The ONE Thing was written by Gary Keller & Jay Papasan & was published in 2013. Gary Keller is 62 and is the Co-Founder, CEO and Chairman of Keller Willams Realty, a renowned real estate brokerage with 940 locations and 180,000 associates worldwide. Jay Papasan is an author & the VP of publishing at KellerINK, the publishing arm of Keller Williams.

Are you doing & striving for more but achieving less? Wondering where your days go? Bringing focus into your life can dramatically change the outcome. Life is too short for would have, could have, should have. Keep the end in mind.

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Chapter 1: The ONE Thing

• Be like a postage stamp —Stick to one thing until you get there.
• To find success, shorten your to do list. If I could only do 3 things this week that would have the biggest impact what would they be. Only 2 things? Now what is the one thing I can do such that if accomplished it would make all other things easier or irrelevant.
• Everyone has the same hours in the day. Time is the currency of achievement. Successful get to the heart of things and go small. Ignore all the things you could do and do what you should do. Do what matters most.
• Achieving more takes subtraction not addition.
• Going small works & gives more time for life and family.

Chapter 2: The Domino Effect 

• Every great change starts like falling the of dominos — A falling domino can topple a subsequent domino that is 50% larger
• Getting extraordinary results is like setting up dominos. Every day line up your dominos (goals/ to do list) and attack the lead domino.
• If you look at those that are most successful you will find that their knowledge was learned over time. Their skills were built over time. Their money was acquired over time. Success is built sequentially. One thing at a time.

Chapter 3: Success Leads Clues

• It is those that concentrate on one thing at a time that find success in this world.
• Successful companies have one item or service line that they are most known for or makes the most money.
• The answer is not always obvious. For example Star Wars merchandise generates the most money but it is the movies that allows this to be possible & are the one thing.
• Most successful companies know their one thing can & should transform based on cultural and technological advances (Apple Macs iPads iPhones iPads etc)
• If you don’t know your one thing, your one thing is to find it.
• No one succeeds alone. There is always at least one person who contributed and was the first to influence, train or manage them.
• Line between passion and skill is blurry. It is almost always connected.
• Better results lead to more passion. More passion leads to better results. It becomes a virtuous cycle.
• Passion —> Skill —> Profession —> Opportunity to give back
• We live in abundant world. But the unintended consequence of this abundance is that we face more choices and decisions than our ancestors. The answer to this deluge is the one thing. Less is more.

Part 1: Lies, Myths & Misinformation:

• It ain’t what you know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so — Mark Twain
• Be careful. In our modern world there is a tremendous amount of nonsense parading as truth. Even old parables are not true — Frog in hot water is a lie. Fish stink from the tail down is not true. Bet on the jockey not the horse. Also not true.
• Myths & partial truths get thrown around so much they become familiar and then taken as truth.
• Success has its own lies too:

• Lie 1 — Everything matters equally
• Lie 2 — Multitasking
• Lie 3 — Disciplined life
• Lie 4 — Will power on will call
• Lie 5 — Balanced life
• Lie 6 — Big is bad

Chapter 4: Everything Matters Equally

• Things that matter most should not be at mercy of things that matter least.
• People must be treated fairly but not all people, students or employees are identical.
• The things which are most important do not always scream the loudest.
• Most people are reactive not decisive.
• Activity is often unrelated to productivity. It is not enough to be busy.
• One meaningful task is more important than 100 non-meaningful tasks
• Lists are valuable but have a dark side. They give trivial items a sense of importance because they are on the list.
• Instead, make success list instead of a to do list. Should be much shorter and focused.
• Pareto theory: 20% of actions produce 80% of the results.
• Not everything matters equally. Apply Pareto principle to your to do list to create success list.
• Taken to an extreme we arrive at the one thing.
• Applies to all areas of life not just business
• Go small & go extreme. Focus on the most productive items not just staying busy.

Chapter 5: Multi-Tasking

• To do two things at once is to do neither.
• Multi tasking is a lie. It is neither efficient nor effective. We are really switching our attention rapidly between tasks.
• This may be possible for some tasks such as walking and talking but depends largely on the relative complexity of the task at hand.
• There is no channel interference between walking and talking. One in background & one is in the foreground. But if you were explaining a difficult concept you would probably stop walking.
• Only so much brain activity available at any one time. We can divide it how we see fit but doesn’t create more bandwidth.
•  The more time you spend switching to a second task the less likely you are to return to the original task. Creates loose ends.
• Switching loses time — Researchers estimate we lose 28% of work day to task switching/ distractions.
• Chronic multitaskers have distorted view on time required for tasks. They think tasks take longer to complete than required
•  When multi-tasking we make more mistakes/ poorer decisions.
•  Multi-tasking creates more stress
• Important tasks and people in our lives deserve full attention.

