The ONE Thing Summary - Four Minute Books

1-Sentence-Summary: The ONE Thing gives you a very simple approach to productivity, based around a single question, to help you have less ... Skiptomaincontent 1-Sentence-Summary: TheONEThinggivesyouaverysimpleapproachtoproductivity,basedaroundasinglequestion,tohelpyouhavelessclutter,distractionsandstress,andmorefocus,energyandsuccess. Readin:4minutes Favoritequotefromtheauthor: IlearnedaboutthisbookfromTaiLopez,whodidavideoonitin2014(seemycomment?).Afterwatchinganotheroneofhisvideosonspeedreading,Ithoughtthiswouldbeagoodbooktotryitwith. I’vealsoread itssummaryonBlinkistandGetAbstract,anotherbooksummaryservice(formoredetails,seehere),andnow,becausemyfriendandfellowcoachMarshallaskedme,onBlinkistagain. GaryKellerhasbeenrunningoneoftheworld’slargestrealestatecompaniesintheworldforthepast30years.Apparently,thatwasn’tenough,sohehadtowriteaNewYorkTimesbestseller. It’scalled TheONEThing andherearethe3biggesttakeawaysfromit: Youcanfigureoutyourlong-andshort-termprioritiesandgoalswithasinglequestion. Inordertogetfocused,youhavetolearnhowtosayno. Neversacrificeyourpersonallifeforwork. Ifyouwanttosavethissummaryforlater,downloadthefreePDFandreaditwheneveryouwant. DownloadPDF Lesson1:Youonlyneedonequestiontofigureoutyourpriorities,bothlong-termandshort-term. Ifyouonlytakeawayasinglesentencefromthisbook,letitbethisone: “What’stheONEthingIcando,suchthatbydoingiteverythingelsewillbecomeeasierorunnecessary?” That’swhatKellercallsthe focusingquestionandit’sthecoreconceptaroundwhichtheentirebookisbuilt.MuchlikeTimFerriss,Kellerisabigfanofthe80/20orParetoprinciple,where20%oftheinputgivesyou80%oftheresults. Notallitemsonyourto-dolistarecreatedequal,soinordertomakethebiggestleapsintheshortestamountoftime,you’dbebestoffruthlesslyprioritizingthem. Thebeautyofthewaythisquestionisaskedisthatsetsyouupforfocusonasinglething,whilesimultaneouslypickingthepriorityfromthetopofthefoodchain. Kellersuggeststoaskthisquestionontwolevels:macroandmicro. IfyourultimategoalinlifeistoflyaplaneacrosstheAtlantic,thentheanswertothefocusingonamacrolevelwouldmostlikelybetogetapilot’slicense–itwillmakeactuallyflyingaplanealoteasier. But onamicrolevel,i.e.“What’stheONEthingIcando rightnow,suchthat…”,thatwouldprobablymeantosignupforflyinglessons. Onceyouhavefoundtheanswertothefocusingquestiononamacrolevel,allyouhavetodowheneveryoufindyourselfin“what-should-I-do-next-land”,justaskitagainonamicrolevel,andyou’llknowwhattodo. Onehelpsyoufigureoutthedirectionofyourlife,theotherthenextactionyouhavetotaketogetthere. Lesson2: Gettingfocusedmeanslearningtosayno. IwishIhadadimeforeverytimeanyonequotedSteveJobsonsomething,becauseI’dprobablybericherthanthemanhimselfwaswithinayear. Theman’sadviceisjusttoogood.Atthe1997WWDC(WorldwideDevelopersConference),Stevesaidthat“you’dthinkfocusmeanssayingyes,butitactuallymeanstosayno.” WhenhereturnedtoApplehecuttheproductlineupfrom350to10.Hesaidno340times.That’salotofno’s.ButlookatwhatthefewAppleproductsweknowtodayhavebecome,andyou’llseehewasright. Askingthefocusingquestionistheeasypart.Sayingnotoallyourotherseeminglyimportantandurgentto-do’siswhat’shard. Thebestwaytomakesayingnoeasyistomakeyourselfunnecessaryinthefirstplace.Forexampleifemployeesbotheryouwiththesamequestions,createanFAQanddirectpeopletothat. Trytoreduceincomingrequestsandlow-leveldistractions,soyouwon’thavetosaynoasoften,andifyoudo,makesureyougivepeopleatimewhenthey’llhavetheiranswer. Lesson3: Neversacrificeyourpersonallifeforyourwork. Agreatquotetomakeagreatpoint. “Imaginelifeisagameinwhichyouarejugglingfiveballs.Theballsarecalledwork,family,health,friends,andintegrity.Andyou’rekeepingallofthemintheair.Butonedayyoufinallycometounderstandthatworkisarubberball.Ifyoudropit,itwillbounceback.Theotherfourballs…aremadeofglass.Ifyoudroponeofthese,itwillbeirrevocablyscuffed,nicked,perhapsevenshattered.”–JamesPatterson Youcanalwaysmakeanotherphonecall,sendanotherpitch,orcatchuponyesterday’sworktomorrow.Butyoucanneverundoamisseddancerecital,aforgottendateorchronicbackpain. Workprioritiesnumber2,3,and17arealwaysnegotiableandcanbeputofforsometimesnotdoneatall.AslongasyouareworkingonyourONEthing,you’remakingsurethatwhenyou’reworking,you’redoingwhat’smostimportant. Thatmorethancompensatesforhavingtotake offearly,allowingyourselfenoughsleepandtakingextratimetobuyflowersonthewayhome. Afterall,whatgoodisittoachieveyourONEthingwhenthere’snoonelefttoshare thestoryofhowyougottherewith? TheONEThingReview Youcouldarguethatthisbookonlyhasonegearandthatyoucouldpulloutthefocusingquestionandbedonewithit.Butthenyou’dmissthepoint.Whilethefocusingquestionisthecoreconcept,thechaptersarounditarelikesupportingpillars,makingthewholethingcometogetherinabig,beautifulpicturethatmakesalotmoresensethanthequestionalone. IthinkI’d recommendthistoproductivitynewbiesoversomeofthemoreclassicbooks,becauseitprovidesawholisticapproach,includingtopicslikewillpower,multitasking,sayingnoandlivingwithpurpose. TheONEThing isoneofthebestsummariesonBlinkistforsure,butit’salsoagreatbook. AudioSummary Listentotheaudioofthissummarywithafreereading.fmaccount: WhowouldIrecommendTheONEThingsummaryto? The20yearoldcollegestudent,whonoticedifshedoesallofhertasksinchronologicalorder,shemissesdeadlinessometimes,the47yearoldexecutive,who’stryinghardtomanageitall,butsometimesseespersonaleventsslipthroughthecracks,andanyonewhohasatoughtimetosayno. Learnmoreabouttheauthor ReadthefullbooksummaryonBlinkist GetthebookonAmazon Ratethisbook! Thisbookhasanaverageratingof4.1basedon10votes. Postnavigation SexAtDawnSummaryTheUltimateSalesMachineSummary Followusonsocial facebook twitter instagram youtube pinterest quora FourMinuteBooksparticipatesintheAmazonServicesLLCAssociatesProgram,anaffiliateadvertisingprogramdesignedtoprovideameansforsitestoearnadvertisingcommissionsbylinkingtoAmazon.Wealsoparticipateinotheraffiliateprograms,suchasBlinkist,MindValley,Audible,Audiobooks,andothers.Ourreferrallinksallowustoearncommissionsatnoextracosttoyou,andkeepthesiterunning.Thanks! 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