LARS Ep.9: The One Thing :The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller (Summary)

What’s the one thing that leads to extraordinary results in business and life? In this episode, we dive into Gary Keller’s The One Thing and uncover the surprisingly simple truth behind achieving massive success with laser-focused effort.

What’s Covered in This Episode:

• The core concept behind The One Thing and why it’s so powerful.
• How narrowing your focus leads to extraordinary results.
• Practical tips for identifying your “one thing” in both business and life.
• Why multitasking is a myth and how focus accelerates growth.
• Actionable steps to implement the “one thing” approach in your daily routine.

Building a Thriving Business: The Power of Singular Focus & 'The One Thing' Approach

Leaders Are Readers Series Ep. 9 is based on this phenomenal book
The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results : Achieve Your Goals With One Of The World's Bestselling Success Books by Gary Keller 

Listen to this next: LARS Ep. 8: 12 Week Year. Get More Done In 12 Weeks Than Others Do In 12 Months by Brian P Moran (Summary)

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Transcript

[00:00:00] What is that one thing? That's going to be. The driver of extraordinary results in your life and in your business. I'm so excited for this one. Especially when you're starting out in those early days. Until my one thing is done. Everything else is a distraction. 

It's time to reinvent.

Welcome to the lessons of entrepreneurship. The journey of reinvention podcast, formerly known as the reinventing perspectives podcast. I'm so excited for today. Today's one of those where you have just me. As part of our leaders are readers series. If you didn't know, 

we cover the best selling business. Entrepreneurship. Mindset books that other people out there are saying, if you are an [00:01:00] entrepreneur, appear recommended. 

I'm so happy you're here. Let's dive in. Today's book comes highly recommended. 

I know you have heard of this book. If you haven't read it already. 

The one thing, the surprisingly simple truth behind extra ordinary results achieve your goals with one of the world's bestselling success books by Gary Keller. The one thing. What is that one thing? That's going to be. The driver of extraordinary results in your life and in your business. I'm so excited for this one. So when I started reading this book, 

I had heard of the concept of, , what is your one thing, but I really couldn't narrow down. 

What is the one thing? Because I feel as entrepreneurs, let me know how you feel. Send me a message or put a comment on our YouTube channel. Let me know how you feel. It seems like there's so many things to do. Understanding what is your one thing? It all really seems like it has to be done for everything to come together. I really struggled with pinning down. [00:02:00]

What is. The one thing that will drive extraordinary results. 

Until I read this book. All right. The question, the author, Gary Keller says, keep asking yourself is what's the one thing you can do? Today this week, this month. This year. 

Whatever the time period. What is the one thing that you can do that, such that by doing it? Everything else would be easier. Or unnecessary. Think about that, the one thing you can do. That's such that by doing it. Everything else. Who'd be easier. Or unnecessary. 

Sounds like a business strategy book to me, everywhere you look it's like go big or go home. Do the most hustle grind, what can you get accomplished? How big is your to-do list? How many things are you doing? How many platforms are you on? 

How many clients are you talking to? It almost seems like the culture of [00:03:00] entrepreneurship and business is more and more and more. And this author is saying no, no, no, no, no. To get extra ordinary results because you can be busy doing a lot of things, but not getting extraordinary results. Hello, I've been there. He said to get extra ordinary results, you need to go small. And to him, the definition of going small. 

Is. Ignoring all the things that you could do. And only doing what you should do. 

Right. Going small as avoiding distractions. It's a good thing in this sense. He's saying going small is making sure that you're not expanding your energy in all these places. Move it really slowly because you're spread so thin. We know that burnout. Spreading yourself so thin to get so many things done. And on the other end of like how. Productive are you. Not looking at how much energy you're expending. 

There's a mismatch sometimes. Anyway, if that's you like that's been me, I think. You'll really get a lot from reading this [00:04:00] book. It really opened up my mind to the idea that 

how can I go small? How can I focus on the things that I should do? And ignore everything else that I could be doing. There's so many opportunities. Everything looks like. It's a great idea every time you go online, there's something you that you could do that would help your business or some way new. That you should be where other people are getting business 

you literally can be living in shiny object syndrome and I've been there. 

