The ONE Thing
Hardcover | Paperback | eBook | Audiobook
Book Reviews aim to provide succinct, thoughtful summaries of books I have read. They contain quotes from the book, thoughts from others, and also some thoughts of my own. Typically they will be structured in the following order: author, introduction, message and purpose, remarkable chapter, and conclusion. This review will cover The ONE Thing, a book detailing the surprisingly simple truth behind extraordinary results.
Author
Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
Introduction
Gary Keller (founder of Keller Williams, the largest real estate company in the world) and Jay Papasan (real estate entrepreneur) co-authored The ONE Thing, a book discussing the value of simplifying one's workload by focusing on the single most important task in any given project. The book has appeared on the bestseller lists of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Amazon.com.
Message and Purpose
The ONE Thing opens with a Russian proverb that says, "if you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one." This is an apt introduction, as the entire book is about zeroing in on the most important task in any given situation to maximize productivity. Besides a brief introduction and conclusion, the book is broken into three parts:
Part One: The Lies: They Mislead and Derail Us.
Part Two: The Truth: The Simple Path to Productivity.
Part Three: Extraordinary Results: Unlocking the Possibilities Within You.
Part One discusses the inaccurate notions around what it means to be productive and efficient; the lies that we tell ourselves are misleading and they hinder our progress. Conversely, Part Two discusses the accurate truths to achieve extraordinary results; the simple and straightforward truths we ought to believe on our path to success. Lastly, Part Three guides us on how to get there; aligning your purpose and priority will unlock your ability to be incredibly productive.
Remarkable Chapter
Part Two about the path to productivity is really what the book is all about. Part Two is broken up into three chapters: The Focusing Question, The Success Habit, and The Path to Great Answers. The Focusing Question is the cornerstone philosophy of the book and what The ONE Thing is in summation:
"What's the ONE Thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?"
According to Keller and Papasan, whether we seek big answers or small ones, asking The Focusing Question is the ultimate success habit in one's life. The chapter wraps up with the big idea that great questions are the path to great answers:
"The Focusing Question is a great question designed to find a great answer. It will help you find the first domino for your job, your business, or any other area in which you want to achieve extraordinary results."
Conclusion
This book was recommended to me by a quite successful person who mentioned it greatly aided them. I remember thinking, "well, if it aided them then it might have a similar impact on me." And it did not disappoint. Unlocking one's full potential is a sexy sell for any book, but The ONE Thing delivered on its promise and is one I'll be going back to for years to come.