# One Can't Do It All By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2023-06-24 Ambitious people attempt to do too much. Being capable requires discipline and focus. One can’t do it all; much effort is consumed pursuing marginal projects. Selectivity is necessary to determine what to do when one can do many things. Again, one can’t do it all. There is no shortage of important work. If one has talent, many people will ask for help. Determining where and when to engage is foundational to success. With its focus on opportunity costs, this might be an insight that people trained in economics know better than most. So, how does one go about determining what one will do? Ideally, one will interrogate what one hopes to accomplish through action. For some, action is a means of advancement. For others, it is a way of improving the lives of others. Perhaps it is a way to achieve something of merit. There is a benefit when there is a strategic goal behind the action. Strategy can provide coherence to what would otherwise be random execution. The selection of focus in action is perhaps more central as we enter the age of choice. A potential paradox emerges as one realizes that one can’t do it all and then develops a strategic framework for focus and action – strategically ambitious people do fewer things. #### Related Items [[Focus]] [[Attention]] [[Priorities]] [[Talent]] [[The Age of Choice]] [[Strategy]] [[Ambitious]]