Finding Your ONE Thing: How to Focus Your Life to Achieve Results

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

I was 15 years old when the movie City Slickers, which tells the story of an unhappy Manhattan yuppie on the verge of turning 40 who joins two friends on a cattle drive, came out. Hmmm … I just realized I am about to turn 40 and some might call me a “city slicker!” But regardless of the looming parallels to my life, I loved the movie and especially the scene where the wise and “bacon eating” cowboy named Curly gives sage advice to Mitch about how life boils down to one thing, and it is up to you to discover what that one thing is.

Twenty-five years later, I’m still thinking about the one thing in life. I recently read the book The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller. After reading Essentialism and discussing it on this blog, as well as many other books in this vein like Grit, Peak, and Mindset, I did not think I would love The ONE Thing. And yet, I did.

Here are the big ideas and takeaways from the book.

The focusing question

“What’s the ONE Thing you can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?” The entire book is based around this single question and the power of organizing every area of your life around ONE Thing. Areas include: spiritual life, physical health, personal life, key relationships, job, business and finances. So to truly be successful, figure out the one most important thing you want to achieve in your life. Then, you can start to plan how to achieve that goal, making changes in the different aspects of your life.

Use the 80/20 principle (then go deeper)

The 80/20 principle says that a small percentage (approximately 20 percent) of your effort can lead to the majority of results. For example, 20 percent of customers might yield 80 percent of your profits. Focusing your efforts on the high-yield areas of life will help you achieve your goals. When I’m training for an Ironman, I don’t try to do all things at once. Instead, I focus on things (like cardiovascular endurance) that will help me achieve my goals throughout the race, not just part of it. I challenge you to think about your to-do list. What can you do that will have the biggest impact?

Give your undivided attention to what is most important

We all know it’s pretty easy to do two things at once, like watch TV and fold laundry (or in my case use a foam roller). However, multi-tasking can be a very counterproductive approach to succeeding at life. “The cost in terms of extra time from having to task switch depends on how complex or simple the tasks are,” reports researcher Dr. David Meyer in Keller’s book. “It can range from time increases of 25 percent or less for simple tasks to well over 100 percent or more for very complicated tasks.”

Use discipline to develop long-lasting habits

Keller says, “In any discussion about success, the words ‘discipline’ and ‘habit’ ultimately intersect. Though separate in meaning, they powerfully connect to form the foundation for achievement — regularly working at something until it regularly works for you. When you discipline yourself, you’re essentially training yourself to act in a specific way. Stay with this long enough and it becomes routine — in other words, a HABIT.”

It can take more than two months to turn a practice into a habit. While numbers vary depending on the person and the habit, it’s important to remember that change does not happen overnight. Staying focused and continuing to try is critical to success.

In speaking from the latest example I recently shared about myself, I told myself that I would juggle every single day until I learned how to juggle for more than 30 seconds. It didn’t take me 60 days, but I forced myself through discipline to practice every day. What new habit do you want to create? How can discipline help you?

Life is a question, not an answer

Finding your one thing puts you in control of your life. This question reminds me of the quote, “big doors swing on little hinges.” This is the simple idea of leverage. We need to look for leverage points in our life. An example from my life that I have spoken about on this blog before is around rest, in particular taking naps. This might seem trivial, but it’s made a world of difference and has changed my whole day. In the morning, I am not afraid to go hard and get a little tired because I know there is relief coming. In the afternoon, I am refreshed and ready to go. Admittedly, I only nap three to four times per week, but I notice a huge difference when I do and it only takes me 10 to 15 minutes to recharge the batteries.

A new version of the 4 Ps

Most of us who went to business school learned about the 4 Ps in marketing: product, place, price, and promotion. Keller discusses new 4 Ps: productivity, profit, purpose and priority. We talk a lot about purpose at Learning House, both as part of the Unstoppable Course and each team member’s personal journey as well as part of the Learning House Way. Keller has an image that shows profit and productivity above the water and priority and purpose below the water, with purpose as the core foundation. He then talks about priority, not “priorities,” as a way to tie back into the ONE thing. Getting really clear on your purpose, the author states, makes setting the highest priority for yourself and organization a lot easier.

Goal setting to the now

According to Keller, “By thinking through the filter of Goal Setting to the Now, you set a future goal and then methodically drill down to what you should be doing right now. It can be a little like a Russian matryoshka doll in that your ONE Thing ‘right now’ is nested inside your ONE Thing TODAY, which is nested inside your ONE Thing this WEEK, which is nested inside your ONE Thing this MONTH … it’s how a small thing can actually build up to a big one … You’re lining up your dominoes.”

I love this concept. When I set big goals, I love to drill back all the way to the now. Whether this is figuring out how Learning House can reach 35,000 students, to completing an Ironman, to buying a new home, I always create this linear pattern of connecting the dots from various strategies and tasks that will eventually get me to the goal.

Be accountable

This book definitely had some loose connections to it, but frankly, I still loved it. For example, the author made one of the most accurate statements around accountability I have ever heard, “Accountable people achieve results others can only dream of. When life happens, you can be either the author of your life or the victim of it. Those are your only two choices — accountable or unaccountable.”

I think a lot of this comes down to perspective and use of language. As soon as we start hearing “they” versus “we,” we know there is a blame bias coming out. As a sample size of one, I am going to work really hard to eliminate “they” from my vocabulary, especially when it relates to identifying a problem. I hope I get more to join me on this quest.

The author concluded this section by providing two insights on how to increase accountability and success. The two insights are: (1) People who write their goals down are 39.5 percent more likely to succeed and (2) People who write their goals and share their progress with people who they’ve chosen to hold them accountable are 76.7 percent more likely to achieve them. Sign me up. This is exactly what I did with the Ironman. I am 100 percent certain that if I did neither of these actions, I would not have made it to the starting line.

The four thieves of productivity

I feel like there could be a sequel just about this topic and I am sure we can think of more “thieves,” but the author identifies four that can really get in the way of success and achieving your ONE Thing. They are:

1. Inability to say no. I have discussed this point one at length and will continue to do so on this blog. It comes down to opportunity cost. If you say yes to something, you are likely saying no to a lot of other things. Make sure whatever you say yes to is a “heck yeah!”
2. Fear of chaos. As the great Mike Tyson says, “everyone has a plan until they are punched in the face.” Life is going to continuously throw you a curve ball that will mess with your head and your plan. Somehow, you need to find a way to embrace the chaos.
3. Poor health habits. Keller says that “Personal energy mismanagement is a silent thief of productivity.” I could not agree more. Your health and your success are intertwined with one another and depend on each to survive and thrive. I talk about what I call the four pillars of optimal health — nutrition, exercise, meditation/prayer and rest. I believe strongly that we need to practice all four of these each and every day if we want to be at our best.
4. Environment does not support your goals. One of the favorite expressions that makes its way around the podcast “self-help” circuit goes, “you are the summary of the five people you surround yourself with most.” This statement is really powerful. Keller puts this in stark terms by stating, “if one of your close friends becomes obese, you’re 57% more likely to do the same.”

So, I will leave you with a few questions and a parable. Do you know your ONE thing? Do you know Learning House’s ONE thing? If not, WE have work to do. Lastly, the author references the old Cherokee parable that I think sums up a key point to this book that fear paralyzes us, whereas faith ignites us.

“My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us. One is Fear. It carries anxiety, concern, uncertainty, hesitancy, indecision and inaction. The other is Faith. It brings calm, conviction, confidence, enthusiasm, decisiveness, excitement and action.” The grandson thought about it for a moment and then meekly asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?” The old Cherokee replied, “The one you feed.”