Especially when you're starting out in those early days. I think really what it is is you're not sure for yourself. Even though, you know what you should do. When you see something else, you question, if that's not the better way of doing it, and then you get caught up in all these tiny objects. This book, he says, It's zero in. Focus in. And try to go. Uh, smallest possible. 

Bring all that big energy. That's going into so many places. And focus it on one [00:05:00] small thing to get extra ordinary results. The other says, think about it as a domino effect. Like we said, you've got so many things that you could be doing that would be good for the business things that are opportunities, but. If you put them up, stack up all those ideas into a domino. What is the first domino? That if it went down. Would make everything else. Easier. Or really unnecessary for you to do. It's an interesting concept. 

But it's something that we almost naturally know. 

can't be good at everything. You have to become good at one thing and then build on that to leverage that, to be good at the next thing. The idea that success. Is compounding. 

And if you think about, compound interest and how money works, it's a little bit at a time. But that little bit at a time, working really hard over time becomes something really big and valuable. 

How do you [00:06:00] identify? You want thing? Because after I read all of this and it really made a lot of sense to me still I'm reading the book and I'm still thinking, but still, I don't know. My one thing. And I don't know how to identify my one thing. Cause I'm looking at all these things and really. In all fairness, sometimes they look almost equal 

I wouldn't say one is better than the other, one leads to something else. 

And the other leads to something else, which I feel are both equally good. Got if you think of this idea of the one thing, I think a lot of. Famous business visionaries right now. 

Have put the own twist on this idea of the one thing. If you think of Alex or mosey, 

Alex talks about skill stacking. , starting with one skill and becoming really, really good at that one skill and then leveraging that one skill and then learning another getting to be a successful entrepreneur. By literally building one skill after another. Sequentially. 

Another person who talks about this is. 

Patrick bet, David, I don't know if you've read. Your next five moves. If you haven't. I [00:07:00] highly recommend that book. I think he did a fantastic job in that book, especially for. Shaping your entrepreneurship mind and the beginning of what to expect and how to move into an instances. Anyway. Patrick bud David in the next five moves, which is the strategy book. 

Once again. He talks about. Having an idea of. What move you're going to take next. It's the same thing , as the one thing and the sort of skill stacking in different language. What's going to be a next move. And he says, most people think two moves out. 

If I get this done and this becomes successful, then the next thing I'm going to do is I'm going to do this, but he says, you need to think at least five moves out. Either way. The idea is that at any one point in time, there's only one thing that you're driving in order to get extraordinary results. The interesting addition that Patrick, but David ads. Is that he says that. , if you think about your next five moves as five. Arches. 

Before. You come to the top of [00:08:00] the first arch and that arches, a botch to come to an end, the beginning of another arch is also taking place. As you're getting success and you've reached the pinnacle of one thing, you begin to introduce the next thing. 

So it's not like. You're only doing one thing and then it comes to a standstill and then what's the next thing, , it's. Moving yourself into a cycle, a sequential cycle. All the same different words, but it gives you a mental picture. A mental framework of how to think about things that you're doing in your business. Anyway. I ramble, but if I run, believe me now. , follow us on Instagram or you can follow us on YouTube where you can leave a comment. Some of the key nuggets from this book. Gary Keller says don't have a to-do list because we all sit down every day and we have a to-do list. And, , if you're trying to be efficient and effective, you're planning your next day, the night before and you know what needs to be done and you're not wasting any time. But he says, rather than just having a [00:09:00] list of things to do. Do you have a success list? And he defines this as a list that is purposefully. Created around extraordinary results. What do you need to do? To get extraordinary results. Do you have that list? And are you working that list? Every single day. 

The central misses, the central concept of this book. But at that one thing that you can do. Today visit to-do list tomorrow next week, if you're planning your week. The one thing that you need to do, such that by doing it, everything else would become. Easier or unnecessary. 

That's the qualifier. Off. What should be on your success list?

And , how do you know if you're writing your success list or you're just writing another to-do list. He says your to-do list is full of things. It's never ending. But your success list. I should only have a few things. That same. Idea [00:10:00]from Alex Moz. 

