Sometimes what you don’t do is just as important as what you do.
We can either make our choices deliberately or allow other people’s agendas to control our lives.
Just because I was invited didn’t seem a good enough reason to attend.
The word priority came into the English language in the 1400s. It was singular. It meant the very first or prior thing. It stayed singular for the next five hundred years. Only in the 1900s did we pluralize the term and start talking about priorities.
The reality is, saying yes to any opportunity by definition requires saying no to several others.
It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.
Weniger aber besser. The English translation is: Less but better.
The word school is derived from the Greek word schole, meaning “leisure.” Yet our modern school system, born in the Industrial Revolution, has removed the leisure – and much of the pleasure – out of learning.
As John Maxwell has written, “You cannot overestimate the unimportance of practically everything.
Instead of asking, “What do I have to give up?” they ask, “What do I want to go big on?” The cumulative impact of this small change in thinking can be profound.
In a reverse pilot you test whether removing an initiative or activity will have any negative consequences.
Essentialism is a disciplined, systematic approach for determining where our highest point of contribution lies, then making execution of those things almost effortless.
The way of the Essentialist means living by design, not by default.
A non-Essentialist thinks almost everything is essential. An Essentialist thinks almost everything is non-essential.
The best asset we have for making a contribution to the world is ourselves. If we underinvest in ourselves, and by that I mean our minds, our bodies, and our spirits, we damage the very tool we need to make our highest contribution. One.
I have worked tirelessly to understand why so many bright, smart, capable individuals remain snared in the death grip of the nonessential.
There is a difference between losing and being beaten. Being beaten means they are better than you. They are faster, stronger, and more talented.
We have good reasons to fear saying no. We worry we’ll miss out on a great opportunity. We’re scared of rocking the boat, stirring things up, burning bridges. We can’t bear the thought of disappointing someone we respect and like. None of this makes us a bad person. It’s a natural part of being human. Yet as hard as it can be to say no to someone, failing to do so can cause us to miss out on something far more important.
You can do anything but not everything.
Essentialists are powerful observers and listeners. Knowing that the reality of trade-offs means they can’t possibly pay attention to everything, they listen deliberately for what is not being explicitly stated. They read between the lines.