The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth behind Extraordinary Results PDF

THE ONE THING The Surprisingly Simple Truth behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller (with Jay Papasan) The Big “So What” KEY QUOTES Keller id...

THE ONE THING The Surprisingly Simple Truth behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller (with Jay Papasan) The Big “So What” KEY QUOTES Keller identified that there’s ONE Thing that’s behind every “If you try to do just ONE Thing, successful person or organization. He shows how we can the right ONE Thing, you could wind up with everything concurrently have less and more, to get extra-ordinary results you ever wanted.” and lead an extra-ordinary life: Less distractions and things to do More productivity, income, satisfaction, time etc. The ONE Thing The key idea in the book is to focus on this question: What’s the ONE Thing you can do, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary? Going Small “Be like a postage stamp – stick to one thing until Those who truly succeed understand what it means to go small: you get there.” Ignore all the things you could do. Just do what you should do. - Josh Billings - Not all things matter equally. Find the things that matter most. Extraordinary results are directly determined by how narrow “When you go as small as possible, you can make your focus. you’ll be staring at one thing. And that’s the point.” The Domino Effect: Harness the Power of Geometric Progression “You need to be doing fewer things for more effect instead of doing If you started with a 2-inch domino, and increased the size of each more things with side effects.” subsequent domino by 50%, the 57th domino would practically bridge the distance between the earth and the moon. That’s the power of geometric progression. 1 Copyright © 2015 Skool of Happiness Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved.  Height #1 #18 #23 #31 #57 KEY QUOTES To create the same geometric effect in your life, you “Getting extraordinary results need to find the lead domino. Keep working at it. is all about creating a When you finally knock it over, the dominoes behind it would domino effect in your life.” be ready to fall or have already fallen down. “The key is over time. Success Leaves Clues Success is built sequentially. It’s one thing at a time.” The One Thing applies to success in all aspects of business and life: “If today your company One Product/ Service: Companies that are extraordinarily doesn’t know what its ONE successful always have 1 signature product or service e.g. Thing is, then the company’s KFC’s secret chicken recipe, Google’s search. ONE Thing is to find out.” One Person: No one is self-made. Every successful person “Applying the ONE Thing to your (e.g. Walt Disney, Albert Einstein, Oprah Winfrey) has work – and in your life – is the that 1 person who made all the difference, be it guiding simplest and smartest thing him/her in the right direction or lending a helping hand at you can do to propel yourself a pivotal point. toward the success you want.” One Passion/ Skill: Extraordinarily successful people have one intense passion or ability that stands out, defines and drives them. “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” Banishing the 6 Lies of Success - Mark Twain - Today, we have access to more information than ever before, “Buying into the ONE Thing but much of these information are not necessarily true or becomes difficult because we’ve accurate. However, when myths and mistruths are repeated unfortunately bought into too often enough, they start to feel familiar, we start to believe many others – and more often them and base important decisions on them. According to than not those “other things” Keller, there are 6 lies of success that need to be banished muddle our thinking, misguide our before we can embrace success. actions, and sidetrack our success. 2 Copyright © 2015 Skool of Happiness Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 1. Everything Matters Equally Most of us face complex problems without a 20% 80% clear formula for good decision-making. When we feel overwhelmed, we tend to fall back on familiar and comfortable (but ineffective) ways of making decisions. The Pareto Principle (or 80/20 rule) says that the minority of your efforts generates the majority of your results. KEY QUOTES Keller recommends applying the Extreme Pareto principle: “Activity is often unrelated to Go small. Don’t get trapped trying to finish everything productivity, and busyness on your to-do list. Take time out to prioritize and do what rarely takes care of business.” really matters - convert your to-do-list to a success list, by prioritizing the “should do” over “could do” items. “To-do lists tend to be long; success 20% Go extreme. Take the Pareto Principle to the extreme. lists are short. One pulls you Keep zooming in on the top 20% until you end up with in all directions; the other aims you in a specific direction.” the essential ONE thing. Say no to everything else until your most important work “Many things may be important, is done. but only one can be the most important.” - Ross Garber - 