--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the things you learn as president…" description: "\"One of the things you learn as president is, as powerful as this office is, you have limited bandwidth. And the time goes by really quickly and you're ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a29/barack-obama-17_attention_one-of-the-things-you-learn-as-president_1530647.jpg" --- # One of the things you learn as president is, as powerful… ![“One of the things you learn as president is, as powerful as this office is, you have limited bandwidth. And the time goes by really quickly and you're constantly making choices, and there are pressures on you from all different directions - pressures on your attention, not just pressures from…” quote by Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a29/barack-obama-17_attention_one-of-the-things-you-learn-as-president_1530647.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a29/barack-obama-17_attention_one-of-the-things-you-learn-as-president_1530647.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a29/barack-obama-17_attention_one-of-the-things-you-learn-as-president_1530647.jpg) > “One of the things you learn as president is, as powerful as this office is, you have limited bandwidth. And the time goes by really quickly and you're constantly making choices, and there are pressures on you from all different directions - pressures on your attention, not just pressures from different constituencies. And so you have to be pretty focused about where can you have the biggest, quickest impact.” [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Presidents have limited time and must prioritize high‑impact actions amid many demands. **In simple terms:** Leaders must focus on biggest impact. Key Takeaway Prioritize tasks with greatest effect. Themes leadership time management decision making focus impact Mood thoughtful determined Type advisory inspirational When to use this quote - policy decisions - crisis response - daily scheduling - team leadership Key Concepts cognitive bandwidth strategic prioritization political pressure Questions to Reflect On - What criteria you prioritize what to address? - How do you protect focus from distractions? A Different Perspective Even leaders cannot address every issue simultaneously. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Bandwidth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bandwidth/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Different directions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-directions/) [Focused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focused/) [Impact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impact/) [Making choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-choices/) [Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [Pressure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pressure/) ## Related quotes > [The division of the spoils between the victors will also provide employment for a powerful office, whose doorsteps the greedy adventurers and jealous concession…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/the-division-of-the-spoils-between-the-victors-will-also-provide/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [One of the more fatuous remarks I've heard in recent days is that 'My Life,' Clinton's autobiography, is too long and, at almost 1,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-campbell/one-of-the-more-fatuous-remarks-i-ve-heard-in-recent-days-is-that-my/) [Alastair Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-campbell/) > [You may think the president is all-powerful, but he is not. He needs a lot of guidance from the Lord.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bush/you-may-think-the-president-is-all-powerful-but-he-is-not-he-needs-a/) [Barbara Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bush/) > [The office of the president is the most powerful in the world. It is also, at times, the most powerless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/the-office-of-the-president-is-the-most-powerful-in-the-world-it-is/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [Consider Palin for President? The most powerful job on earth? You don't give the dumb cheerleader the Uzi. That's in the Bible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/consider-palin-for-president-the-most-powerful-job-on-earth-you-don-t/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [ In the evolution of the \[The Hunger Games\] movie, Gary \[Ross\] and I talked a lot about tonal bandwidth and making sure that the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-jacobson/in-the-evolution-of-the-the-hunger-games-movie-gary-ross-and-i-talked/) [Nina Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-jacobson/) > [“of bandwidth and other infrastructure far from universally available as well as issues of censorship in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-n-davidson/of-bandwidth-and-other-infrastructure-far-from-universally-available/) [Cathy N. Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-n-davidson/) > [On the Internet, there are an unlimited number of competitors. Anybody with a Flip camera is your competition. What makes it even worse is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cuban/on-the-internet-there-are-an-unlimited-number-of-competitors-anybody/) [Mark Cuban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cuban/) > [And connected is helping people stay in touch and maintain empathy for each other, and bandwidth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/and-connected-is-helping-people-stay-in-touch-and-maintain-empathy/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [“muttering. “You must need extra bandwidth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-t-geissinger/muttering-you-must-need-extra-bandwidth/) [J.T. Geissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-t-geissinger/) > [The content people have no clue. I mean, no clue. The cost of bandwidth is going down to nothing. And the size of hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-cohen/the-content-people-have-no-clue-i-mean-no-clue-the-cost-of-bandwidth/) [Bram Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-cohen/) > [Broadband, or a wide bandwidth data transmission that has the capacity to transmit a lot of information quickly, has changed the way we work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tae-yoo/broadband-or-a-wide-bandwidth-data-transmission-that-has-the-capacity/) [Tae Yoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tae-yoo/) > [Most of the network related programming in games has to do with providing a good interactive experience when playing over the internet. This matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothee-besset/most-of-the-network-related-programming-in-games-has-to-do-with/) Timothee Besset > [If a company is distributing images and video then obviously they need bandwidth solutions. But if they are looking to the mass market then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/if-a-company-is-distributing-images-and-video-then-obviously-they/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [“there is enough bandwidth here to fry an unprotected human many times over. A”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannu-rajaniemi/there-is-enough-bandwidth-here-to-fry-an-unprotected-human-many-times/) [Hannu Rajaniemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannu-rajaniemi/) ## More by Barack Obama > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The peaceful transition of power is one of the hallmarks of our democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-peaceful-transition-of-power-is-one-of-the-hallmarks-of-our/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [As opposed to getting into arguments about, well, these folks have been treated fairly so now we're going to be doing things that, very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/as-opposed-to-getting-into-arguments-about-well-these-folks-have-been/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Donald Trump is temperamentally unfit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/donald-trump-is-temperamentally-unfit/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [What we've said to the girls is: 'If you guys ever decide that you're going to get a tattoo, then mommy and me will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/what-we-ve-said-to-the-girls-is-if-you-guys-ever-decide-that-you-re/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Nobody is listening to your telephone calls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/nobody-is-listening-to-your-telephone-calls/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [All of us take offense to anyone who reaps the rewards of living in America without taking on the responsibilities of living in America.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/all-of-us-take-offense-to-anyone-who-reaps-the-rewards-of-living-in/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The world is complicated and full of grays, but there's still truth there to be found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-world-is-complicated-and-full-of-grays-but-there-s-still-truth/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [ That is another theme in the book \[Dreams from My Father\]. How do we exercise more empathy in our public discourse? How do we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/that-is-another-theme-in-the-book-dreams-from-my-father-how-do-we/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I can say across Europe that many principles that have been taken for granted here around free speech, and around civil liberties and an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-can-say-across-europe-that-many-principles-that-have-been-taken-for/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-americans-understand-the-costs-of-war-yet-as-a-country-we-will/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I want to thank the Greek people publicly for their humanitarian response to the crisis of so many migrants and refugees seeking safety in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-want-to-thank-the-greek-people-publicly-for-their-humanitarian/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [We had a farewell dinner for some of my senior staff, and generally everybody likes to talk about how cool I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-had-a-farewell-dinner-for-some-of-my-senior-staff-and-generally/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [ It's good to get fresh legs in \[the White house\]. I think that it refreshes our democracy. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/it-s-good-to-get-fresh-legs-in-the-white-house-i-think-that-it/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Believe it or not, entertainment is part of our American diplomacy, it is part of what makes us exceptional, part of what makes us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/believe-it-or-not-entertainment-is-part-of-our-american-diplomacy-it/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) [Explore all 3,624 Barack Obama quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One of the things you learn as president is, as powerful as this office is, you have limited bandwidth. 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