The following contains excerpts from the book, The One Thing (Gary Keller, Jay Papasan).
At our music school in Odessa, Texas we believe that music is more than sound, it is relationships. When delving into the subject of relationships, the subject of Leadership comes to the fore. One of the most profound aspects of successful Leadership is gaining insight into what to focus on, bringing those being led into consensus.
This is a book about focus and priorities. The thesis is essentially the concept of the Pareto Principle, taken to the extreme. If 20 percent of the effort produces 80 percent of the results, then what is the 20 percent of the 20 percent, and even narrower: What is the 20 percent of that 20 percent, down to the One thing that leverages your greatest strength?
Although the author’s direction is toward life-focus, he allows that this can be done for every part of one’s life in this priority structure: spiritual life, physical health, personal life, key relationships, job, business, and financial life.
At our music school in Odessa, Texas we make it our goal to help the student develop core competencies in their areas of study that allow them to achieve success in a myriad of directions they may choose.
In the author’s introduction, he states, “extraordinary results are directly determined by how narrow you can make your focus…You need to be doing fewer things for more effect instead of doing more things with side effects.” Analogizing the sequential effect of ‘doing the right things’ in a priority sequence to a string of dominoes, he states, “extraordinary success is sequential, not simultaneous…success builds on success.”
“Often, the line between passion and skill can be blurry. That’s because they’re almost always connected…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.”
The Truth- The Simple Path to Productivity
“Answers come from questions, and the quality of any answer is directly determined by the quality of the question. Ask the wrong question, get the wrong answer. Ask the right question, get the right answer. Ask the most powerful question possible, and the answer can be life altering.”
Here is the author’s central thesis of the book, asking this question:
“What’s the ONE THING I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?
“When you do this one thing, everything else you could do to accomplish your goal will now be either doable with less effort or no longer even necessary. Most people struggle to comprehend how many things don’t need to be done, if they would just start by doing the right thing.”
At our music school in Odessa, Texas we endeavor to help each student identify and focus on their unique strength, partnering with them to help them develop it to its fullest potential.
“The Focusing Question asks you to find the first domino and focus on it exclusively until you knock it over.”
“If you want the most from your answer, you must realize that it lives outside your comfort zone. This is rare air. A big answer is never in plain view, nor is the path to finding one laid out for you. A possibility answer exists beyond what is already known and being done.”
“The benchmark is today’s success- the trend is tomorrow’s.”
“Benchmark, the current high-water mark for all that is known and being done. With a stretch approach this was your maximum, but now it is your minimum. It’s not all you’ll do, but it becomes the hilltop where you’ll stand to see if you can spot what might come next. This is called trending, and it’s the second step. You’re looking for the next thing you can do in the same direction that the best performers are heading for, or if necessary, in an entirely new direction…This is how big problems are solved and big challenges are overcome, for the best answers rarely come from an ordinary process…benchmarking and trending is your best option. Because your answer will be original, you’ll probably have to reinvent yourself in some way to implement it. A new answer usually requires new behavior, so don’t be surprised if along the way to sizable success you change in the process. But don’t let that stop you.”
We teach students at our music school in Odessa, Texas that it is not the big event that causes the greatest victory, but rather daily incremental progress.
Extraordinary Results- Unlocking the Possibilities Within You
“There is a natural rhythm to our lives that becomes a simple formula for implementing the ONE Thing and achieving extraordinary results: purpose, priority, and productivity…our purpose sets our priority and our priority determines the productivity our actions produce.”
“Happiness happens on the way to fulfillment…When you ask yourself, ‘What’s the ONE Thing I can do in my life that would mean the most to me and the world, such that by doing it everything else would be easier or unnecessary?’ you’re using the power of the ONE Thing to bring purpose to your life.”
Helping students identify their core strengths and directing them in connecting, that strength to the world around them, provides clarity about their life’s purpose and mission.
“Live with purpose and you know where you want to go. Live by priority and you’ll know what to do to get there.”
“The farther away a reward is in the future, the smaller the immediate motivation to achieve it.”
The author advises to ‘connect’ the future goal to the present in the following manner:
Someday Goal – What’s the ONE Thing I want to do someday?
Five-year Goal – Based on my Someday Goal, what’s the ONE Thing I can do in the next five years?
One-year Goal – Based on my Five-year goal, what’s the ONE Thing I can do this year?
Monthly Goal – Based on my One-year Goal, what’s the ONE Thing I can do this month?
Weekly Goal – Based on my Monthly Goal, what’s the ONE Thing I can do this week?
Daily Goal – Based on my Weekly Goal, what’s the ONE Thing I can do today?
Right Now – Based on my Daily Goal, What’s the ONE Thing I can do right now?
“You’re training your mind how to think, how to connect one goal with the next over time until you know the most important thing you must do right NOW. You’re learning how to think big- but go small.”
“In 2008, Dr. Gail Matthews of the Dominican University of California, recruited 267 participants from a wide range of professions…Those who wrote down their goals were 39.5 percent more likely to accomplish them. Writing down your goals and your most important priority is your final step to living by priority.”
“Putting together a life of extraordinary results simply comes down to getting the most out of what you do when what you do matters…the most successful people are the most productive people…If disproportionate results come from one activity, then you must give that one activity disproportionate time.”
“To achieve extraordinary results and experience greatness, time-block these three things in the following order:
- Time block your time off.
- Time block your ONE Thing
- Time block your planning time.
“Take time off. Block out long weekends and long vacations, then take them. You’ll be more rested, more relaxed, and more productive afterward. Everything needs rest to function better, and you’re no different. Resting is as important as working…The most productive people, the ones who experience extraordinary results, design their days around doing their ONE Thing. Their most important appointment each day is with themselves, and they never miss it…Block time as early in your day as you possibly can.”
One of the greatest life-lessons our students can learn at our music school in Odessa, Texas is that leadership begins with leading one’s self well and breakthrough happens internally, not externally. Once these concepts are embraced, spending time alone seems obvious. Personal practice defines public performance.
“My recommendation is to block four hours a day…To experience extraordinary results, be a maker in the morning and a manager in the afternoon.”
“Block an hour each week to review your annual and monthly goals.”
“There is magic in knocking down your most important domino day after day.”
“Day in and day out, your own need to do other things instead of your ONE Thing may be your biggest challenge to overcome. Life doesn’t simplify itself the moment you simplify your focus; there’s always other stuff screaming to be done. Always.”