If the thing is skill stacking, or Patrick bet. David says, if it's about knowing what your next five moves are. Your success list is very small. 

There's so much supporting evidence scientifically. 

Pareto, principle. 80% of your results will come from 20% of what you do. So identifying what is that? 20%? That makes the 80%.

But still, you got to still be wondering. Okay. 

Still, what is that? 20%? Right. And he says, be extreme, be radical in. 

Questioning. What is the outcome? Of doing this thing. 

Item by item of the things that you're doing, of the things that you think are part of your success list. What is the outcome that you're expecting for that thing? Be ruthless. And what you allow to remain on your success list. 

This one is for the multitaskers. For those of us [00:11:00] who love to multitask, it says. Multitaskers adjust people who are lousy at everything. And I don't think he's wrong. I mean, when have you ever done something? Superbs something. Outstanding something extra ordinary, not just getting a, done something extra ordinary while you are multitasking. 

I dunno. I haven't. Maybe you have, but I haven't. 

He says that, there's all this idea of discipline. Getting you to where you need to go.

To become successful, you actually need less discipline than what you think, which , for me, I just finished reading Ryan holiday's discipline is key. Love the book. If you haven't read it, you should. And a challenge that, the ideas of motivation and discipline. It only goes so far. And what you want is to make it easy for you to succeed. Even though yes, you do have the discipline and you do have the drive make it easy for yourself to succeed. 

That combination of,

discipline motivation. Hard work. [00:12:00] Combined with singularity of focus. And that's pathway. That's been cleared of distractions and shiny objects to get you to extraordinary results. As what we're looking for. Now, this idea really struck a chord. He said, Time waits for no one. I don't know about you, but it feels like one minute we're in January and now we're in may. I don't know when you're listening to this, but still, time is just. Not waiting for anybody. And he says, now, imagine. How much longer, it will take you to get to where you're going. 

If you are trying to do a whole bunch of. , go big or go home things. Whereas in. You could compress time. By going small and reach that extraordinary result faster. Prioritize. 

Be a person of habit. Create the habit. Of working. On your. Success list. And I think when you entrepreneur, sometimes we know what we need to do [00:13:00] to get. To where we're trying to go. You're building a business, all those things you really don't want to do that. You know that if you did do them. Would lead to your business becoming successful. 

And you're just trying to circumvent the process somehow. Whereas an, if you face those things that you don't know, God, the knowledge that you need, started doing that hard thing. That's going to get you the results that you need. So that everything else, all the little things that we tinker about with, and all the little things that take up a lot of time and drive us crazy. Become irrelevant. We would win the game. We had a guest who spoke to us about winning the moments. And I think that idea about winning the moments, really lines a ball with this one thing. You have that one thing that will get you to success do not avoid it. Do the hot thing that will knock that first domino out and your business in whatever area of your life. 

Cause he said, this is not just for business and the different [00:14:00] areas of life and your relationship. The tough things that you need to. Face hit on to have a great relationship or in your. Family , the tough things you need to confront so that you can have a great relationship. So that all those little. Squabbles. Become unnecessary. , bring it to every aspect of your life. Knock that hot thing out. Put all your energy into it did not avoid it. Understand, what's going to make you successful. And it's interesting because now that I think about the various aspects of life, everybody knows what it takes to have a successful business. 

We know what we need to do to have successful relationships. We know what we need to do to have successful finances. And we avoid. We tried to do all the little bits and pieces that seem like the easiest and, go overdrive in those things. When. What we should do is address the one main thing. And he says, which is funny. Remember the beginning, I said, [00:15:00] he says, go small. Get rid of all the distraction, all the shiny objects. I would just want to identify the one thing. Then it says in that one thing that small thing. Think big. He says, don't think about, how can I, , improve a little bit? 

Or how can I, go from 10% to 12%? He says, know, think big. Thanks so big that you don't know how to get there in that. One thing. In doing that, you guarantee that you'll meet your goal. The other way that the author says to think about the idea of the one thing is remember from the definition, what's the one thing that I can do that small thing. The one thing, no distractions. That's going to get me to success. That small thing that I'm going to think big about and I'm going to act boldly on such that by doing it. Everything else will become easier. Or unnecessary. 