2. Multitasking Gets More Done Many people have the false impression that multi- “The truth is multitasking is tasking helps them to accomplish more in less neither efficient nor effective… time. The opposite is true. Research shows that When you try to do two things multitasking leads to more mistakes, poorer choices, and at once, you either can’t or greater stress: won’t do either well.” Task-switching costs you. A juggler doesn’t really multi- task – he catches and throws the balls individually in “It’s not that we have too little time to do all the things we need rapid succession, i.e. he is task-switching. Likewise, when to do, it’s that we feel the need we are “multitasking”, we are usually only task-switching. to do too many things in the Our brain can only focus on one thing at a time. Each time time we have.” we switch tasks, we need to re-orientate to the “rules” for the new task, losing time and energy in the process. Multi-tasking divides our attention over the various tasks. It reduces our effectiveness for each task. We expect professionals like pilots and surgeons to 100% focus fully on their tasks. We should likewise give our most important work our undivided attention. 3 Copyright © 2015 Skool of Happiness Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 3. We Need To Live A Disciplined Life Disciplining yourself means training yourself to act in a specific way, or to form a habit. Hence, we don’t need to be disciplined all the time. We just need selected discipline to form the right habits: Don’t be a disciplined person. Be a person of powerful habits. You just need to identify the right habit to KEY QUOTES cultivate, and have enough discipline to do it long enough to build that desired habit. Michael Phelps, for example, “Success is about doing the right thing, not about doing everything developed the winning habit of spending at least 6 hours right…The trick to success is a day in water, swimming 365 days a year. to choose the right habit and Build 1 habit at a time. Over time, you can acquire more bring just enough discipline habits. to establish it.” Give the habit enough time to form. On average, it takes “Success is actually a short race – 66 days to acquire a new habit (many self-help sources a sprint fueled by discipline just recommend 21 days, but modern science suggests it long enough for habit to takes longer). The good news is, once a new behaviour kick in and take over.” becomes a habit, it takes less discipline to maintain. “Those with the right habits 4. Willpower Can Be Summoned Whenever Needed seem to do better than others. They’re doing the most important Most of us have heard of the proverb “where thing regularly and, as a result, everything else is easier.” there’s a will, there’s a way.” While willpower is an important ingredient for success, it isn’t something we can summon as and when we want. Don’t spread your willpower too thin. Willpower is like “Willpower is like a fast-twitch a battery – it has limited life and gets depleted with use. muscle that gets tired and needs However, it can be recharged, when given downtime to rest. It’s incredibly powerful, recover. Use of willpower also consumes actual calories but it has no endurance.” - Foods like complex carbohydrates and proteins that elevate blood sugar levels evenly are hence ideal for high- achievers. Monitor your fuel gauge: When our willpower runs out, “When you use (your willpower) we will revert to our default settings, which typically first on what matters most, you means average results. can always count on it.” Hence, recognize that willpower is a resource that gets used up, reserve it for what’s most important, and replenish it when it’s low. 4 Copyright © 2015 Skool of Happiness Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved.  Time your task: Willpower gets sapped throughout the day when we focus our attention, suppress our feelings and impulses, or modify our behaviours to achieve goals. To get the most out of your day, do your most important work early. 5. We should live a Balanced Life KEY QUOTES The idea of having enough time for everything “Purpose, meaning, significance – sounds appealing. However, when we give time and these are what make a successful focus to what matters, it takes time away from lesser life. Seek them out and you will priorities, and we automatically go out of balance. Trying to take most certainly live your life a middle position means we make extraordinary commitments out of balance.” to nothing, hence achieve mediocre results on all fronts. The solution is hence not to live a balanced life, but “In your effort to attend to all to apply counterbalance, i.e. never go so far that things, everything gets short- changed and nothing gets its due.” you cannot find your way back. Identify the extraordinary result that matters most to you, “The reason we shouldn’t pursue and give it all the time it requires. Allow yourself to get out balance is that the magic never of balance, and use infrequent counterbalancing to address happens in the middle; other priorities. Different goals and approaches are required magic happens at the extremes.” to counter-balance work vs. your personal life: “Whether or not to go For work, identify the ONE Thing that must be mastered. out of balance isn’t really Make it ok to prioritize that one thing above other work the question. The question is: priorities (i.e. be out of balance) for long periods of time. ‘Do you go short or long?’” For personal life, there are multiple areas that require a minimum level of attention for you to feel that you “have “When you’re supposed to be working, work, and when you’re a life”. Develop self-awareness and don’t allow yourself supposed to be playing, play. to go out of balance for too long in any area without It’s a weird tightrope you’re counterbalancing. walking, but it’s only when you get your priorities mixed up that things fall apart.” 