The One Thing

by Tony Staunton 04/11/2016

The One Thing

by Tony Staunton

1. 1. The One Thing

1.1. "What's the ONE Thing you can do this week such that by doing it everything else would be easier or unnecessary?"

1.2. If time is the currency of achievement, then why are some able to cash in their allotment for more chips than others?

1.3. Extraordinary results are directly determined by how narrow you can make your focus

2. 2. The Domino Effect

2.1. When one thing, the right thing is set in motion, it can topple many things

2.2. Getting Extraordinary Results

2.2.1. When you think about success shoot for the moon. The moon is reachable if you prioritize everything and put all of your energy into accomplishing the most important thing.

2.2.1.1. Getting extraordinary results is all about creating a domino effect in your life.

2.2.2. Find the lead domino, and whack away at it until it falls

2.2.3. Extraordinary success is sequential, not simultaneous. What starts out linear becomes geometric.

2.2.3.1. You do the right thing and then you do the next right thing.

2.2.3.1.1. Over time it adds up, and the geometric potential of success is unleashed.

2.2.4. The key is time

2.2.4.1. Success is built sequentially, it's one thing at a time

3. 3. Success Leaves Clues

3.1. Ross Garber

3.1.1. "There can only be one most important thing. Many things may be important, but only one can be the most important."

3.2. No one is self-made

3.3. General George S. Patton

3.3.1. "You must be single-minded. Drive for the one thing on which you have decided."

3.4. Vince Lombardi

3.4.1. "Success demands singleness of purpose."

3.5. The ONE Thing shows up time and again in the lives of the successful because it's a fundamental truth.

3.6. The ONE Thing sits at the heart of success of success and is the starting point for achieving extraordinary results.

4. 4. Everything Matters Equally

4.1. When everything feels urgent and important, everything seems equal.

4.2. Henry David Thoreau

4.2.1. "It's not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?"

4.3. To-dos serve as a useful collection of our best intentions, they also tyrannize us with trivial, unimportant stuff, that we feel obligated to get done, because it's on our lists.

4.4. Achievers operate differently

4.4.1. They pause just long enough to decide what matters and then allow what matters to drive their day.

4.4.2. They do sooner what others plan to do later and defer, perhaps indefinitely, what others do sooner.

4.5. A to-do list is simply the things you think you need to do; the first thing on your list is just the first thing you thought of.

4.6. Instead of a to-do list, you need a success list, a list that is purposefully created around extraordinary results.

4.7. To-do lists

4.7.1. Tend to be long

4.7.1.1. Pulls you in all directions

4.7.1.1.1. Disorganized directory

4.8. Success lists

4.8.1. Are short

4.8.1.1. Aims you in a specific direction

4.8.1.1.1. Organised directive

4.9. If a list isn't built around success, then that's not where it takes you.

4.9.1. If your do-do list contains everything, then it's probably taking you everywhere but where you really want to go.

4.10. The 80/20 Principle

4.10.1. Asserts that a minority of causes, inputs, or efforts usually lead to a majority of the results, outputs, or rewards

4.10.2. A small amount of causes creates most of the results.

4.10.2.1. Just the right input creates most of the output.

4.10.2.1.1. Selected effort creates almost all of the rewards.

4.10.3. If you apply this principle it will unlock the success you seek in anything that matters to you.

4.11. A to-do list becomes a success list when you apply Pareto's Principle to it.

4.12. You can take 20% of the 20% of the 20% and continue until you get to the single most important thing.

4.12.1. Do not stop until you end with the essential ONE.

4.12.1.1. The ONE Thing

5. 5. Multitasking

5.1. Multitasking is a lie

5.1.1. Multitasking is neither efficient nor effective. In the world of results it will fail you every time

5.1.2. You can do two things at once, but you can't focus effectively on two things at once

5.1.3. Researchers estimate that we lose 28% of an average workday to multitasking ineffectiveness.

5.1.4. Why would we ever tolerate multitasking when we are doing our most important work?

5.2. Publilius Syrus

5.2.1. "To do two things at once is to do neither."

5.3. If doing the most important thing is the most important thing, why would you try to do anything else at the same time?

5.4. Workers who use computers during the day change windows or check email or other programs nearly 37 times an hour

5.4.1. Being in a distractible setting sets us up to be more distractible

6. 6. A Disciplined Life

6.1. Something needs to be done but isn't

6.1.1. "I just need more discipline."

