1. Introduction
1.1. The One Thing
1.1.1. Where Gary had accomplished great things his concentration was narrowed, where his success varied his focus had too
1.1.2. The way to get the most out of your life is to go as small or narrow as possible
1.1.3. If you want to achieve a lot of extraordinary things it actually takes subtraction not addition
1.2. The Domino Effect
1.2.1. A single domino is a capabale of toppling another domino 50% larger than itself
1.2.1.1. That means that after 50 dominos you could topple one the size of Mt. Everest and at just 57 you could topple one that would touch the moon
1.2.2. Toppling domino's is straightforward, you line them up and just topple the first one so in order to be successful find the lead domino and whack away
1.3. Success Leaves Clues
1.3.1. The ONE thing is actually everywhere if you know what you are looking for
1.3.1.1. One product or service is what many great companies are built on
1.3.1.2. One person is all it takes to help successful people achieve their goals
1.3.1.3. One Life is all it takes for truly successful people to leave a lasting impact on millions
2. The Lies
2.1. Everything Matters Equally
2.1.1. When everything feels urgent and important everything seems equal
2.1.2. Activity is often unrelated to productivity and busyness rarely takes care of business
2.1.3. Successful people don't work from to-do lists they work from a clear sense of priority, once you know what is highest and best use you can create a Success list following the domino effect
2.1.4. The Pareto Principle
2.1.4.1. 20% of your activities will get you 80% of the results
2.1.4.2. Choosing to spend time on that 20% is the core essence of The ONE Thing
2.1.4.2.1. True ONE Thing is to get to the 20% of the 20% and continue that process until there is truly only one thing left to do
2.2. Multitasking
2.2.1. The human mind is setup to crave multitasking because our ancestors needed to do it to survive, but with so many distractions and an environment that feeds into distraction multitasking no longer serves us
2.2.2. "Task Switching" is when we switch from one mentally demanding task to another mentally demanding task
2.2.2.1. Task switching can cause anywhere from a 25% time bump for simple tasks and a 100% bump for more complicated tasks
2.2.2.2. Task switching exacts a cost that few are even aware they are paying
2.2.3. Every time we try to do two or more things at once we're simply taking our focus away from our most important tasks and dumbing ourselves down
2.2.3.1. There is only so much brain capacity available at one time
2.2.3.2. The more time you spend on a secondary task the less likely you are to circle back to your main task
2.2.3.3. Chronic multitaskers distort how long things take to get done and almost alway overestimate the time something will take
2.2.3.4. Multitaskers make more mistakes than singletaskers
2.2.3.5. Multitaskers experience much more stress than singletaskers
2.3. A Disciplined Life
2.3.1. There is an idea that a successful person is a disciplined person, this is actually a lie you can be more successful being less disciplined than you think, success is about doing the right thing not about doing everything
2.3.1.1. When you focus on doing the right thing it liberates you from having to monitor everything
2.3.2. Success is actually a short race, just be disciplined long enough for habit to kick in and take over
2.3.2.1. Habit kicks in after about 66 days and takes over for discipline so the only discipline you need is to choose the right habits and follow them for 66 days
2.3.2.2. Those with the right habits seem to be the most successful, they have chosen the right things and are doing them regularly
2.4. Willpower is Always on Will-Call
2.4.1. Success often seems so straight forward.. All I need to do is XYZ and I will achieve what I want! But it's always a lot more difficult than what it seems because of willpower
2.4.1.1. Great success takes a lot of willpower, but willpower is a finite resource and it's use needs to be well planned and it's reserves replenished
2.4.1.1.1. Make sure to do your ONE thing FIRST because willpower is at it's highest in the morning
2.4.1.1.2. Willpower is what it takes to exact discipline, so only choose ONE new habit to build at a time less you sacrifice them all by depleting your willpower too quickly
2.4.1.1.3. Make sure to eat right because blood sugar seems to have a huge impact on your willpower
2.5. A Balanced Life
2.5.1. No matter how imperceptible it might be, what appears to be a state of balance is something entirely different, an act of balancing therefore the goal isn't actually balance but counterbalancing
2.5.2. Think about two balancing buckets, one is your work life and the other is your personal life, not only is there a balance between the two but there is actually a balance within the actual buckets
2.5.2.1. Work life bucket
2.5.2.1.1. View your work as involving a skill or knowledge that must be mastered and give disproportionate time to your ONE Thing this will mean you have to let other less meaningful things fall to the side in order to counterbalance
2.5.2.2. Home life bucket
2.5.2.2.1. Personal life actually has several different areas that are important, for each person it will be different and each person will have to spend a different amount of time on each area, just know that when you spend a lot of time on a certain area you will need to take time away from another area.
2.6. Big is Bad
2.6.1. Most people think "What do I do next" when it comes to success in most areas of their life
2.6.1.1. Instead of thinking what do I do next, try thinking big.. Instead of thinking how can I get 10 think how can I get 20? That practically guarantees that you'll hit your goal
2.6.2. Don't fear setting big goals, fear mediocrity, fear waste, fear the lack of living to your fullest
2.6.2.1. When we fear big, we either consciously or subconsciously work against it we either run towards lesser outcomes or run away from bigger ones
2.6.3. Only living big will let you experience your true life and work potential
3. The Truth
3.1. Unclenched
3.1.1. Typical habits that are taught today are about what you need to do; wake up early, work incredibly long hours and say yes to every opportunity. This can cause us to live a "Clenched" life where we are always unhappy, overworked and overwhelmed.
