The brilliant physicist and Noble Prize winner, Richard Feynman, on dealing with the expectations of others: 

“You have no responsibility to live up to what other people think you ought to accomplish. 

I have no responsibility to be like they expect me to be. It’s their mistake, not my failing.”

Source: Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!

The Chinese inventor and author, Lin Yutang, on focus:

“Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.”

Source: The Importance of Living