6.1.1.1. We need a habit of doing it

6.1.1.2. We we need just enough discipline to build the habit

6.2. People who look like they are "disciplined"

6.2.1. What you're seeing is people who've trained a handful of habits into their lives.

6.3. Success is about doing the right thing, not about doing everything right

6.3.1. Use selected discipline to build a powerful habit

6.3.1.1. When you do the right thing it can liberate you from having to monitor everything

6.4. How long does it take to establish a new habit?

6.4.1. University College of London have answer

6.4.1.1. On average it takes 66 days

6.5. Sustain discipline long enough on one habit it becomes easier

6.5.1. So do other things

6.5.1.1. Do the most important thing regularly

6.5.1.1.1. Everything else is easier

7. 7. Willpower Is Always On Will Call

7.1. Is a lie

7.2. When you have your will you get your way

7.3. Willpower has a limited battery life

7.4. The more we use our mind, the less minding power we have

7.5. Kathleen Vohs

7.5.1. 2009 Prevention magazine

7.6. You are what you eat

7.6.1. Foods that elevate blood sugar evenly over long periods, like complex carbohydrates & proteins, become the fuel of choice for high-achievers

7.7. When our will power runs out we all revert to our default settings

7.8. Make doing what matters most a priority when your willpower is its highest

7.9. What taxes your willpower?

7.10. Timing is everything

7.10.1. Do your most important work early

7.10.1.1. Before your willpower is drawn down

7.11. Build your days around how your willpower works

8. 8. A Balanced Life

8.1. A balanced life is a lie

8.1.1. In your effort to attend to all things, everything gets shortchanged and nothing gets its due.

8.2. Extraordinary results

8.2.1. Require focused attention & time

8.2.1.1. Time on one thing means time away from another

8.2.1.1.1. This makes balance impossible

8.2.2. You must choose what matters most and give it all the time it demands

8.2.2.1. This requires getting extremely out of balance in relation to all other work issues, with only infrequent counterbalancing to address them

8.2.3. Set a priority and act on it

8.2.3.1. When you act on your priority you'll automatically go out of balance, giving more time to one thing over another

8.3. Work-Life in the middle

8.3.1. Knowing when to pursue the middle and when to pursue the extremes is in essence the true beginning of wisdom.

8.3.1.1. Extraordinary results are achieved by this negotiation with your time

8.4. Time waits for no one

8.4.1. Push something to an extreme and postponement can become permanent

8.4.2. You can't ignore the inevitability of time

8.5. Leaving some things undone is a necessary tradeoff for extraordinary results

9. 9. Big Is Bad

9.1. Big is about who you can become

9.2. Success requires action & action requires thought

9.3. The only actions that become springboards to succeeding big are those informed by big thinking to begin with

9.4. Everyone has the same amount of time

9.4.1. What you do in the time you work determines what you achieve

9.4.1.1. What you do is determined by what you think

9.4.1.1.1. How big you think becomes the launching pad for how high you achieve

9.5. What you build today will either empower or restrict you tomorrow

9.6. On the journey to achieving big you get bigger

9.6.1. Big requires growth and by the time you arrive, you're big too

9.6.1.1. As you experience big, you become big.

9.7. Don't fear big

9.7.1. Fear mediocrity

9.7.1.1. Fear waste

9.7.1.1.1. Fear the lack of living to your fullest

9.8. Only living big will let you experience your true life and work potential

10. 10. The Focusing Question

10.1. Mark Twain

10.2. Sometimes questions are more important than answers

10.3. How we phrase the questions we ask ourselves determines the answers that eventually become our life

10.4. Anyone who dreams of an uncommon life eventually discovers there is no choice but to seek an uncommon approach to living it

10.5. What's the ONE THING I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?

10.5.1. Powered by the Focusing Question, your actions become a natural progression of building one right thing on top of the previous right thing

10.5.1.1. When this happens you're in position to experience the power of the domino effect

10.5.2. Use this when you first wake up and throughout the day

10.5.3. Whether you seek answers big or small, asking the Focusing Question is the ultimate success habit for your life

11. 11. The Success Habit

11.1. Start with the big stuff and see where it takes you.

11.1.1. Over time you'll develop your own sense of when to use the big-picture question and when to use the small-focus question

11.2. Where to apply the Focusing Question

11.2.1. Your Spiritual Life

11.2.1.1. Your Physical Health

11.2.1.1.1. Your Personal Life

11.3. Believe that the ONE Thing can make a difference in your life

11.4. Start each day by asking

11.4.1. "What's the ONE Thing I can do today for [whatever you want] such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?"