6. Big is bad “No one knows their ultimate People tend to associate big results with ceiling for achievement, complicated, difficult, complex processes, and feel so worrying about it overwhelmed and intimidated before they even is a waste of time.” embark on the journey. To avoid failure, they settle on what is comfortable and within reach. 5 Copyright © 2015 Skool of Happiness Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved.  Think Big. Our thinking drives our actions. When we build our lives based on small thinking, we can actually create an artificial ceiling which is hard to break through. Think big, so that your actions will add up to empower rather than restrict you in the future. Don’t order from the menu. Since none of us know our true limits, we don’t know what is really impossible or unrealistic. Dare to imagine outcomes that others don’t KEY QUOTES see, so you can make your own creations. To trigger your “Success requires action, imagination, try studying people who have achieved and action requires thought… what you want, and start from there. the only actions that become Act bold. Don’t just think big. Take bold actions to bring springboards to succeeding the thoughts to life. are those informed by big thinking to begin with.” Don’t fear failure. Adopt a growth mindset to make failure a part of your learning process, helping to take “On the journey to achieving big, you to your true potential. you get bigger... What seemed an insurmountable mountain from a The Truth: The Simple Path to Productivity distance is just a small hill when you arrive – at least in proportion 1. The Focusing Question to the person you’ve become.” The quality of our questions determine the quality of our answers. By asking the Focusing Question, you drive yourself to make the best possible decisions. You’ll need to ask this question over and over again - it will lead to your first domino, then the next, and the next. Ask the Focusing Question: “What’s the ONE Thing I can do such that by doing it, everything else will be “The Focusing Question is easier or unnecessary?” a big-picture map and — ONE Thing: Pick only 1 (not 2 or 3) most important small-focus compass.” thing. “The Focusing Question asks you — Can do: take that possible action. It’s not to find the first domino and focus “should do”, “could do ”, or “would do”. on it exclusively until you knock it — By doing it, everything else is easier or unnecessary: over. Once you’ve done that, you’ll Focus on leveraged action (the first domino) and discover a line of dominoes behind it either ready to fall avoid distractions. or already down.” Ask this question to define both: The big picture: Define the direction for your life and what the basket of your life should look like. 6 Copyright © 2015 Skool of Happiness Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved.  The small focus: Identify the smallest next move you should take immediately. 2. The Success Habit Asking the Focusing Question is the most powerful foundational habit that you can use to lead an extraordinary life. Apply it only to important areas of your life, and use it to create the greatest impact in KEY QUOTES each of those areas. Key Relationships Finances “Whether you seek answers big “What’s the ONE or small, asking the Focusing Thing you can do, Question is the ultimate Physical Health such that by doing Spiritual Life it, everything else success habit for your life.” will be easier or g unnecessary?” Job / Business cu sin o on eF i Th uest Q Personal Life To make it a part of your daily routine: “If you’re not serious about Understand and believe it: You must buy into the learning the Success Habit, concept to use it. you’re not serious about getting extraordinary results.” Use it: Start each day with the Focusing Question. Make it a habit: Keep doing it until it becomes a part of your routine. Leverage reminders: Set up ways to remind yourself that until your ONE Thing is one, everything else is a distraction. Use it: Get others around you to practice the Success Habit daily with you. 3. The Path to Great Answers Think Big & Specific: When asking the Focusing Question, use a Big and Specific placeholder (e.g. big goal with concrete numbers and timeframe) of where you want to be. Think Possibilities: The answers to your “A Great Answer is essentially questions come in 3 categories: a new answer. It is a leap across Doable: What you know and can achieve. all current answers in search of the next one.” Stretch: At the limits of your current ability. Possibility: Beyond what is already known & being done. A Great Answer explores the 3rd category - what is possible. 