The One Thing

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Gary Keller, Jay Papasan. The One Thing: the Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results. 3rd Press3. Austin, Texas. 2012.

Applying your focus.

Authors highlight (underline) key sentences and include diagrams to emphasize key ideas.

  1. The lies - they mislead and derail us

    • Everything Matters Equally
      • Much to-do about nothing
      • Juran cracks the code
      • Extreme Pareto
      • Big ideas
        • go small
        • go extreme
        • say no
        • don't get trapped in the "check-off" game
    • Multitasking
      • Juggling is an illusion: multitasking wastes time
      • Brain channels
      • Driven to distraction
      • Big ideas
        • distraction is natural
        • multitasking takes a toll
        • distraction undermines results
    • A Disciplined Life
      • Selected discipline works swimmingly
      • Sixty-six days to the sweet spot
      • Big ideas
        • don't be a disciplined person - use powerful habits with selected discipline to develop them
        • build one habit at a time
        • give each habit enough time
    • Willpower Is Always on Will-Call
      • Toddler torture
      • Renewable energy
      • Food for thought
      • Default judgment
      • Give willpower the time of day
      • Big ideas
        • don't spread your willpower too thin
        • monitor your fuel gauge
        • time your task
        • mind your motivation
    • A Balanced Life
      • The genesis of a myth
      • Middle mismanagement
      • Time waits for noe one
      • Counterbalancing - the long and short of it
      • Life is a balancing act
      • Big ideas
        • thing about balancing two buckets
        • counterbalance your work bucket
        • counterbalance your personal life bucket
    • Big Is Bad
      • Who's afraid of the big bad big?
      • Flat wrong
      • Going big
      • The big deal
      • Blowing up your life
      • Big ideas
        • think big
        • don't order from the menu
        • act bold
        • don't fear failure

  2. The truth - the simple path to productivity

    • The Focusing Question
      • Life is a question
      • Anatomy of the question
        1. What's the one thing I can do...
        2. ...such that by doing it...
        3. ...everything else will be easier or unnecessary?
      • Big ideas
        • great questions are the path to great answers
        • the focusing question is a double duty question: big picture and small focus
        • the Big-Picture Question: "What's my ONE thing?"
        • the Small-Focus Question: "What's my ONE thing right now?"
    • The Success Habit
      • apply the focusing question in each area of your life
      • Big ideas
        • understand and believe the concept of the ONE thing
        • use it
        • make it a habit
        • leverage reminders
        • recruit support (support group, family, friends)
    • The Path to Great Answers
      1. Ask a great question - apply the focusing question in each quadrant
        • small and specific
        • small and broad
        • big and broad
        • big and specific
      2. Find a great answer
        • Big ideas
        • think big and specific
        • think possibilities
        • benchmark and trend for the best answer
  3. Extraordinary results - unlocking the possibilities within you
    • Extraordinary results - priority and purpose drive productivity
      • Live with Purpose
    • Happiness on purpose
    • The power of purpose
    • Big ideas
      • happiness happens on the way to fulfillment
      • discover your Big Why
      • absent an answer, pick a direction
        • Live by Priority - purpose without priority is powerless
    • Goal setting to the now
      • iterate, based on: someday goal... 5-year goal... 1-year goal... monthly goal... weekly goal... daily goal... right now
    • Big ideas
      • there can only be ONE
      • goal set to the now
      • put pen to paper
        • Live for productivity
    • Time blocking
      1. Time block your time off
      2. Time block your ONE thing
      3. Time block your planning time
    • Protect your time block
      • build a bunker
      • store provisions to avoid leaving your bunker
      • sweep for mines - remove distractions
      • enlist support - tell people when you'll be available
    • Big ideas
      • connect the dots
      • time block your ONE thing
      • protect your time block at all costs
        • The Three Commitments
          1. Follow the path of mastery
          2. Move from Entrepreneurial to Purposeful
          3. Live the accountability cycle - seek real state, acknowledge reality, own it, find solution, get on with it
    • Big ideas
      • commit to be your best
      • be purposeful about your ONE thing
      • take ownership of your outcomes
      • find a coach
        • The Four Thieves
          1. Inability to say "no"
      • three-foot rule: a request must connect to my ONE thing for me to consider it
        1. Fear of chaos
      • when you strive for greatness in ONE thing, chaos shows up in your other things
        1. Poor health habits
      • Highly productive person's daily energy plan
        • meditate or pray to generate spiritual energy
        • eat right, exercise, and sleep enough for physical energy
        • hug, kiss, and laugh with loved ones for emotional energy
        • set goals, plan, and calendar for mental energy
        • time block your ONE thing for business energy
          1. Environment doesn't support your goals
      • create the environment to support your ONE thing: people around you and the place you inhabit
      • no one succeeds alone and no one fails alone. Pay attention to the people around you.
      • Big ideas
        • start saying "no"
        • accept chaos
        • manage your energy
        • take ownership of your environment
          • The Journey
    • Advice from a friend: live a life of no regrets
    • Success is an inside job