May 8, 2025: The Focus Factor

The world belongs to the obsessed.

When committed, people go the extremes. I’ve seen it up close, watching my kids chase after pursuits they cared about:

• Sam got up for 6:30 a.m. soccer practice every day for several summers

• Kate mastered a city’s complex bus system, just to get to work and help cover college tuition

• Jake once drove hours through a snowstorm to rescue his stranded brother

• Luke packed up for Boston, chasing a summer internship in a city where he didn’t know a soul

• McKenzie, after a lifetime of homeschooling, entered public school in 10th grade

When determination takes over, humans accomplish surprising things. And while the power of focus often reveals our true character, without a moral compass the path can lead into dark territory.

Take “narco-subs,” for example.

I learned today that drug cartels are now building semi-submersibles deep in the jungle by hand. Why? To move massive quantities of cocaine.

Created for stealth, these vessels skim the waterline and slip through surveillance nets like ghosts. They're clever… and effective. Once loaded, these subs glide across the ocean to deliver their cargo.

Again, the extremes. But it shows what happens when excuses drop and action starts. Focused momentum carries power.

Compared to jungle-built cocaine submarines, my dishwasher suddenly feels manageable.