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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
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Never Play It Safe summary
Chase Jarvis
A Practical Guide to Freedom, Creativity, and a Life You Love
17 mins
Brief summary
Never Play It Safe encourages us to embrace creativity and risk-taking in our personal and professional lives. Chase Jarvis shares insights and anecdotes to inspire bold choices and foster growth beyond comfort zones.
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Never Play It Safe
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Attention: The superpower that shapes your life
Every day, the average person checks their phone 144 times, their attention fractured by notifications, emails, and endless scrolling. In a world where your focus is constantly under attack, the ability to direct your attention has become a rare and valuable skill. But what if, instead of trying to capture attention, you learned to control and protect it? This is where the power of attention – the first of our seven levers – comes into play.
Attention determines how you experience the world and shapes the quality of your life. By training it, you can shift from a reactive existence to an intentional one, choosing where to focus instead of being pulled in every direction.
Studies and historical examples highlight this principle. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, while imprisoned in an Italian work camp during World War II, immersed himself in the strategy and challenge of chess. Through this, he was able to escape the surrounding atrocities, channeling his attention inward and creating a state of intense focus and growth. His ability to direct attention transformed his reality.
To take control of your focus, start with simple practices like meditation or journaling. Meditation strengthens awareness by guiding your mind back to a single point of focus, while journaling helps clarify thoughts and intentions. You can also audit your relationships and environment by choosing positive influences and creating clean, inspiring spaces to nurture your goals.
Protecting your attention from distractions, both external and internal, is equally important. Social media, endless news cycles, and task-switching deplete your focus, but so can constant worry and self-doubt. Acknowledge distractions without judgment, and redirect your attention to the present moment.
With practice, attention becomes a superpower, fueling creativity, growth, and a life you truly design.
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What is Never Play It Safe about?
Never Play It Safe (2024) explores the idea that playing it safe can hinder personal growth and creativity, advocating instead for embracing risk and uncertainty. It provides practical tools like leveraging intuition, managing failure, and fostering play to unlock potential and live authentically. Through relatable stories and actionable strategies, it inspires a bold, creative approach to achieving fulfillment and success.
Who should read Never Play It Safe?
- Aspiring creatives seeking inspiration and actionable strategies
- Professionals aiming to overcome fear of failure
- Students interested in unlocking their creative potential
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