Hello Reader,

I rewatched tick, tick… BOOM! on January 26—the day Jonathan Larson’s story begins—and it hit differently this time. Not because of the ambition. Not because of the urgency. But because of how devotion shows up when it’s left unquestioned.

Jonathan isn’t lacking focus. He’s drowning in it. His attention is fiercely committed to the work, to the clock, to the idea that this must happen now or it won’t happen at all. And slowly, almost imperceptibly, that devotion closes him off—from his partner, from his friend, from any signal that might soften or redirect it.

But the opposite extreme isn’t safer. When we don’t choose something worthy of devotion, our attention doesn’t rest—it wanders. And wandering attention is easily captured. By noise. By urgency. By whatever is most efficient at demanding it. A lack of devotion doesn’t preserve freedom; it quietly forfeits it.

This is the line we have to dance: devotion that’s alive, examinable, and humane. Devotion that can be revisited without being abandoned.

Because attention needs an anchor—but not a chain.

Look

Jonathan Larson’s devotion didn’t stop with the work we eventually saw. Superbia—the musical he spent years shaping and never saw produced—may be the clearest window into how far his attention reached, and what it cost him along the way. In this short documentary from Wait in the Wings, the creators dig into the question that’s lingered for decades: What was Superbia really about? It’s not just a recovery of a lost show—it’s a meditation on ambition, idealism, and what happens when devotion outruns its moment. Watch it here.​

Listen

If devotion can either steady us or send us spiraling, it helps to hear people wrestle with that tension out loud. The podcast Am I Doing It Wrong? leans into the anxieties most of us quietly carry about getting life “right.” Each episode takes a different slice of modern living and treats it not as a problem to optimize, but as something to understand, question, and approach with a little more humanity. It’s a reminder that wisdom often comes not from certainty, but from staying open—and less worried—along the way. Listen here.​

Learn

In an essay from The Marginalian, the work of Simone Weil reframes attention not as effort, but as grace. Weil insists that we don’t transform ourselves through force of will—through clenching, striving, or tightening our grip—but through attention offered freely and patiently. “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity,” she writes, because true attention expands rather than contracts the spirit. Seen this way, devotion isn’t something we impose. It’s something we offer—with humility, openness, and care. Read it here.​

The Final Flicker

When it comes to attention, devotion is either the cure or the disease.

The difference isn’t intensity—it’s awareness.

See you later,
Mike

P.S. This question of devotion—where our time and energy are asked to go—sits at the heart of my session at the Personalized Business Advantage summit. I’ll be speaking about commanding your calendar and your clock in ways that support your energy, not deplete it. Click here to learn more and sign up today.​

Thanks for reading. Your time is valuable, and I don’t take it for granted. In a world pulling us in all directions, thanks for choosing The Lantern.

Productivityist Productivity Services Inc. | 1411 Haultain Street, Victoria, BC V8R 2J6
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