Chapter 6: Disciplined Life

• Success is not a marathon of disciplined actions
• Instead we just need to redirect the discipline already at our disposal to build habits
• People that seem very disciplined are really those that have built a few beneficial habits.
• Success is doing the right thing not doing all things right.
• Habits are hard only in the beginning — It takes an average of 66 days to establish a new habit. Build one at a time. At 66 days we can build 5.5 new habits per year.

Chapter 7: Will Power on Will Call

• Will power is NOT always on will call. false. Will power comes and goes.
• Therefore it is unwise to tie your success to will power.
• Will power is the ability to delay gratification. It must be managed. 
• Instead of “where there’s a will there’s a way,” the phrase should be, “When you have your will there’s a way.” Timing is everything.
• Will power is like your cell phone battery. Every day you start with a full charge but each choice takes some away.
• The more we use our mind the less minding power we have. When you resist something tempting you use some will power up.
• Last in first out. Those parts of our brain most recently developed feel most impact when there are limited resources.
• When willpower is low we fall back to our default settings. 
• These following will deplete will power:
• Implementing new behaviors
• Filtering distractions
• Suppressing impulses
• Resisting temptation
• Impressing others
• Doing something you don’t enjoy
• Do your most important work (your one thing) early in the day when your will power is full.
• Don’t spread your will power too thin. You have a limited supply. Monitor your fuel gauge.

Chapter 8: A Balanced Life

• Balance is bunk — An unattainable pipe dream. It is hurtful & destructive to seek it endlessly/
• Balance is something we constantly do not an end goal.
• Purpose, meaning & significance make up a successful life not balance.
• Work life balance was coined as a term in 1980s as women joined the workforce in mass (and anyone with a pulse knows who initially got stuck with extra work).
• Balance means everything gets short changed. Nothing gets focus. Sometimes extremes are needed.
• Magic doesn’t happen in the middle it happens at the extremes.
• Time waits for no one. Pushing extremes can be misleading as well. Put things off too long and they may never come to fruition (I’ll work hard now and have more time with my familiar later). You don’t get time back. Make sure you are ok with what you will lose.
• Instead of trying to balance your life focus on counterbalancing. When done well it can give the illusion of balance.
• Leave some things undone if necessary but never go so far that you can’t find your way back.
• Focus on what us most important but don’t ignore important things for long periods. Make sure to frequently counterbalance.
• With work life go long (focus on one thing for longer durations at expense of other items). Some things must be left behind/ undone. That is OK.
• In personal life go short. Leave nothing behind. Frequently counter balance.
• Work is a rubber ball. If dropped it will bounce back — Family, health, friends & integrity are made of glass. If you drop these balls they will be nicked, perhaps even shattered.
• When you are supposed to be working, work. When you are supposed to be playing, play.

Chapter 9: Big is Bad

• Big is not inherently bad.
• We are kept from our goals not by an obstacle but from a clear path to a lesser goal.
• There is a common belief that big goals are stress inducing & hard to accomplish. Lowering the trajectory feels safe & small thinking’s rules the day. However this is actually destructive towards long term success. 
• Historically humanity has been very poor at evaluating what is possible — Such as flying, breathing underwater & space travel.
• Big thinking is leap of opportunity. It frees us to different paths, new questions & new possibilities.
• Big thinking informs big action and then big success (10X rule).
• Growth minded individuals focus on success — Fixed minded indivudals focus on avoiding failure.
• Instead of fearing failure (which is part of the journey and allows us to fail our way to success) fear not living your life to its fullest potential (ethical duty).
• Avoid incremental thinking, or “what do I do next,” thinking. Instead think several steps ahead. If goal is 10 ask how I can reach 20. Set goals big enough that even if you fail you will succeed.
• Order your own creations not what is on the the existing menu. Think and act bold.

Part 2: The Simple Path to Productivity:

• Be careful how you interpret the world. It is like that.
• Unclench. Be yourself. Don’t be others version of success. Success is in the handful of things we do well. Be appropriate in all moments of life. Know that you are meant to be doing what you are doing in the moment. Do one thing.

