The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Extraordinary Results

by Gary Keller

When you say yes to something, it’s imperative that you understand what you’re saying no to.

You can’t please everyone, so don’t try.

Personal energy mismanagement is a silent thief of productivity.

High achievement and extraordinary results require big energy.

THE HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE PERSON’S DAILY ENERGY PLAN Meditate and pray for spiritual energy. Eat right, exercise, and sleep sufficiently for physical energy. Hug, kiss, and laugh with loved ones for emotional energy. Set goals, plan, and calendar for mental energy. Time block your ONE Thing for business energy.

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

No one succeeds alone and no one fails alone. Pay attention to the people around you.

BIG IDEAS Start saying “no.” Always remember that when you say yes to something, you’re saying no to everything else. It’s the essence of keeping a commitment. Start turning down other requests outright or saying, “No, for now” to distractions so that nothing detracts you from getting to your top priority. Learning to say no can and will liberate you. It’s how you’ll find the time for your ONE Thing. Accept chaos. Recognize that pursuing your ONE Thing moves other things to the back burner. Loose ends can feel like snares, creating tangles in your path. This kind of chaos is unavoidable. Make peace with it. Learn to deal with it. The success you have accomplishing your ONE Thing will continually prove you made the right decision. Manage your energy. Don’t sacrifice your health by trying to take on too much. Your body is an amazing machine, but it doesn’t come with a warranty, you can’t trade it in, and repairs can be costly. It’s important to manage your energy so you can do what you must do, achieve what you want to achieve, and live the life you want to live. Take ownership of your environment. Make sure that the people around you and your physical surroundings support your goals. The right people in your life and the right physical environment on your daily path will support your efforts to get to your ONE Thing. When both are in alignment with your ONE Thing, they will supply the optimism and physical lift you need to make your ONE Thing happen.

Go live a life worth living where, in the end, you’ll be able to say, “I’m glad I did,” not “I wish I had.”

A life worth living might be measured in many ways, but the one way that stands above all others is living a life of no regrets.

*Start tracking your new habit now with your 66 Day Challenge® calendar at the1thing.com/66daychallenge.