The ONE Thing
The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Relationships
Purpose, Priority, and Action
Are you looking for clarity? Do you struggle identifying the next step towards your vision? Do you shy away from big goals, overwhelmed with where to start? Do you wrestle with maintaining a priority, or worse, do you lack one all together? If so, then The ONE Thing by Gary Keller could benefit you greatly.
In The ONE Thing, Keller outlines the importance of priority, in giving the most important thing the attention it deserves, and clears the path to extraordinary results through gaining clarity, leveraging discipline, and taking right action.
Practical and Powerful
Many books have been written on the big picture; on finding purpose, creating a vision, and setting goals. While others have focused on the other end of the spectrum; taking massive action, being disciplined, and persevering through challenges and overcoming obstacles.
The ONE Thing bridges the gap between the two, providing practical methods to connect our actions with our dreams. It offers a simple, yet powerful framework to cut through distractions, focus on what truly matters, and create meaningful progress towards what is most important to us.
Its Priority, not Priorities!
Without stealing too much thunder from the book, I would like to share how much I appreciated a couple pieces on priority. Keller shares that the word is “priority” (singular), not “priorities” (plural). In fact, it originates from the Latin prior, meaning “first”. He argues that in any given moment, we can have only a single priority. Otherwise, we are dividing our focus and we are not giving the attention that our most important thing deserves. Historically, I’ve understood this as, “If everything is important, then nothing is important”.
As an example of a practical approach offered within the book, consider the classic to-do list. Keller states that a to-do list lacks priority, often the first item on the list is the first item you thought of, not the most important or impactful. Instead, he recommends creating a success list. Remember the 80/20 rule, that concept that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts… Well, if you have twenty-five items on your to-do list, then 20% is five items, that’s your success list! But don’t stop there, take it a step further… 20% of the remaining five gets you to ONE, now you have a priority!
A few of my favorite quotes from the book!
Extraordinary results are directly determined by how narrow you can make your focus.Gary Keller : The ONE Thing
Lacking a clear formula for making decisions, we get reactive and fall back on familiar, comfortable ways to decide what to do.Gary Keller : The ONE Thing
Knocking out a hundred tasks for whatever reason is a poor substitute for doing even one task that’s meaningful.Gary Keller : The ONE Thing
The majority of what you want will come from the minority of what you do.Gary Keller : The ONE Thing
Don’t focus on being busy, focus on being productive.Gary Keller : The ONE Thing
You don’t have to seek out success. Harness the power of selected discipline to build the right habits, and extraordinary results will find you.Gary Keller : The ONE Thing
Willpower is like a fast-twitch muscle that gets tired and needs rest. It’s incredibly powerful, but it has no endurance.Gary Keller : The ONE Thing
We hear about balance so much we automatically assume it’s exactly what we should be seeking. It’s not. Purpose, meaning, significance – these are what make a successful life.Gary Keller : The ONE Thing
Leaving some things undone is a necessary tradeoff for extraordinary results.Gary Keller : The ONE Thing
Let the right things take precedence when they should and get to the rest when you can.Gary Keller : The ONE Thing
Life is a question and how we live it is our answer. How we phrase the questions we ask ourselves determines the answers that eventually become our life.Gary Keller : The ONE Thing
The more productive people are, the more purpose and priority are pushing and driving them.Gary Keller : The ONE Thing
Purpose without priority is powerless.Gary Keller : The ONE Thing
Once you know what to do, the only thing left is to go from knowing to doing.Gary Keller : The ONE Thing
When life happens, you can be either the author of your life or the victim of it. Those are your only two choices – accountable or unaccountable.Gary Keller : The ONE Thing
When you say yes to something, it’s imperative that you understand what you’re saying no to.Gary Keller : The ONE Thing
When you clear the path to success – that’s when you consistently get there.Gary Keller : The ONE Thing
It’s only when you can imagine a bigger life that you can ever hope to have one.Gary Keller : The ONE Thing
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