Chapter 10: The Focusing Question

• The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret to getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and starting on the first one.” — Mark Twain
• Getting to the right answers starts with asking the right questions.
• As Voltaire said, “Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.”
• The focusing question is, “What is the one thing such by doing it, everything else comes easier or unnecessary.” 
• Ask this question again & again and set up tasks in the correct domino effect order.
• Doing the right task first builds the right mindset, skills & relationships to continue on to the next task.

Chapter 11: The Success Habit

• Success is simple. Do the right thing, the right way, at the right time.
• Understanding the “Focusing Question,” is most important life habit & a way of life.
• “What is the one thing such by doing it, everything else becomes easier or unnecessary.” Apply this to all important areas of life:

• Spiritual
• Physical health
• Personal life
• Key relationships.
• Job
• Business
• Financial life.

• Address these in order. Each becomes the foundation for success in the next category.

Chapter 12: The Path to Great Answers

• People do not decide their future. They decide their habits which inform their future.

Step 1 — Ask great questions:

• To form the right questions it us useful to imagine a question matrix with 4 quadrants:
  • Quadrant 1: Big & Specific — What can I do in 6 months to double sales?
  • Quadrant 2: Big & Broad — What can I do to double sales?
  • Quadrant 3: Broad & Small — What can I do to increase sales?
  • Quadrant 4: Specific & Small — What can I do to increase annual sales 5%?
• Quadrant 1 is where the focus should be. Questions that inform large and specific goals. Quadrant 4 is too small to lead to extraordinary results (5% change could be from market conditions outside your control. Quadrant 3 is more of a brainstorming question that one that will lead to big achievements. Quadrant 2 is bigger thinking but doesn’t allow for specific action as the timeline is too vague. 
• Now convert to focusing question. What is one thing I can do such that all else becomes easier or unnecessary to double sales in 6 months.

Step 2 — Getting great answers:

• There are three levels at which the above questions can be answered: 
  • 1st level — The comfortable answer or what is already in reach. Extension of how you’ve operated in the past. Will not lead to extraordinary results. 
  • 2nd level — The stretch answer. This level is at the farthest end of your reach. It will require you to  study and emulate what others have done. Potentially achievable may lead to success but not extraordinary results.
  • 3rd level — Going beyond what is within your current understanding or grasp. This answer (the best answer) lives outside your comfort zone and is not laid out for you. It requires studying others but not simply to emulate. Use what you learn as a starting benchmark and then build upon it.
• People have lived long before you & sought similar things. You are not first to be ambitious. Research & understand the experience of others first. Use this to establish a current high water mark based on past results. This becomes your minimum & something you know is possible. Now look for what is next (trending).
• The best question & by default goal is big & specific. A doable goal is just another  to-do list task.
• Best goals push limits and explores the boundaries of what’s possible. Benchmark and trend. Where are things heading.

Step 3 — Extraordinary Results: 

• Even if you are on the right track you will get run over if you just sit there.
• Your big, “One Thing,” is purpose (start here)
• Your small, “One Thing,” is the priority or actions that help you towards your purpose.
• Productivity, priority and purpose are all interconnected. 
• Productivity and profit are what the outside see of businesses. What hides under the surface (like an iceberg) are the priorities and purpose that drive the organization. Purpose driven priorities. 
• Great businesses are built one productive person at a time.

Chapter 13: Live with Purpose

• Life isn’t about funding yourself it’s about creating yourself.
• Purpose is combination of where we are going & what is most importance to us. Our purpose dictates our priority and determines who are are. Priority tells us where to focus our productivity.
• Having money and things won’t lead to lasting happiness. If we lack a big picture view we can fall into serial success seeking. If we aren’t careful we won’t slow down to enjoy what we have.
• Happiness happens on way to fulfillment. There are 5 contributors:

1. Positive emotion and pleasure
2. Achievement
3. Relationships
4. Engagement
5. Meaning

• The last two are the most important. Becoming more engaged in what we do by finding ways to make our life more meaningful is the surest way to find happiness.
• Financially wealthy is having enough money coming in without working to live outyour purpose. Therefore being financially wealthy requires purpose.
• Purpose is glue that allows you to continue striving  towards your goals.
• Seeking happiness isn’t the best way to find happiness. The surest way is making your life about something bigger. Add purpose & meaning to every day actions. What is thing that gets you up in the morning & keeps you going when you are tired. This is your why.
• Absent an answer on your purpose, pick a direction. What do you want your life to be about?
• Gary Keller’s purpose is to help people live the best life possible through teaching coaching and writing. Teaching is his one thing. First it was teaching clients the market. Then consulting with and teaching businesses. Now it is seminars on specific life building principals

