𝗦𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗧𝗡 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗲, 𝗜’𝗺 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗺—𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱.

I’ve just finished supporting the 9th IAA Planetary Defense Conference in Stellenbosch, and in 20 years of working events, this one easily ranks as one of the most fascinating.

In attendance, some of the most interesting scientists I have ever met, including actual retired astronauts. Extraordinary humans who’ve looked down on Earth and returned with a different kind of perspective.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨: 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦.

It came in a conversation with Alex Karl, one of the organisers. Alex presented and moderated a session on Day 5 – but what makes his job really unique is this: he speaks to astronauts for a living.

He is the EUROCOM and Crew Support Engineer at ESA’s European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany. One of his astronaut colleagues gave him a piece of advice that he shared with me and it’s stuck with me – and will probably stay with me for life:

“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬.”

Let that land for a second.

In a world obsessed with multitasking, chasing notifications, and glorifying busy… Astronauts take the opposite approach.

They don’t half-focus. Because in space, distraction can be fatal.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗛𝗶𝘁 𝗠𝗲 𝗦𝗼 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗱

Most entrepreneurs I work with, and I’ve been guilty of this too, we are constantly living in the next thing.

While we’re with a client, we’re thinking about tomorrow’s proposal.

While with our team, we’re replying to notifications on our watch.

While spending time with family, our brains are solving work problems.

We’re everywhere. And nowhere.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺?

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦?

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆

As I sat in the lounge, I felt the pull.

Check emails.

Scroll socials.

Start prepping the next thing.

Instead, I shut it out. I opened a blank doc. I wrote this, I had 20 min.

Because this is the most important thing I’m doing right now.

It may not be dramatic. It may not be mission-critical. But it’s focused. Intentional. One thing at a time.

And here’s what I realised:

𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆.
Try This: A Simple Focus Reset

Next time you catch yourself feeling scattered, ask:

1. What’s the most important thing I’m doing right now?
2. Am I doing it fully, or halfway?
3. What needs to be shut out so this gets my best attention?

You don’t need an astronaut suit to make better decisions. You just need focus.

𝗔 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲

If clarity, presence, and better thinking are things you want more of, I built something for exactly that.

It’s called AskDavid Ai. https://askdavid.co/ask

No fluff. Just honest prompts, smart thinking, and strategic support – so you can stop reacting and start leading.

Written by David Wilson (human), accelerated by AI (the precision) May 2025.