Kevin O’Leary says Steve Jobs taught him to focus on 3 things a day—and small talk or a family phone call is just noise getting in the way

Kevin O’Leary, a successful investor, credits late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs for teaching him a valuable lesson about focusing on just three things during the day to maximize productivity. O’Leary made this discovery while working with Jobs in the 1990s on SoftKey Software Products, which later became The Learning Company. The billionaire investor emphasizes that anything hindering the progress of these three key tasks should be considered noise.

O’Leary compares Steve Jobs’ signal-to-noise ratio of 80:20 to be extremely effective, although it may have made him difficult to work with. Other entrepreneurs can adopt a similar mindset by tuning out distractions like small talk or family phone calls, allowing them to concentrate on what truly matters. O’Leary himself has honed this skill over four decades, founding SoftKey Software Products in 1983 and later selling it to Mattel for $3.7 billion in 1999.

As a prolific investor, he has backed numerous successful companies, including Groove Book, Blueland, and Basepaws. He is also known for his role as "Mr. Wonderful" on Shark Tank for 17 seasons. O’Leary believes that developing the founder's mindset, which involves focusing on the most important tasks and ignoring distractions, is crucial for achieving success in both business and personal life.