The 3 Attention Engines You Should Own
Monetize Attention Like a Billionaire
Elon Musk, to me, is one of the greatest missionaries to ever live.
Yes, sometimes he seems exaggerated. Even eccentric. But if you strip the ego away and actually listen, you’ll see what I see: a brutally clear vision of the future.
A few days ago I watched a video saying one of the most valuable assets in the world today is attention. And that we’re losing it. Our ability to focus is now worse than a goldfish. Somewhere between 6 to 8 seconds. We’re drowning in short videos. People can’t finish a book. Can’t wait. Can’t tolerate boredom. They want dopamine every five seconds. And that’s killing their ability to build real wealth.
There are only two ways to play this game.
You’re either the one consuming.
Or you’re the one making money off the consumers.
That made me think about the three levers I always come back to. The ones Naval talks about. People. Capital. Code.
They always tell you: to scale, you need to hire. You need people. But what if you don’t? What if you use their energy, their attention, their time… without ever putting them on payroll? What if you make money while they watch the videos?
Elon said it best: energy is the only real currency
If you can monetize energy: attention, time, focus, you don’t need offices. You don’t need employees. You don’t need bureaucracy. You need systems. And leverage.
So here are the three clearest ways I see to monetize attention right now. And the exact assets I like in each one. No fluff. No theory. Just signal.
1. Platforms that capture mass attention
These are the companies turning time into cash. YouTube. TikTok. Meta. Netflix. But don’t look at them as entertainment. They’re cash engines. Because they’ve closed the full loop: distribution, addiction, monetization.
If you want to ride this wave with capital, use ETFs with concentrated exposure to these platforms. Two obvious plays: $QQQ (Invesco QQQ Trust) and $XLC (Communication Services Select Sector SPDR). You’re not just buying stock. You’re buying human time converted into profit. Self-learning algorithms. Network effects that get stronger by the day.
This isn’t a tech bet. It’s a human behavior bet.