--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Instead of focusing on the work, you…" description: "\"Instead of focusing on the work, you focus on the entropy and the chaos and you get a byproduct.\" — Ben Chestnut" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/ben-chestnut-55250_chaos_instead-of-focusing-on-the-work-you-focu_2960205.jpg" --- # Instead of focusing on the work, you focus on the entropy… ![“Instead of focusing on the work, you focus on the entropy and the chaos and you get a byproduct.” quote by Ben Chestnut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/ben-chestnut-55250_chaos_instead-of-focusing-on-the-work-you-focu_2960205.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/ben-chestnut-55250_chaos_instead-of-focusing-on-the-work-you-focu_2960205.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/ben-chestnut-55250_chaos_instead-of-focusing-on-the-work-you-focu_2960205.jpg) > “Instead of focusing on the work, you focus on the entropy and the chaos and you get a byproduct.” [Ben Chestnut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-chestnut/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Focusing on disorder rather than purpose leads to unintended outcomes. **In simple terms:** Obsessing on chaos creates unwanted results. Key Takeaway Prioritize clear goals over chaos. Themes focus entropy productivity strategy management Mood analytical motivational Type advice reflection When to use this quote - project planning - team meetings - startup environments Key Concepts systems thinking goal setting risk assessment Questions to Reflect On - What chaos can be harnessed productively? - How do you shift focus from entropy to purpose? A Different Perspective May undervalue the role of uncertainty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chaos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaos/) [Entropy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entropy/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) ## Related quotes > [“A law in physics, called the second law of thermodynamics, says that entropy, or chaos (the opposite of growth…a winding-down process), increases over time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cloud/a-law-in-physics-called-the-second-law-of-thermodynamics-says-that/) [Henry Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cloud/) > [I have always been a quieter person who enjoys being in my own space and focusing on my work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhumika-chawla/i-have-always-been-a-quieter-person-who-enjoys-being-in-my-own-space/) [Bhumika Chawla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhumika-chawla/) > [Just keep focusing on the work that you're doing. Focus on what's in front of you today. And don't read the papers, just go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/just-keep-focusing-on-the-work-that-you-re-doing-focus-on-what-s-in/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [I don't always enjoy curating, but I do believe it's part of my job. It's a good exercise for my brain, like warming up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takashi-murakami/i-don-t-always-enjoy-curating-but-i-do-believe-it-s-part-of-my-job-it/) [Takashi Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takashi-murakami/) > [What if instead of focusing on what you don't have, you concentrate on what you've got?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/what-if-instead-of-focusing-on-what-you-don-t-have-you-concentrate-on/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Weaknesses are to be managed, not changed. Instead of focusing on what was left out, concentrate on what was left in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/weaknesses-are-to-be-managed-not-changed-instead-of-focusing-on-what/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) > [Instead of focusing so much on what we want in our lives and being hard headed, stuck on our will so much, we should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-focusing-so-much-on-what-we-want-in-our-lives-and-being/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm a goal-oriented person, and instead of focusing on the past, I'd rather focus on the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cm-punk/i-m-a-goal-oriented-person-and-instead-of-focusing-on-the-past-i-d/) [CM Punk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cm-punk/) > [Instead of focusing on the world's problems, give your attention and energy to trust, love, abundance, education and peace. :-)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/instead-of-focusing-on-the-world-s-problems-give-your-attention-and/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) > [Focus on what you have, instead of focusing on what's missing, and then I'm sure you'll be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghav-singh/focus-on-what-you-have-instead-of-focusing-on-what-s-missing-and-then/) [Raghav Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghav-singh/) > [In order to move on with your life you have to stop focusing on the past instead focusing on the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hudson/in-order-to-move-on-with-your-life-you-have-to-stop-focusing-on-the/) [James Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hudson/) > [Get into "the state:" Conquer fear by stopping thinking about yourself and instead, focusing 100 percent on how you can best serve your audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/get-into-the-state-conquer-fear-by-stopping-thinking-about-yourself/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [A wise person looks at the end results instead of focusing only on his or her immediate circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-williams/a-wise-person-looks-at-the-end-results-instead-of-focusing-only-on/) [Craig Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-williams/) > [The very act of focusing on our flaws and imperfections pull us away from our true character, and instead of focusing on what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jreyes/the-very-act-of-focusing-on-our-flaws-and-imperfections-pull-us-away/) JREYES > [I didnt pay attention to times or distance, instead focusing on how it felt just to be in motion, knowing it wasn't about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-didnt-pay-attention-to-times-or-distance-instead-focusing-on-how-it/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) ## More by Ben Chestnut > [People want what’s best for them, and they can switch on a dime, because there’s always a new disruptor disrupting the last disruptor. