The Root Node

You simplified. You prioritized. You still didn't make progress.

It's not because you cut too little. It's because you cut the wrong thing.

A tree survives losing branches. It dies without its root.

Cut everything. Except the one thing.

Most productivity advice treats focus like subtraction. Remove distractions. Eliminate meetings. Say no to everything.

But subtraction without understanding the structure is just random violence.

Every system has one node that holds everything else up.

The email that connects you to the client who pays for the team who builds the product.

The relationship that opens doors no cold outreach can.

The skill that makes everything else possible.

Cut that, and the branches die anyway.

This is why Why Nothing Gets Simpler happens. You keep adding branches without protecting the root.

Paul Graham calls this the "root node." The thing you protect even when everything else gets pruned.

Focus isn't about cutting more.

It's about knowing what you can't cut.

The question isn't: What can I eliminate?

The question is: What's holding everything else up?

Protect the root. Release the branches. The Momentum Engine shows how to find yours.