Chapter 14: Live by Priority 

• Having purpose gives us our priority & a direction.
• Purpose without priority is powerless.
• It should be a priority in the singular, not priorities.
• Humans are susceptible to hyperbolic discounting. The father away some award or accomplishment is in the future the less we are inclined to work for it. Our present overrides logic.
• To work around this we must set goals to the now but with an eye on the future we want. 
  1. Set a future “someday,” goal and then methodically work backwards to find your one thing right now.
  2. Based on someday goal what is the one thing I need to accomplish in 5 years time such that I am on track to achieve my someday goal.
  3. Based on my 5 year goal what is the one thing I need to work on/accomplish this year such that I am on track to achieve my 5 year goal.
  4. Based on my one year goal what is the one thing I need to work on/accomplish this month such that I am on track to achieve my 1 year goal.
  5. Based on my 1 month goal what is the one thing I need to work on/accomplish this week such that I am on track to achieve my 1 month goal.
  6. Based on my 1 week goal what is the one thing I need to work on/accomplish today such that I am on track to achieve my 1 week goal.
  7. Based on my daily goal what is the one thing I need to work on/accomplish RIGHT NOW such that I am on track to achieve my daily goal.
• Connect one goal with the next. This becomes a way of thinking & a habit. Think big, go small.
• Can skip steps in the chain or it loses its full meaning and therefore the drive. What is the one thing I can do right now to meet my someday goal is pointless and won’t get you anywhere. 
• Write down your goals and your priority. It works.

Chapter 15: Live for Productivity 

• What time management system do you use?
• If time is money are you using the $10,000 system, the $100,000 system or the $1,000,000 system?
• The goal should not be to get more done but to have less to do.
• Be productive on your one thing. Time block and then protect your time-blocks.
• Time blocking makes sure what has to get done gets done.
• Make sure your one thing comes first in your day. Then everything else can fit in. Similar to the investing principle of paying yourself first.
• Time block in this order:

1. Time block your time off.
   • The most successful plan time off in advance & plan work time around down time. You work between vacations. 
   • Resting is as important as working.
2. Time block your one thing.
   • Design your day around your most important thing. Your time block with yourself is the most important. 
   • Most productive people work on event time not clock time. Don’t stop until your one thing for the day is done.
   • Make it as early as possible. Give yourself 30 min to 1 hour for morning items then proceed to your one thing. Keller recommends setting aside a 4 hour block.
   • Time can be thought of as either “maker time,” which is generally measured in half day increments or “manager time,” generally measured hourly. 
   • If you need maker time for a task but use manager schedule your results will suffer
     • Be maker in the morning, manager in the afternoon 
3. Time block your planning time.
   • Ask yourself where you are & where you want to go. Give yourself one hour each week to review. Have weekly, monthly & annual goals.
   • Don’t break the chain. Mark a calendar daily with an “X” if you worked on your one thing. Focus on the next X not all 365
   • Create a time blocking habit.

• Time blocks must be protected. Others don’t know what matters most to you. Commit to the times you have scheduled & refuse to allow them to be moved, “I’m sorry I already have an appointment at that time.”
• Often others requests are about handing off a task NOT getting done immediately. If you receive an important request but are low on time say, “yes, is it ok if I get it to you by this point in the future.”
• Live by philosophy, “until my one thing is done everything else is a distraction.”
• Four proven ways to battle distractions:

1.  Build a bunker. Find a quiet place to work.
2. Store provisions. Have all necessary materials, snacks etc on hand.
3. Sweep for mines. Exit internet browsers, email & remove other temptations. 
4. Seek supoort. Let others know your plan.

• Extraordinary results become possible when where you want to go is completely aligned with what you do today.

