The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Extraordinary Results

by Gary Keller

What you will be is someone who has something regularly working for you because you regularly worked on it. You’ll be a person who used selected discipline to build a powerful habit.

What you will be is someone who has something regularly working for you because you regularly worked on it. You’ll be a person who used selected discipline to build a powerful habit.

Phelps trained seven days a week, 365 days a year. He figured that by training on Sundays he got a 52-training-day advantage on the competition.

an amazing windfall: it also simplifies your life. Your life gets clearer and less complicated because you know what you have to do well and you know what you don’t.

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

habits are hard only in the beginning. Over time, the habit you’re after becomes easier and easier to sustain.

habits are hard only in the beginning. Over time, the habit you’re after becomes easier and easier to sustain.

Lock in one habit so it becomes part of your life, and you can effectively ride the routine with less wear and tear on yourself. The hard stuff becomes habit, and habit makes the hard stuff easy.

Once a new behavior becomes a habit, it takes less discipline to maintain.

Once a new behavior becomes a habit, it takes less discipline to maintain.

They were looking for the moment when a new behavior becomes automatic or ingrained. The point of “automaticity”

They were looking for the moment when a new behavior becomes automatic or ingrained. The point of “automaticity”

it takes an average of 66 days to acquire a new habit.

it takes an average of 66 days to acquire a new habit. 66 days represents the sweet spot

66 days represented a sweet spot—with

who successfully acquired one positive habit reported less stress; less impulsive spending; better dietary habits; decreased alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine consumption; fewer hours watching TV; and even fewer dirty dishes.

doing the most important thing regularly and, as a result, everything else is easier.

doing the most important thing regularly and, as a result, everything else is easier.

Don’t be a disciplined person.

Be a person of powerful habits and use selected discipline to develop them.

Build one habit a...

No one actually has the discipline to acquire more than one powerful...

used selected discipline to develop a few significant habits. One ...

Give each habit eno...

Habits, on average, take 66 days to form. Once a habit is solidly established, you can either build on that habit or, ...

If you are what you repeatedly do, then achievement isn’t an action you take but a habit...

Harness the power of selected discipline to build the right habit, and extraordina...

The ability to control oneself to determine one’s actions is a pretty powerful idea.

a humbling conclusion: willpower isn’t on will-call.

a humbling conclusion: willpower isn’t on will-call.

“The Marshmallow Test.”

“The Marshmallow Test.”

It was an interesting way to look at willpower.

Kids were offered one of three treats—a pretzel, a cookie, or the now infamous marshmallow. The child was told that the researcher had to step away, and if he could wait 15 minutes until the researcher returned, h...

Left alone with a marshmallow they couldn’t eat, kids engaged in all kinds of delay strategies, from closing their eyes, pulling their own hair, and turning away, to hovering over, smelling, and even caressing their treats.

Left alone with a marshmallow they couldn’t eat, kids engaged in all kinds of delay strategies, from closing their eyes, pulling their own hair, and turning away, to hovering over, smelling, and even caressing their treats.

On average, kids held out less than three minutes. And only three out of ten managed to delay their gratification until the researcher returned.

It was pretty apparent most kids struggled with delayed gratification. Willpo...

Children who had successfully waited for the second treat seemed to be doing better. A lot better.

Children who had successfully waited for the second treat seemed to be doing better. A lot better.

willpower or the ability to delay gratification was a huge indicator of future success.

willpower or the ability to delay gratification was a huge indicator of future success.

“high delayers” fared better.

“high delayers” fared better.

higher feelings of self-worth, and better stress management.

“all good things come to those who wait,”

“all good things come to those who wait,”

Willpower is so important that using it effectively should be a high priority.

“make hay while the sun shines,” willpower is a timing issue.

“make hay while the sun shines,” willpower is a timing issue.

Think of willpower like the power bar on your cell phone. Every morning you start out with a full charge. As the day goes on, every time you draw on it you’re using it up.

Willpower has a limited battery life but can be recharged with some downtime. It’s a limited but renewable resource.

Willpower has a limited battery life but can be recharged with some downtime. It’s a limited but renewable resource.

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

Willpower is like a fast-twitch muscle that gets tired and needs rest. It’s incredibly powerful, but it has no endurance.

The more we use our mind, the less minding power we have. Willpower is like a fast-twitch muscle that gets tired and needs rest. It’s incredibly powerful, but it has no endurance.

The brain makes up l/50th of our body mass but consumes a staggering 1/5th of the calories we burn for energy.

The brain makes up l/50th of our body mass but consumes a staggering 1/5th of the calories we burn for energy.

If your brain were a car, in terms of gas mileage, it’d be a Hummer.

Most of our conscious activity is happening in our prefrontal cortex, the part of our brain responsible for focus, handling short-term memory, solving problems, and moderating impulse control.

Most of our conscious activity is happening in our prefrontal cortex, the part of our brain responsible for focus, handling short-term memory, solving problems, and moderating impulse control.

It’s at the heart of what makes us human and the center for our executive control and willpower.

The placebo group had roughly twice as many errors on the subsequent test as the sugar group.

The placebo group had roughly twice as many errors on the subsequent test as the sugar group.

The studies concluded that willpower is a mental muscle that doesn’t bounce back quickly. If you employ it for one task, there will be less power available for the next unless you refuel. To do our best, we literally have to feed our minds,

The studies concluded that willpower is a mental muscle that doesn’t bounce back quickly. If you employ it for one task, there will be less power available for the next unless you refuel. To do our best, we literally have to feed our minds,

“food for thought.” Foods that elevate blood sugar evenly over long periods, like complex carbohydrates and proteins, become the fuel of choice for high-achievers—literal

“food for thought.” Foods that elevate blood sugar evenly over long periods, like complex carbohydrates and proteins, become the fuel of choice for high-achievers—

One of the real challenges we have is that when our willpower is low we tend to fall back on our default settings.

One of the real challenges we have is that when our willpower is low we tend to fall back on our default settings.

When our willpower runs out, we all revert to our default settings. This begs the question: What are your default settings?

Will you be up for focusing on the work at hand or down for any distraction that drops in?