Think of attention as the brain’s spotlight. It selects, amplifies, and prioritizes information. Without it, learning (and focused work) is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Dehaene emphasizes that attention isn’t just about *looking* at something; it’s about actively selecting what information gets processed deeply.

Productivity Power-Up: Master your focus. In a world brimming with distractions, the ability to consciously direct your attention is a cornerstone of high output. This means minimizing multitasking (which Dehaene shows significantly hampers performance due to the brain’s “central bottleneck”) and creating an environment conducive to deep work.

• Actionable Strategy: Implement time-blocking (like the Pomodoro Technique) to dedicate focused attention spans to specific tasks. Eliminate digital distractions – turn off notifications!
• Millionaire Mindset: Top performers understand that their attention is their most valuable currency. They invest it wisely, protecting it fiercely from low-value diversions. Where you place your attention determines your results.

Passive learning is inefficient. Dehaene shows that our brains learn best when we are actively involved – exploring, predicting, testing hypotheses, and wrestling with information. Think like a scientist! Curiosity is the engine here; it drives us to explore and understand.

Productivity Power-Up: Don’t just consume, create and interact. When learning a new software, don’t just watch tutorials – use it. When reading a report, don’t just skim – summarize key points in your own words or ask critical questions. Engage your curiosity.

• Actionable Strategy: Apply the Feynman Technique: try to explain a concept you’re learning simply, as if to a child. This forces active processing and reveals gaps in understanding.
• Millionaire Mindset: Successful entrepreneurs are relentless experimenters. They don’t wait for perfect information; they act, test, learn, and iterate. They are actively engaged in shaping their reality.

Our brains learn by comparing predictions to reality. When there’s a mismatch (an error), a “surprise” signal helps update our internal models. Dehaene stresses that timely, specific feedback is crucial. Importantly, this isn’t about punishment; it’s about information. Fear of errors stifles learning and risk-taking.

Productivity Power-Up: Embrace mistakes as learning opportunities. Create systems for rapid feedback in your work. Did a project go off track? Analyze *why* dispassionately. Didn’t hit a goal? Identify the gap between expectation and reality. This data is gold.

• Actionable Strategy: Conduct regular “after-action reviews” for projects or even challenging tasks. Ask: What was expected? What happened? Why was there a difference? What can we learn?
• Millionaire Mindset: Failure is not the opposite of success; it’s part of the process. Billion-dollar companies often emerge from pivots born out of initial “failures.” View errors as tuition fees for valuable lessons.

Learning isn’t complete until it’s transferred from fragile short-term working memory to robust long-term storage. Dehaene highlights two key aspects: automatization (making skills effortless through practice) and the critical role of sleep. During sleep, the brain replays and strengthens the day’s learning, integrating it with existing knowledge.

Productivity Power-Up: Practice important skills until they become automatic, freeing up mental bandwidth. Prioritize sleep! Sacrificing sleep for more work hours is counterproductive for long-term learning and performance. Use spaced repetition for memorization.

• Actionable Strategy: Review important information or practice new skills periodically over increasing intervals (spaced repetition). Ensure you get adequate, quality sleep, especially after intense learning or work sessions.
• Millionaire Mindset: High achievers value rest and recovery as much as intense work. They understand that sustainable peak performance requires cycles of effort and consolidation. Sleep isn’t a luxury; it’s a strategic necessity.