

The Hidden Driver of Excellence

By: Daniel Goleman

Narrated by: Daniel Goleman

Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

In Focus, Psychologist and journalist Daniel Goleman, author of the #1 international best-seller Emotional Intelligence, offers a groundbreaking look at today's scarcest resource and the secret to high performance and fulfillment: attention.

Combining cutting-edge research with practical findings, Focus delves into the science of attention in all its varieties, presenting a long overdue discussion of this little-noticed and under-rated mental asset. In an era of unstoppable distractions, Goleman persuasively argues that now more than ever we must learn to sharpen focus if we are to survive in a complex world.

Goleman boils down attention research into a threesome: inner, other, and outer focus. Drawing on rich case studies from fields as diverse as competitive sports, education, the arts, and business, he shows why high-achievers need all three kinds of focus, and explains how those who rely on smart practices - mindfulness meditation, focused preparation and recovery, positive emotions and connections, and mental "prosthetics" that help them improve habits, add new skills, and sustain greatness - excel while others do not.

©2013 Daniel Goleman (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers

Interesting and informative

nicely done. well readen. information is also very useful. recommended also if you red other books of the author.

Excellent content and delivery

I was captivated by the insight into the conscience and unconscious mind’s interworking with our ability to focus. I would recommend this audio and or book to my friends and associates.

Informative, Enjoyable

it was an informative and pleasant read, on the types and science of focus, and its many applications. I only wish the book went into more detail on the HOW of focusing. t
How to develop focus, in a modern digital world.

Review

This book gives me inspiration to invest more into my mind. A lot of the lines sounded like good quotes that once you hear inspires you.

Dont see where the focus is

Misleading and very limited tips on how to improve focus/attention
Many examples were hard to relate/too dense
Narrator was not engaging so that didnt help either

Great but could have been more focused

This book is definitely worth the listen. But I believe the book diverged in some areas, namely the environmentalism and the leadership part.

Also he forgot one very important part of focusing. And that is one’s physical health. He never mentioned ones high cholesterol levels affecting Focus and cognitive ability in general.

He could’ve given more advice on building self-esteem and the meditation part. For instance keeping a gratitude jar and a self-esteem jar. Where one rights two things they are grateful for every day on a sticky note and places it in the jar. And the same thing with self-esteem.

However overall the book was very good and well worth the read.

Brilliant

A coherent, well-organized, enthousiastically presented, scientifically substantiated, holistic, zoom-in, zoom-out, piece of work of an author at his top. I didn't like some of Mr. Goleman's previous books, so now I will have to read them again

Too much preaching

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No. The book had too much information that did not deal with the topic I was expecting from the book description.

Would you recommend Focus to your friends? Why or why not?

No. Same reason as the last answer. Not enough information on the topic.

What does Daniel Goleman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His voice is nice, however too low/Quite. I just got a new phone and headset, the volume does not go up as high as my previous equipment. I had difficulty listening when there was any noise in my surroundings. I do have some hearing loss. He did a nice job reading and has a pleasant voice. I just do not like being limited that much on where I can listen to the book.

Was Focus worth the listening time?

I was expecting to hear about issues with focus/attention and how to help improve this area myself. There was very little practical recommendations for personal improvement. What I did get was a lecture on global warming, CO2 and climate change. Twice I actually went back into the Audible app to see if I had selected the wrong book to play. If the publishers summary was accurate I would have never bought this book. I don't want to discuss the pros and cons of the climate issue. I wanted a self help book to improve attention. I am an Independent and am sick of listening to democrats and republicans lie and spin the truth to fill their pockets with money or gain more power. This author on several occasions used republicans as bad examples to illustrate his point. Unfortunately on several occasions he used biased information to analyze his example. Several times he could have used president Obama or democrats to illustrate his point, but he would not say anything negative about them. As I said earlier, I am an Independent and am sick of this behavior from both major parties. If an author is going to be biased with his examples, when can I trust him. Some of the book reminded me of listening to some biased reporting on what we call our "news". If you want to improve your focus and attention look for another book.

Goleman never disappoints

Goldman's books have really been helping me better understand a lot of my issues, and better work towards becoming a better person. The topics discussed in Focus have led me to many realizations, some not even directly related to the content of the book.

I also think it is great that Daniel Goleman narrates his own books. This being a work of non-fiction, I find that having the author narrate gives the audibook some extra depth. It feels at many moments as if I was listening to the author give a lecture or a TED talk instead of listening to an audio book.

Greatly recommended for anyone. If you have read and enjoyed Emotional Intelligence, you will enjoy Focus as well!

not practical for me

Not enough practical information. a lot of interesting studies but if you are looking to develop your abilitors to focus - this is a wrong book.
Still, well done and presented with interesting facts.