10 POWERFUL LESSONS FROM "THE ONE THING BY GARY KELLER"  

1. What Do You Want? 

This is the most important question related to productivity: What do you want to achieve? 

Do you want to be an active parent to your children? 

Do you want to be a great CEO? 

Do you want to be a business owner? 

Do you want to make a million Naira this month? 

Do you want to be a first class student? 

Knowing what you want is the first step towards becoming more productivity. Identify what you want. 

2. What Is The Most Important Towards Your Goal? 

“What’s the ONE Thing you can do this week such that by doing it everything else would be easier or unnecessary?”

Find the answer to this question. It is related to 1 above. 

3. Everything is NOT EQUAL 

Somethings are more important than others depending on what you want to achieve. If you want to be a first class student, reading daily is more important going for exercise. If you want to be a footballer, exercise is more important than reading daily. Recognize the most important things and go after them. 

4. The 80/20 Principle 

This is also known as the Pareto Principle. It states that 20% of your inputs is responsible for 80% of your results. Or in another instance, 80% of your results is gotten from just 20% of the things you do. Find out the 20% of things that are most important to you and focus on them. It is not wisdom to spend more of your time in an area that does not give you highest returns. 

5. Good Habits, Good Life 

“When we know something that needs to be done but isn’t currently getting done, we often say, ‘I just need more discipline.’ Actually, we need the habit of doing it. And we need just enough discipline to build the habit.” 

As someone said, first you build your habits then your habits determine your future. Build good habits so you can have a good life. Your life is directly proportional to your habits. 

6. The Domino Effect 

A domino effect is the cumulative effect produced when one event triggers a chain of similar events. Design your life in such a way that The Domino Effect can take place. Let one action lead to another. Success does not happen instantly. It happens overtime. “The key is over time. Success is built sequentially. It’s one thing at a time.” Take it one thing at a time. 

7. Willpower is limited 

It has happened to you before, you promised to do something but as the day goes by, your will to do it gradually diminishes. There’s a reason: Willpower is a limited energy. You can’t be highly motivated all the time. Hence, do the most difficult things when your willpower is high. Do the most demanding tasks early in the morning. Use your energy careful and wisely. ‘

8. Balance Is A Lie, So What? 

We’ve all heard that “find the balance to life”. The sad truth is that balance is a lie. No human can truly balance their life. Something will take precedence over another. Balance is just not possible. Take for instance, despite the constant talk about how people spend their time on social media, screen time is not decreasing, it is actually increasing. Balance is not possible. 

So what to do? Counterbalance in the right direction. Find something right, worthy and useful and be obsessed about it. Instead of just scrolling through social media, find ways to make money through it. Instead of watching TV always, learn a skill that allows you to have a lot of screen time. Turn your imbalance into a good thing. 

9. Rest 

Rest is so important. Refresh your mind. Relax. Calm down. No one is chasing you. A dead body cannot enjoy the fruit of your work. When your body says “I am tired”, listen to it. 

10. Get An Accountability Partner

Find some individual who will keep you accountable. It is not enough to say “I want to read 20 books this year.” You will need a supportive, stern and encouraging individual who will help you. Find an accountability partner who will be with you all through. It could be a mentor, a spouse or a friend. Ensure it is someone you respect or hold in high esteem. Someone you do not want to disappoint. 

Thank you for reading...