Essentialism by Gary McKeown: Do less to achieve more
About the Author
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\nGreg McKeown was recently named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.\xa0He is CEO of THIS Inc, a leadership and strategy design agency headquartered in Silicon\xa0Valley. He has taught at companies that include Apple, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn,\xa0Salesforce.com, Twitter and VMware. Originally from London, he now lives in Menlo Park,\xa0CA with his wife Anna, and their four children.
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\nSource: Essentialism book introduction
\nClick here to buy on The Book Depository
\nhttps://www.bookdepository.com/Essentialism/9780753555163/?a_aid=stephsbookshelf
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\nAbout the Book
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\nThe Way of the Essentialist involves doing less, but better, so you can make the highest\xa0possible contribution.
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\nThe Way of the Essentialist isn\u2019t about getting more done in less time. It\u2019s not about getting\xa0less done. It\u2019s about getting only the right things done. It\u2019s about challenging the core\xa0assumption of \u2018we can have it all\u2019 and \u2018I have to do everything\u2019 and replacing it with the\xa0pursuit of \u2018the right thing, in the right way, at the right time\u2019. It\u2019s about regaining control of our\xa0own choices about where to spend our time and energies instead of giving others implicit\xa0permission to choose for us.
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\nIn Essentialism, Greg McKeown draws on experience and insight from working with the\xa0leaders of the most innovative companies in the world to show how to achieve the\xa0disciplined pursuit of less.
\nSource:\xa0https://gregmckeown.com/book/
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\nLinks
\nGreg on the Tim Ferriss podcast:\xa0https://tim.blog/2019/01/09/greg-mckeown-essentialism/
\nGet chapter one of Essentialism from Greg\u2019s website:\xa0https://gregmckeown.com/book/
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\nBIG IDEA 1 (3:51) \u2013 If it\u2019s not a \u2018hell yes\u2019, it\u2019s a \u2018no\u2019.\xa0It\u2019s a great way of having a litmus test for setting your time and energy. It removes those \u2018why am I doing this\u2019 moments in the midst of a task or activity. These are generally not a great way to be spending your time, particularly if they distract you from your goal.
\nThe \u2018hell yes\u2019 or \u2018no\u2019 is easy and it therefore removes decision making fatigue. Greg has mentioned examples in the book where he said no to things in order to do what\u2019s important to him. For example saying no to a speaking engagement because it\u2019s date night for him and his wife. It gives you an invincible power to be at ease with your decisions and not resent the things you are doing. He also talked about the idea of trade off of problems by thinking about whether it\u2019s something the future you going to regret and resent the past you by letting you do those things.
\nBIG IDEA 2 (6:22) \u2013 Go big.\xa0The reframe that Greg mentioned in this book is that you\u2019re not doing less, you\u2019re going BIG on one thing. \xa0Often we\u2019ll find ourselves in the scarcity mindset (read: FOMO) that by doing fewer things, we\u2019re doing \u2018less\u2019, rather than doing one thing REALLY well (and big). \xa0For some reason doing more things not as well is more appealing?!
\nGreg also talked about the idea of escaping to be able to focus. Create your environment where you are not going to be distracted from your single focus. \xa0For example, Bill Gates famously takes a couple of \u2018reading\u2019 weeks each year to escape and focus.
\nBIG IDEA 3 (9:24) \u2013 Live without regrets. By knowing what\u2019s important you won\u2019t regret doing things because you\u2019re only doing what\u2019s important to you. This can be from a life perspective, business perspective, relationships or travel as this runs through all different facets of your life. There was a quote in the book which says you should be proud of the life that you have chosen to live\u2019.
\nMany people currently feel that the life they have isn\u2019t necessarily chosen by them but being dictated by other people. Greg said that choosing to live in an essentialist mindset allows him to be \u2018unreasonably selective\u2019 on how to use his precious time. It\u2019s about spending your time on things (and with the people) that matter the most.
\nIf you liked Essentialism, you\u2019ll also like\xa0So Good to They Can\u2019t Ignore You\xa0/\xa0Courage to be Disliked\xa0/\xa0Atomic Habits
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\nMusic By:\xa0Stay Right There \u2013 Instrumental Version ByMichael Shynes
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