This is, going to be the ultimate leverage that I'm going to need to get me to where I'm trying to [00:16:00] go. He says, I actually think I'm going to do this, write this down some way that on my computer, probably above my computer. Until my one thing is done. Everything else is a distraction. And really focus on building that habit of doing that one thing. James clear. An atomic habits talks about this. The author , references. FM Alexander. , people do not decide their futures. They decide their habits. And their habits decide their futures. If we get into the habit of. Being all over the place or trying to do multiple things all the time. We create little spots of success and different things. And.

There's no domino. 

There's no. Leverage for us to get those extraordinary results. , there's enough light yen, light, then like there that, , we're pretty good at that. But what we want is to be extraordinary at something, especially as entrepreneurs and small business owners. We spend so much [00:17:00] time. Energy. Emotion. , Psychologically trying to. Accomplish these goals and trying to build businesses that serve people. And the last thing we want is to be overstretched, burnt out. And unsuccessful in the process. Anything that we can do to maximize our ability to succeed. Even if that means for now, shelfing a lot of the things that we could do. And just focusing on what we should do. Even if you think about creating a name for yourself in a student space, 

In a tiny, tiny niche. Creating a name for yourself in that niche. 

I can't remember her name now. I don't know if you've heard the quote. The niche will lead to the blowup. The niche will lead you to blowing up. That's what we're looking for is entrepreneurs and small business owners. We need some leverage to help us to get to the next place with ease. And to make certain things unnecessary. Too much [00:18:00]hustle, too much struggle to make certain things unnecessary by first. Proving ourselves some way. That we can get extraordinary results. And then some practical examples of how we can do this. Gary Keller says. Ask great Christians. If you ask great questions, you will stumble onto great answers. ,

Ask a big and specific question. So for example, what can I do to double my sales in six months or 90 days? Very specific. And going big. And to find that answer, you will have to do a lot of thinking. A lot of researching, a lot of speaking to people. To help you narrow down on what it is that you can do. To put on your success list to get you to that success. I almost wish that this was the previous book and Ali does a read a series because of the previous episode we talked about the 12 week year. The general concept of the book. Rather than to think of your year in 12 months. Compressing it into 12 weeks and really [00:19:00] driving for results in those 12 weeks. Now. If we think about having that one thing well-defined. And then driving for the results and 12 weeks. Oh, how powerful is that? 

I hope that. 

You got something out of listening to this episode as always please visit our website WW dot reinventing perspectives.com. And grab some of the freebies that we have on the previous books. We've read. If you'd like, you can sign up. For a free newsletter and you'll get. I think I'll pass for at least liters or read a series. 

Write-ups. To help you along, you know, Developing as an entrepreneur. His work. And I think that's part of the reason why. I re. Named the podcasts, lessons of entrepreneurship because it's daily learning. If you're not daily learning. And you're not becoming who you could be. As a business person as an [00:20:00] entrepreneur. And it's that journey of trying to reinvent yourself, understanding that there are people who have walked these paths and who have ideas and ways of thinking that you can draw from. And put your own tweak on it as you go through. Entrepreneurship. 

And life and really reinvent yourself as the business person that you see yourself as, or as the person you plan to be, so 

you can be driven by purpose to make the impacts that you hope to have. And part of that is going to require. Learning things that you didn't know, a lot of times you don't know what you don't know. , having frameworks for thinking things through that you didn't have. So that at some point, all these ideas become second nature and you can see a problem and think it through because you have exposed yourself to various ways of thinking about things and various ways of accomplishing things. Our audience. Listeners of this podcast. 

I do wish you. Great success in your. Journey as entrepreneurs, as faith driven entrepreneurs as Christian entrepreneurs. [00:21:00] So that you can go out there and make the impact. That you desire to have. Once again, thank you for listening in thank you for the support. Please keep listening in. Please keep sharing the podcast with people that you think would benefit from us. And do you communicate with, do you have a YouTube channel or lessons of entrepreneurship? The journey of reinvention? Or you can comment and I can read those comments, give us feedback, give it to us how it is so that we can improve and be able to deliver something that's worth. High value to you. Thank you.