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-chestnut/people-want-what-s-best-for-them-and-they-can-switch-on-a-dime/) [Ben Chestnut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-chestnut/) > [I think you just have to work hard for about 10 years before you know what you’re doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-chestnut/i-think-you-just-have-to-work-hard-for-about-10-years-before-you-know/) [Ben Chestnut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-chestnut/) > [Humans want to create lots of cool stuff, then they want to see other people using that stuff. A lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-chestnut/humans-want-to-create-lots-of-cool-stuff-then-they-want-to-see-other/) [Ben Chestnut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-chestnut/) > [Fearlessness begets happiness, which begets creativity, which begets innovation, which begets profits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-chestnut/fearlessness-begets-happiness-which-begets-creativity-which-begets/) [Ben Chestnut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-chestnut/) > [If you say interesting stuff on twitter, people will follow you there. I think Jim Caruso, from MediaFirst, does this well. He’s been at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-chestnut/if-you-say-interesting-stuff-on-twitter-people-will-follow-you-there/) [Ben Chestnut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-chestnut/) [Explore all 6 Ben Chestnut quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-chestnut/) ## More Chaos quotes > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [If I meet a wise person, I think, 'Yes, tell me more about parenting, about marriage, about how to stay in love. Tell me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/min-jin-lee/if-i-meet-a-wise-person-i-think-yes-tell-me-more-about-parenting/) [Min Jin Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/min-jin-lee/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [I love Derrick Brown for the surprise of one word waking up next to another. One moment tender, funny or romantic, the next, visceral,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/i-love-derrick-brown-for-the-surprise-of-one-word-waking-up-next-to/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/chaos-often-breeds-life-when-order-breeds-habit/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [There seems to be a kind of order in the universe…in the movement of the stars and the turning of the Earth and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/there-seems-to-be-a-kind-of-order-in-the-universe-in-the-movement-of/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [In the ring, there's not a lot of room for mistakes. You're in a place that is chaos, that is on fire. That ring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/in-the-ring-there-s-not-a-lot-of-room-for-mistakes-you-re-in-a-place/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“It was her chaos that made her beautiful. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atticus-poetry/it-was-her-chaos-that-made-her-beautiful/) [Atticus Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atticus-poetry/) > [What we should have done is kept the same team that played in the '95 World Series. Those trades (Eddie Murray & Carlos Baerga)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-belle/what-we-should-have-done-is-kept-the-same-team-that-played-in-the-95/) [Albert Belle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-belle/) > [American civil rights leader, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Lynching is a murder. For the past four hundred years our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/american-civil-rights-leader-where-do-we-go-from-here-chaos-or/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“There was beauty in chaos, she'd just never known it before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-linsmeier/there-was-beauty-in-chaos-she-d-just-never-known-it-before/) [Amanda Linsmeier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-linsmeier/) > [Who’s to say that it takes something like a drug to mess with your perception of reality? How did Hitler deceive a nation? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/who-s-to-say-that-it-takes-something-like-a-drug-to-mess-with-your/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [And yet, I do believe there is ultimately meaning in the chaos, and also in the doldrums. What I resist is not the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/and-yet-i-do-believe-there-is-ultimately-meaning-in-the-chaos-and/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [I came to think of myself, not as a dance and chaos of molecules, but as a brief and minute portion of that majestic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/i-came-to-think-of-myself-not-as-a-dance-and-chaos-of-molecules-but/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) [Browse all 2,640 Chaos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaos/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Instead of focusing on the work, you focus on the entropy and the chaos and you get a byproduct.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ben Chestnut" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-chestnut/instead-of-focusing-on-the-work-you-focus-on-the-entropy-and-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Chaos" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-chestnut/instead-of-focusing-on-the-work-you-focus-on-the-entropy-and-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/ben-chestnut-55250_chaos_instead-of-focusing-on-the-work-you-focu_2960205.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/ben-chestnut-55250_chaos_instead-of-focusing-on-the-work-you-focu_2960205.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/ben-chestnut-55250_chaos_instead-of-focusing-on-the-work-you-focu_2960205.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Instead of focusing on the work, you focus on the entropy and the chaos and you get a byproduct.” — Ben Chestnut", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ben Chestnut", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-chestnut/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Instead of focusing on the work,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-chestnut/instead-of-focusing-on-the-work-you-focus-on-the-entropy-and-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-chestnut/instead-of-focusing-on-the-work-you-focus-on-the-entropy-and-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```