11.5. Research says it will take 66 days so stick with it until it becomes your routine

11.6. Leverage reminders

11.6.1. "Until my ONE Thing is done - everything else is a distraction"

11.7. Recruit support

11.7.1. Research shows that those around you can influence you tremendously

12. 12. The Path To Great Answers

12.1. You ask a great question

12.1.1. You seek out a great anser

12.2. Your questions should be big & specific

12.2.1. "What can I do to double sales in 6 months?"

12.3. A big, specific question leads to a big specific answer which is absolutely necessary for achieving a big goal

12.4. Convert your question to the Focusing Question

12.4.1. "What's the ONE Thing I can do to double sales in 6 months such by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?"

12.5. Answers come in three categories

12.5.1. doable

12.5.1.1. stretch

12.5.1.1.1. possibility

12.5.2. Anytime you don't know the answer, your answer is to go find your answer

12.6. Highly successful people choose to live at the outer limits of achievement.

12.6.1. They not only dream of but deeply crave what is beyond their natural grasp

12.7. The research & experience of others is the best place to start when looking for your answers

12.7.1. This is your benchmark

12.7.1.1. The current high-water mark for all that is known and being done.

12.8. Spotting what is coming next is called trending

12.8.1. You're looking for the next thing you can do in the same direction that the best performers are heading

12.8.1.1. If necessary you can move in an entirely new direction

12.9. A new answer usually requires a new behavior

13. 13. Live With Purpose

13.1. Live with purpose

13.1.1. live by priority

13.1.1.1. live for productivity

13.2. Our purpose sets our priority

13.2.1. Our priority determines the productivity our actions produce

13.3. Who we are and where we want to go determine what we do and what we accomplish

13.3.1. A life lived on purpose is the most powerful of all and the happiest

13.4. If we lack a big picture view we can easily fall into serial success seeking

13.4.1. Why?

13.4.1.1. Once we get what we want our happiness sooner or later wanes because we quickly become accustomed to what we acquire.

13.5. Knowing why you're doing something provides the inspiration & motivation to give the extra perspiration needed to persevere when things go south

13.6. When what you do matches your purpose, your life just feels in rhythm, and the path you beat with your feet seems to match the sound in your head and heart

14. 14. Live By Priority

14.1. Alan Lakein

14.2. Live with purpose and you know where you want to go

14.2.1. Live by priority and you'll know what to do to get there.

14.3. When you're going somewhere on purpose, there will always be something you "should do" that will get you where you must go.

14.3.1. When your life is on purpose living by priority takes precedence

14.4. Purpose without priority is powerless

14.5. Goal setting to the now

14.5.1. You're training your mind how to think, how to connect one goal with the next over time until you know the most important thing you must do right now.

14.6. Connect today to all your tomorrows. It matters

14.7. Dominican University of California

14.7.1. Dr. Gail Matthews

14.7.1.1. 267 participants

14.7.1.1.1. Those who wrote down their goals were 39.5% more likely to accomplish them.

15. 15. Live For Productivity

15.1. Margarita Tartakovsky

15.2. Productive action transforms lives.

15.3. Putting together a life of extraordinary results simply comes down to getting the most out of what you do, when what you do matters.

15.4. A time-managing system's success can be judged by the productivity it produces

15.5. The most successful people are the most productive people

15.5.1. They time block their ONE Thing and then protect their blocks with a vengeance.

15.5.2. They design their days around doing their ONE Thing

15.5.3. Their most important appointment each day is with themselves

15.5.3.1. They never miss it

15.5.4. They work on event time

15.6. Time blocking is a very results orientated way of viewing and using time

15.6.1. It's a way of making sure that what has to get done gets gone

15.6.1.1. Alexander Graham Bell

15.7. If disproportionate results come from one activity, then you must give that one activity disproportionate time

15.8. How time blocking works

15.8.1. Great success shows up when time is devoted every day to becoming great.

15.9. Time block these 3 things in this order

15.9.1. Time block your time off

15.9.2. Time block your ONE Thing

15.9.3. Time block your planning time

15.10. Block time as early in your day as you possibly can

15.10.1. Block 4 hours per day for your ONE Thing

15.10.2. The best way to protect your time blocks is to adopt the mindset that they can't be moved

15.11. Be a maker in the morning and a manager in the afternoon.

15.12. Block an hour each week to review your annual and monthly goals

15.13. There is a magic in knocking down your most important domino day after day

15.14. How to battle distractions and keep your eye on your ONE Thing

15.14.1. Build a bunker

15.14.1.1. Find somewhere to work that takes you out of the path of disruption and interruptions

15.14.2. Store provisions

15.14.2.1. Have any supplies, materials, snacks or beverages on hand and other than a bathroom break avoid leaving your bunker