Chapter 16: The Three Commitments

• No one who ever gave their best regretted it.
• The Three Commitments:
  1. Follow the Path of Mastery
     • Mastery is a path not an end result. It is a way of thinking & a way of acting
     • If what you have chosen is your one thing, achieving it will make everything else easier or unnecessary 
     • We become masters of what is behind us & apprentices of what’s in front of us.
     • Live by 10,000 hour rule & deliberate practice — If you give 4 hours a day (time block), 5 days per week it will take 10 years to reach mastery. Mastery is pursuit that keeps giving. Each domino gets easier as we build up skills
  2. Move From “E” to “P”
     • Ask yourself if you are seeking to do the best “you,” can do or the best something CAN be done. 
     • Move from the Entrepreneurial Response to a Purposeful Response
       • E is energetic and chaotic. See & do response. You will eventually hit a ceiling of achievement. Then new models and systems are required
       • P seeks to strategically respond with right tools. Requires doing things differently and breaking through ceilings and plateaus. When you hit wall, “I’m still committed to growing and improving so what are my options.”
       • If chopping wood E would grab axe and head into the woods. P would ask where they can find a chainsaw.
  3. Live the Accountability Cycle
     • Actions determine outcomes and outcomes inform actions
     • Take complete responsibility for outcomes. Accountability is the most important of the 3 commitments 
       • If it’s to be, its up to me
     • Be part of the solution. What can I do to take responsibility and act. Don’t be a victim. 
     • Have an accountability partner. A coach or mentor is best — Someone you can commit to being fully accountable to
       • Writing down goals makes us 39.5% more likely to succeed. Writing down goals & sharing progress reports with friends or a coach makes us 76.7% more likely to achieve them. 
       • Accountability works — Sharing our goals regularly makes us twice as likely to succeed. Find a coach. 

Chapter 17: The Four Thieves

• The Four Thieves of Success are: 

1. The Inability to Say No
   • One yes must be defended by 1000 no’s 
   • 50% of getting what you want is knowing what you must give up
     • Steve Jobs took Apple from 350 products to 10. That is 340 no’s. 
   • Saying yes to everything is not saying yes to anything
     • If you feel obliged to respond with more than “no,” say it promptly and respectfully with an introduction to someone else who can say yes
2. Fear of Chaos
   • When we tirelessly work our time block, clutter builds up (both physically and metaphorically)
   • Unwillingness to allow chaos takes away from our one thing. There will always be loose ends & unfinished work trying to get your attention
   • There are some things (friends, family, pets, critical job functions) that must get done — Don’t let them take away your power hour
3. Poor Health Habits
   • If you don’t take care of your body, where will you live?
   • Start each day with spiritual health. Then have a healthy breakfast. Follow this with exercise and family time (hugs, talking laughing). Now plan your day & time blocks. Tackle your one thing. Take a break for lunch and decide what else you can/ should get done in the day. Get 8 hours of sleep and repeat. 
4. Environment that Doesn’t Support Goals
   • Anyone or anything can become a thief. You will pick up the attitude & energy from those you spend time with. Attitude is contagious. Who you spend time with also informs health habits. Hanging out with those that strive for success and continual learning will also rub off. 
   • No one succeeds or fails alone.
   • Physical surrounds matter. Pave your way surrounded by the right people and in the right places.

• The Highly Productive Person’s Daily Plan For Energy 

1. Meditate or pray for spiritual energy
2. Eat right, exercise & sleep sufficiently for physical energy
3. Love and spend time with your spouse, kids, friends for emotional energy
4. Plan, set goals & calendar for mental energy
5. Plan your one thing for business energy

• If you focus on having an energetic morning, the rest of the day will fall in place.

Chapter 18: The Journey

• To get through the hardest journey we need only take one step at a time but must keep stepping.
• As an exercise take your current income & multiply it by 10. Will your current actions get you there in 5 years? If so, this is not a big enough goal. Keep going. Take more action.
• Think big. Focus small.
• Actions build on actions. Habits build on habits. Success builds on success. Start the domino reaction.
• Only those willing to risk going too far are able to see how far they can go.
• 20 years from now you will be more disappointed in the things you didn’t do then the things you did do. Take a leap. Love fully. Live with purpose.
• The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying:

1. Wish they had been happier. It’s a choice
2. Wish they had stayed in better contact with friends
3. Wish they had the courage to express more fo their feelings
4. Wish they hadn’t worked so hard
5. Wish they had had the courage to live a life true to themselves not others

• Apply the ONE Thing to all areas of your life such as:
  1. Your personal life
     • What is the one thing I can do to discover or reinforce life’s purpose?
     • What is the one thing I can do to improve my physical fitness in the next 90 days?
     • What is the one thing I can do to take 5 strokes off my golf game?
  2. Your family life
     • What is the one thing I can do this week to improve my marriage?
     • What is the one thing I can do to spend more family time together?
  3. Your job
     • What is the one thing I can do today to complete my current project ahead of schedule?
     • What is the one thing I can do before my next review to get a raise?
     • What is the one thing I can do to do better work this month?

I hope you found this summary of the ONE thing helpful. If there are other books you think I should read and summarize, let me know! For additional insights check out:

• The 10X Rule Summary
• The Intelligent Investor Summary Series