Book Byte #130 "The One Thing" by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
The surprisingly simple truth behind extraordinary results
📣 Curious Quotes from the Author
“Work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls-- family, health, friends, integrity-- are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered.”
“People do not decide their futures, they decide their habits and their habits decide their futures.” —F. M. Alexander”
“Success demands singleness of purpose.
You need to be doing fewer things for more effect instead of doing more things with side effects.
It is those who concentrate on but one thing at a time who advance in this world.
Passion for something leads to disproportionate time practicing or working at it. That time spent eventually translates to skill, and when skill improves, results improve. Better results generally lead to more enjoyment, and more passion and more time is invested. It can be a virtuous cycle all the way to extraordinary results.
The ONE Thing shows up time and again in the lives of the successful because it’s a fundamental truth.
More than anything else, expertise tracks with hours invested.
The pursuit of mastery bears gifts.
When people look back on their lives, it is the things they have not done that generate the greatest regret...People’s actions may be troublesome initially; it is their inactions that plague them most with long-term feelings of regret.
Make sure every day you do what matters most. When you know what matters most, everything makes sense. When you don’t know what matters most, anything makes sense.”
“Multitasking is a lie”
“I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be happy. I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be compassionate. It is, above all, to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all.”
“Your next step is simple. You are the first domino.”
“A life worth living might be measured in many ways, but the one way that stands above all others is living a life of no regrets.”
“It is not that we have too little time to do all the things we need to do , it is that we feel the need to do too many things in the time we have.”
“Extraordinary results happen only when you give the best you have to become the best you can be at your most important work.”
“Success is actually a short race—a sprint fueled by discipline just long enough for habit to kick in and take over.
📚 Cognition of the Book’s Big Idea:
Success comes from focusing on one thing rather than many. When working toward your ONE goal, avoid the mistakes that will keep you from succeeding. Learn how to cut through the clutter and deliver your best work where it counts.
This book quickly answered the following questions:
How should I make goals and prioritize my workload?
Failure to dream big may limit your opportunities.
Prioritize your tasks - they are not all equally vital.
Asking the "focusing question" will help you prioritize, develop actionable activities, and achieve your objectives.
How can I avoid being distracted from my ONE thing?
The key to living a disciplined life is to build habits in a sequential manner.
Multitasking is extremely inefficient; instead, focus entirely on one task.
Your willpower is like a fuel tank: use it wisely or you'll run out when you need it the most.
Saying "no" to unnecessary jobs is essential if you want to concentrate your efforts on the most important ones.
How do I get amazing outcomes from pursuing my ONE thing?
Living with purpose and visualizing the actions to achieve your objective will put you on the path to amazing success.
Never sacrifice your personal life for your business goals; instead, prioritize your work time rigorously.
To focus on your ONE thing, you must adopt excellent time management tactics and accept something cray in other topics.
🛠️Fixing the Tech Industry
The more I live life, the more I recognize that life is a lot like the Agile method. Fast, hard working sprints mixed with slow boring states of work.
That factor is none more apparent than Working in Tech. Usually everything on fire or everything is dead in the water, there usually no in between.
We should use that to our advantage by learning what we need to learn to progress in our careers when things get boring and request more raises when we fix things from going kablooey.
🤝Collaborate with others with this Social Media Prompt:
What do you think your skills are worth right now? Does it align with your current Salary and Benefits? Who’s going to change that for you?
My Software Stack: I use Skool for my Online Community Platform and ClickFunnels for my Landing Pages, Payments, and Email Sequencing. I use Substack for my Newsletter and Taskade for AI Note Taking/Second Brain/Project Management. I use my Personal Amazon Store for Tech and Book Recommendations.