Focus : the hidden driver of excellence / Daniel Goleman.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 261-265) and index.

The subtle faculty -- Basics -- Attention top and bottom -- The value of a mind adrift -- Finding balance -- The inner rudder -- Seeing ourselves as others see us -- A recipe for self-control -- The woman who knew too much -- The empathy triad -- Social sensitivity -- Patterns, systems, and messes -- System blindness -- Distant threats -- The myth of 10,000 hours -- Brains on games -- Breathing buddies -- How leaders direct attention -- The leader's triple focus -- What makes a leader? -- Leading for the long future.

Bestselling author Daniel Goleman returns with a groundbreaking look at the secret to high performance and fulfillment: attention.

'A highly readable manifesto for turning our smartphones off once in a while' Financial Times

For more than two decades, psychologist and journalist Daniel Goleman has been scouting the leading edge of the human sciences for what's new, surprising and important. In Focus, Goleman delves into the science of attention in all its varieties, presenting a long overdue discussion of this little-noticed and underrated mental asset that matters enormously for how we navigate life.

Goleman boils down attention research into a three parts: inner, other, and outer focus. Goleman shows why high-achievers need all three kinds of focus, as demonstrated by rich case studies from fields as diverse as competitive sports, education, the arts, and business. Those who excel rely on what Goleman calls 'Smart Practices' such as mindfulness meditation, focused preparation and recovery, positive emotions and connections, and mental 'prosthetics' which help them improve habits, add new skills, and sustain excellence. Combining cutting-edge research with practical findings, Focus reveals what distinguishes experts from amateurs and stars from average performers.