7 Copyright © 2015 Skool of Happiness Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved.  Benchmark and trend for the best answer: To find a Great Answer, your ONE Thing is to search for clues and role models by researching and studying high achievers. You need to do both benchmarking (for today’s successes) and trending (for tomorrow’s successes). Be prepared to reinvent yourself to create the new possibilities you envisage. KEY QUOTES “Connecting purpose, Achieving Extraordinary Results priority and productivity determines how high above the rest successful individuals Live with Purpose, to get Extraordinary Results and profitable businesses rise.” Productivity (and profits in business) are driven by 2 areas: Your Big ONE Thing = your purpose. Your Small ONE Thing = your priority (that you take action on). “Who we are and where we want Tap into your purpose and allow it to go determine what we do and to direct your priorities. With clear PROFIT what we accomplish.” priorities, you can get to work on PRODUCTIVITY what matters. When where you PRIORIT Y “Happiness happens on the way want to go is aligned with what you to fulfillment…When our daily PURPOSE do today, extraordinary results will happen. When you have a actions fulfill a bigger purpose, bigger purpose and you are fulfilling it through what you do the most powerful and enduring happiness can happen” daily, you will also achieve lasting happiness. Use the ONE Thing to identify your Big Why, and what you can do now to start fulfilling it. If you don’t have an answer yet, simply pick a direction, start on the path, and refine it over time as you get “At any moment in time there can more clarity. only be ONE Thing, and when that ONE Thing is in line with your Live by Priority purpose and sits atop your priorities, it will be the most Have only ONE priority now. productive thing you can do Goal-set to the Now, by connecting your goal and priority to launch you towards today to your weekly, monthly, one-year, five-year and the best you can be.” someday goals. Research shows that the farther away a reward is in the future, the smaller the immediate motivation “Connect today to all your tomorrows. It matters.” to achieve it. To improve your motivation, start by defining your “Someday Goal”, then apply the Focusing Question 8 Copyright © 2015 Skool of Happiness Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved.  backward progressively to the ONE Thing you need to do, right now. Right Daily Weekly Monthly 1 Year 5 Year Someday Now Goal Goal Goal Goal Goal Goal Put these goals down on paper, and keep them close. KEY QUOTES “Even if you’re on the right track, Live for Productivity you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” Time Blocking - Will Rogers - Time blocking helps us to ensure what has to get done actually gets done. There are 3 things to Time-Block for (in this order): Time off. Resting is as important as working. Block out time for vacations and rest, because you know you need and can afford it. 1 Your ONE Thing. Set aside regular time as early in the day as possible to get your ONE Thing done. Keller “Great success shows up when time is devoted every day to recommends that you: becoming great.” Set aside 30min-1 hour to take care of your morning priorities, then block 4 hours a day for your ONE Thing. Separate “maker time” (chunks of time to develop ideas, write, recruit people etc.) from “manager time” (e.g. cluster meetings together to avoid fragmented activities). Once you have finished your ONE Thing for the day, you can devote the rest of your time to everything else. Planning Time. Block an hour each week to review your “If you don’t time block each day annual and monthly goals (using the Focusing Question to do your ONE Thing, your ONE to identify what matters most). Thing won’t become a done thing." The key is to get an unbroken chain of productivity going (by acting on your ONE Thing daily) and allow momentum and motivation to take over from there. Once you have blocked your time, protect it at all costs. Don’t allow anything/ anyone to move them. To protect your time blocks: 9 Copyright © 2015 Skool of Happiness Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved.  