15.14.3. Sweep for mines

15.14.3.1. Turn off your phone, shut down your email and exit your Internet browser

15.14.4. Enlist support

15.14.4.1. Tell those most likely to seek you out what you are doing

16. 16. The Three Commitments

16.1. George Hala

16.2. Follow the path to mastery

16.2.1. When you see mastery as a path you go down instead of a destination you arrive at, it starts to feel accessible and attainable

16.2.2. More than anything else, expertise tracks with hours invested

16.2.3. The pursuit of mastery bears gifts

16.2.4. Knowledge begets knowledge and skills build on skills.

16.2.4.1. Its what makes future dominoes fall more easily

16.3. Move from "E" to "P"

16.3.1. Continually improving how you do something is crucial to getting the most from time blocking

16.3.1.1. Its called moving from "E" to "P"

16.3.2. E

16.3.2.1. Entrepreneurial

16.3.2.1.1. Is our natural approach.

16.3.3. P

16.3.3.1. Purposeful

16.3.3.1.1. When you're going about your ONE Thing, any ceiling of achievement must be challenged

16.3.3.1.2. Highly successful people don't accept the limitations of their natural approach

16.3.3.1.3. You must simply be willing to do what ever it takes

16.3.3.1.4. The purposeful person follows one simple rule

16.3.4. When you've done the best you can do but are certain the results aren't the best they can be, get out of "E" and into "P"

16.4. Live the Accountability Cycle

16.4.1. Taking complete ownership of your outcomes by holding no one but yourself responsible for them is the most powerful thing you can do to drive your success

16.4.2. Accountable people achieve results others only dream of

16.4.3. When life happens, you can be either the author of your life or the victim of it

16.4.4. Being willing to address reality head-on gives you a huge edge.

16.4.4.1. It puts you in a position to start thinking about what you can do differently

16.4.5. Highly successful people re clear about their role in the events of their life

16.4.5.1. They don't fear reality.

16.4.5.1.1. They seek it, acknowledge it and own it

16.4.6. One of the fastest ways to bring accountability to your life is to find an accountability partner

16.4.6.1. Individuals who write their goals down and send progress reports to friends are 76.7% more likely to achieve them

17. 17. The Four Thieves

17.1. There are 4 thieves that can hold you up and rob you of your productivity

17.1.1. Inability to say no

17.1.1.1. When you say yes to something it's imperative that you understand what you are saying no to.

17.1.1.2. You can't please everyone so don't try

17.1.1.3. A request of you to do something must be connected to your ONE Thing for you to consider it

17.1.2. Fear of chaos

17.1.2.1. Focusing on ONE Thing has a guaranteed consequence

17.1.2.1.1. Other things don't get done

17.1.2.2. When you strive for greatness, chaos is guaranteed to show up

17.1.3. Poor health habits

17.1.3.1. Personal energy mismanagement is a silent thief of productivity

17.1.3.2. High achievement and extraordinary results require big energy

17.1.3.3. Daily Energy Plan

17.1.3.3.1. Mediate or pray for spiritual energy

17.1.3.3.2. Eat right, exercise and sleep sufficiently for physical energy

17.1.3.3.3. Hug, kiss and laugh with loved ones for emotional energy

17.1.3.3.4. Set goals, plan and calendar for mental energy

17.1.3.3.5. Time block your ONE Thing for business energy

17.1.3.3.6. When you spend the early hours energizing yourself, you get pulled through the rest of the day with little additional effort

17.1.4. Environment doesn't support your goals

17.1.4.1. It must support your goals

17.1.4.2. Being with success minded people creates what researchers call a "positive spiral of success" where they lift you up and send you on your way.

17.1.4.3. Oprah Winfrey

17.1.4.4. Don't let your environment lead you astray

18. 18. The Journey

18.1. Whatever you can see, you have the capacity to move toward

18.1.1. Living large is that simple

18.2. At any moment in time there can be only ONE Thing

18.2.1. When that ONE Thing is in line with your purpose and sits atop your priorities, it will be the most productive thing you can do to launch you toward the best you can be