The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results QUOTES

61 " Passion for something leads to disproportionate time practicing or working at it. That time spent eventually translates to skill, and when skill improves, results improve. Better results generally lead to more enjoyment, and more passion and more time is invested. It can be a virtuous cycle all the way to extraordinary results. "

― Gary Keller , The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

62 " When everything feels urgent and important, everything seems equal. We become active and busy, but this doesn’t actually move us any closer to success. Activity is often unrelated to productivity, and busyness rarely takes care of business. "

― Gary Keller , The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

63 " buying into The ONE Thing becomes difficult because we’ve unfortunately bought into too many others—and more often than not those “other things” muddle our thinking, misguide our actions, and sidetrack our success. "

― Gary Keller , The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

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

― Gary Keller , The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

65 " When you see someone who has a lot of knowledge, they learned it over time. When you see someone who has a lot of skills, they developed them over time. When you see someone who has done a lot, they accomplished it over time. When you see someone who has a lot of money, they earned it over time. The key is over time. Success "

― Gary Keller , The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

66 " extraordinary results are directly determined by how narrow you can make your focus. "

― Gary Keller , The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

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

― Gary Keller , The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

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

― Gary Keller , The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

69 " Thinking big is essential to extraordinary results. Success requires action, and action requires thought. But here’s the catch—the only actions that become springboards to succeeding big are those informed by big thinking to begin with. Make this connection, and the importance of how big you think begins to sink in. "

― Gary Keller , The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

70 " As actor and comedian Lily Tomlin once said, “The road to success is always under construction.” So don’t allow yourself to be detoured from getting to your ONE Thing. Pave your way with the right people and place. 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. Screenwriter Leo Rosten pulled everything together for us when he said, “I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be happy. I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be compassionate. It is, above all, to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all.” Live with Purpose, Live by Priority, and Live for Productivity. Follow these three for the same reason you make the three commitments and avoid the four thieves—because you want to leave your mark. You want your life to matter. 18 "

― Gary Keller , The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

71 " Where I’d had huge success, I had narrowed my concentration to one thing, and where my success varied, my focus had too. "

― Gary Keller , The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

72 " Here’s what I found out: We overthink, overplan, and overanalyze our careers, our businesses, and our lives; that long hours are neither virtuous nor healthy; and that we usually succeed in spite of most of what we do, not because of it. "

― Gary Keller , The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

73 " 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. "

― Gary Keller , The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

74 " Don't fear big. Fear mediocrity. Fear waste. Fear the lack of living to your fullest. When we fear big, we either consciously or subconsciously work against it. We either run toward lesser outcomes and opportunities or we simply run away from the big ones. If courage isn't the absence of fear, but moving past it, then thinking big isn't the absence of doubts, but moving past them. Only living big will let you experience your true life and work potential. "

― Gary Keller , The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

75 " when you can see mastery as a path you go down instead of a destination you arrive at, it starts to feel accessible and attainable. "

― Gary Keller , The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

76 " Knocking out a hundred tasks for whatever the reason is a poor substitute for doing even one task that’s meaningful. "

― Gary Keller , The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

77 " There can only be one most important thing. Many things may be important, but only one can be the most important.” —Ross Garber "

― Gary Keller , The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

78 " The truth is that things don’t matter equally and success is found in doing what matters most. "

― Gary Keller , The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

79 " No one succeeds alone. No one. "

― Gary Keller , The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

80 " When you argue for your limitations, you get to keep them. "

― Gary Keller , The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results