Build a bunker: Have a physical place where you can work with a “Do Not Disturb” sign. Store provisions: Have all necessary supplies and materials handy so you don’t need to leave your bunker. Give 100% attention: Switch off your phone, shut down your emails and internet browser etc. so you can focus fully on your ONE Thing. Enlist support: Inform those who may seek you out during KEY QUOTES the time block, so they know when they can access you. The Three Commitments Time-blocking alone is not enough. You need 3 key commitments: Follow the Path of Mastery. Mastery is a commitment to “Mastery actually means you’re a becoming your best. It is a never-ending journey - see it master of what you know and an as a path to embark on, rather than a destination to arrive apprentice of what you don’t.” at. As you gain mastery, your self-confidence and success competence will grow, and you find each successive domino easier to conquer. Move from “E” to “P”. Don’t just do the best you can (the “Entrepreneurial approach”). Do the best way it can be done (the “Productive approach”). Using the “P” approach means constantly narrowing down your choices to what you should do, and focusing on those choices, even if feels unnatural. That way, you get the most results out of your effort. Hold yourself accountable for achieving your ONE “Focus is a matter of deciding what Thing. Take complete ownership for your outcomes. things you’re not going to do.” This involves seeking and acknowledging reality, then - John Carmack - taking ownership to find and execute the best solution. Don’t fight reality nor be a victim of circumstances. To accelerate the process, find an “accountability partner” e.g. a mentor or coach. “If you can’t say no a lot, you’ll never truly be able to say yes to achieving your ONE Thing.” Manage the 4 Thieves of Productivity Start saying “no”: It’s not possible to please everyone. Say “When you strive for greatness, “yes” to your ONE Thing (and consider requests related chaos is guaranteed to show up.” to that priority). Say “no” to everything else. 10 Copyright © 2015 Skool of Happiness Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved.  Accept chaos: When you focus on your ONE Thing, other stuff will inevitably pile up. Don’t fight the mess or chaos. Trust that commitment to your main priority will, over time, yield the results that will prove you made the right decisions. Manage your energy: Good personal energy management is foundational to productivity. This includes spiritual, physical, emotional, mental and business energies. The KEY QUOTES secret is to spend the early hours of your day energizing yourself, so you have what you need for the day. Take ownership of your environment. Your environment “When you clear the path to includes who you see (people) and what you experience success – that’s when you (place). Make sure these are aligned with and support consistently get there.” your ONE Thing. Conclusion Extraordinary results don’t happen overnight. They are “Your journey toward built sequentially, one step at a time. By using the Focusing extraordinary results will be Question to survey and narrow down your options, line up your built above all else on faith... priorities and do what matters most, you are setting yourself Faith ultimately leads to action.” up for success and a life with no regrets. Your ONE Thing now is to identify the ONE Thing you can do to get started on this “Actions build on action. Habits journey – and do it. build on habit. Success builds on success. The right domino knocks Other details to look out for in the book down another and another and another. So whenever you want The book comes with several practical examples and extraordinary results, look for the illustrations to help readers understand the concept levered action that will start of the ONE Thing and how to apply it. You can visit a domino run for you.” www.the1thing.com for additional resources. About the Author & Co-Author of The One Thing Gary Keller is an American author and a real estate entre- preneur. He has been working in real estate for over 30 years, and is the founder and chairman of the board for Keller Williams Realty, the largest real estate franchise in North America. He is also a coach and keynote speaker, helping others 11 Copyright © 2015 Skool of Happiness Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved.  to find success by focusing on their ONE thing. Besides The One Thing, Keller has written three nationally best-selling books: The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, and SHIFT: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times. Jay Papasan is an American author and KEY QUOTES business executive. He worked as an editorial assistant at New Market Press, then as an associate editor at HarperCollins, before working at Keller Williams Realty. He is now the vice president of publishing and executive editor at KellerINK, the publishing arm of Keller Williams Realty. He and his wife Wendy are owners of The Papasan Real Estate Team. In 2014 he was named by the Swanepoel Power 200 as one of the Most Powerful People in Real Estate. Besides The One Thing, he also co-authored other books like The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, Your First Home, etc. More details are available at www.the1thing.com About ReadinGraphics ReadinGraphics captures pearls of wisdom from the best books around the world, chunks down concepts into simple, actionable steps, and presents them in graphics that you can absorb at a glance. We cut through the clutter to bring ideas to life, making it easier to see, organize and apply insights to create breakthroughs. Find out more about us at https://readingraphics.com www.readingraphics.com ReadinGraphics ReadinGraphics 12 Copyright © 2015 Skool of Happiness Pte Ltd. 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