3.1.1.1. This is where you see even "successful" people burn out
3.1.1.2. This is where you see unsuccessful people perpetually stuck because they don't have energy to master anything
3.1.2. Unclenching simply means ditching those habits and following the one thing
3.1.2.1. Success comes down to being appropriate with your time not the tips and tricks
3.1.2.2. Can you honestly say that this is where you are supposed to be and you're doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing? That's what really leaves to success.
3.2. The Focusing Question
3.2.1. The quality of any answer depends on the quality of the question
3.2.1.1. The questions we ask ourselves determine the answers that eventually become our lives
3.2.1.2. Pay attention to the questions you're asking yourself right now and you'll realize that you're exactly where your questions have lead you
3.2.2. What's the one thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?
3.2.2.1. What's the one thing I can do
3.2.2.1.1. Sparks focus
3.2.2.1.2. Forces specificity
3.2.2.1.3. Directs you to choose something possible
3.2.2.2. Such that by doing it
3.2.2.2.1. Bridge between just doing something and doing something for a specific purpose
3.2.2.2.2. Let you know to dig deep because once you do the one thing something else is going to happen for you
3.2.2.3. Everything else will be easier or unnecessary
3.2.2.3.1. "Give me a long enough lever and I can move the world" - Archimedes
3.2.2.3.2. The act of finding the first domino
3.2.2.3.3. Most things don't need to be done
3.3. The Success Habit
3.3.1. The Focusing Question is the foundational habit to achieve extraordinary results and lead a big life
3.3.1.1. Apply it to important areas of life (Order of Importance)
3.3.1.1.1. Sprititual
3.3.1.1.2. Health
3.3.1.1.3. Personal Life
3.3.1.1.4. Relationship
3.3.1.1.5. Job
3.3.1.1.6. Financial Life
3.3.1.2. Make it a daily habit
3.3.1.2.1. Asking yourself the focusing question consistently helps you stay on track daily
3.3.1.2.2. When you feel off track or lost use the focusing questions to get the answer to what you should be doing
3.4. The Path To Great Answers
3.4.1. 1. Ask a great question
3.4.1.1. "Big and Specific"
3.4.1.1.1. What is something big that will make you stretch?
3.4.1.1.2. Put a timeframe or end on the question to make it specific
3.4.1.1.3. EX. "How can I double my sales in the next six months?"
3.4.2. 2. Find a great answer
3.4.2.1. Answers come in three categories
3.4.2.1.1. Doable
3.4.2.1.2. Strech
3.4.2.1.3. Possibility
3.4.2.2. First two categories are rejected by high achievers
4. Extraordinary Results
4.1. The Ice-Burg Analogy
4.1.1. Productivty
4.1.2. Priority
4.1.3. Purpose
4.1.4. *Productivity is like the tip of the Ice-Burg it's all we see but below the surface it's supported by priority and purpose
4.2. Live With Purpose
4.2.1. Happiness happens on the way to fulfillment
4.2.1.1. Seeking happiness is not the best way to find it
4.2.1.2. Lasting happiness happens when you make your life about something bigger, something that brings meaning and purpose to your everyday actions
4.2.2. Discover Your Big Why
4.2.2.1. Ask yourself what drives you, what gets you up in the morning, what keeps you going when you're tried?
4.2.2.2. This is why you're excited for life, why you're doing what you're doing
4.2.3. Absent an Answer Pick a Direction
4.2.3.1. "Purpose" and "Big Why" sound heavy but they don't have to be
4.2.3.1.1. Think of it like the one thing you want your life to be about more than any other thing
4.2.3.1.2. Try writing it down and marching down the path for a little while
4.3. Life by Priority
4.3.1. Live with purpose and you know where you want to go, live with priority and you'll know how to get there
4.3.2. Goal setting to the now
4.3.2.1. Setting distant goals is important as a guiding post to measure our priorities based on our purpose, but it's a poor motivation tool as it's so far away it's easy to procrastinate
4.3.2.2. Setting goals starting from someday and leading to the now is the solution
4.3.2.3. Think of it this way
4.3.2.3.1. "What's The ONE Thing I Would Like to Accomplish"
4.3.2.3.2. See how it looks similar to our domino effect from before?
4.4. Live For Productivity
4.4.1. Putting together a life of extraordinary results simply from getting the most out of what you do when what you do matters therefore the most successful people are the most productive people
4.4.2. Time Blocking
4.4.2.1. The act of scheduling your time in advance
4.4.2.2. First Time Block Your Time Off
4.4.2.2.1. Successful people see themselves working between vacations
4.4.2.2.2. Least successful people don't reserve time off because they don't think they'll deserve it of be able to afford it
4.4.2.2.3. Resting is as important as working
4.4.2.2.4. Book off weeks of vacation, long weekends, or even just days off
4.4.2.3. Time Block Your One Thing
4.4.2.3.1. Most important work comes second because you need to be well rested for it
4.4.2.3.2. Design your day around your one thing
4.4.2.4. Time Block Your Planning Time
4.4.2.4.1. Block one hour each week to review your annual and monthly goals
4.4.2.4.2. Keep track of your one thing by marking a red X on a calendar every time you finish your four hours
4.4.2.5. Protect your time block at all costs
4.4.2.5.1. "Nothing and no one has permission to distract me from my one thing"
4.4.2.5.2. Set up any and every barrier needed to keep people from distracting you
4.4.2.5.3. Set up any and every barrier needed to keep yourself from distracting you!