Over the last number of years I’ve found myself increasingly interested in what practices can help us be more productive. In an age of being digitally connected most of the time, while potentially empowering, it can also lead to easily being distracted. Focus for many has dwindled, with average length of news stories greatly declining as viewers’ attention spans have plummeted. At the same time, the ability to produce high-quality work, consistently, that requires long term focus and concentration, is becoming an ever more in-demand commodity.
A mentor and friend of mine, Japanese – American, Roy Tomizawa, seems to be very deliberate in his consistent production of the written word. An avid sports fan, one-year after Tokyo was awarded the 2020 Olympics, he tried, to no avail, to find an English-language book about the iconic 1964 Tokyo Olympics. He then decided to take matters into his own hands and craft a book on the subject. A former print journalist, Roy began his research and chronicles by starting a blog and website, The Olympians, chronicling all things Olympics from 1964 to 2020, with a focus on Japanese athletes and those who participated in the 1964 games. He then shared a blog post every day for 1,000 days. Then in 2019, he released his book, 1964 – The Greatest Year in the History of Japan: How the Tokyo Olympics Symbolized Japan’s Miraculous Rise from the Ashes, bringing his epic goal to fruition.
So how did he do it? How does one deliver consecutively for 1,000 days, building an incredible base of content along the way, remain focused and passionate about the goal? What habits were practiced and perfected? How can you then apply lessons learned to other areas of one’s life? In this conversation, Roy shares the experience of building a habit of consistency. Enjoy the listen.
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