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Some mindblowing Quotes from the book, "Essentialism" by Greg Mckeown.
A thread!
A thread!
1. If you don't prioritize your life, someone else will.
2. Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come. "Less but better" is a principle whose time has come.
2. Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come. "Less but better" is a principle whose time has come.
3. There are 3 deeply entrenched assumptions we must conquer to live the way of the Essentialist:
"I have to"
"It's all important"
And
"I can do both"
"I have to"
"It's all important"
And
"I can do both"
4. To embrace the essence of Essentialism required we replace these false assumptions with 3 core truths:
"I chose to"
"Ony a few things really matter"
And
"I can do Anything but not Everything"
"I chose to"
"Ony a few things really matter"
And
"I can do Anything but not Everything"
5. The ability to choose cannot be taken away or even given away- it can only be forgotten.
6. The Essentialist knows that when we surrender our right to choose, we give others not just the power but also the explicit permission to choose for us.
6. The Essentialist knows that when we surrender our right to choose, we give others not just the power but also the explicit permission to choose for us.
7. We live in a world where almost everything is worthless and a very few things are exceptionally valuable.
8."You cannot overestimate the unimportance of practically everything." -John Maxwell
8."You cannot overestimate the unimportance of practically everything." -John Maxwell
9. A non-Essentialist thinks almost everything is essential.
10. An Essentialist thinks almost everything is non-essential.
11. Ignoring the reality of trade-offs is a terrible strategy for organizations. It turns out to be a terrible strategy for people as well.
10. An Essentialist thinks almost everything is non-essential.
11. Ignoring the reality of trade-offs is a terrible strategy for organizations. It turns out to be a terrible strategy for people as well.
12. We can try to avoid the reality of trade-offs, but we can't escape them.
13.Trade-offs are not something to be ignored or decried. They are something to be embraced and made deliberately, strategically, and thoughtfully.
13.Trade-offs are not something to be ignored or decried. They are something to be embraced and made deliberately, strategically, and thoughtfully.
14. In a non-Essentialist culture these things-
Space
Listening
Playing
Sleeping
Selecting
can be seen as trivial distractions. Yet these very activities are the antidote to the non-essential busyness that infects so many of us.
Space
Listening
Playing
Sleeping
Selecting
can be seen as trivial distractions. Yet these very activities are the antidote to the non-essential busyness that infects so many of us.
15. In order to have focus we need to escape to focus.
16. Whether you can invest 2 hours a day, two weeks a year, or even just 5 minutes every morning, it is important to make space to escape in your busy life.
16. Whether you can invest 2 hours a day, two weeks a year, or even just 5 minutes every morning, it is important to make space to escape in your busy life.
17. Play doesn't just help is to explore what is essential. It is essential in and of itself.
18. "What did you do as a child that excited you? How can you recreate that today?"
18. "What did you do as a child that excited you? How can you recreate that today?"
19. Our highest priority is to protect our ability to prioritize.
20.Being sleep-deprived compromises our ability to tell the diff, and thus our precious ability to prioritize. Sleep will enhance your ability to explore, make connections, and to do less but better throughout your waking hours.
21. If it isn't a clear yes, then it's a clear no.
22.Creating an essential intent is hard. It takes courage, insight, and foresight to see which activities and efforts will add up to your single highest point of contribution. It takes asking tough questions, making real trade-offs, and exercising serious discipline to cut out..
..the competing priorities that distract us from our true intention. Yet it is worth the effort because only with real clarity of purpose can people, teams, and organizations fully mobilize and achieve something truly excellent.
23. Saying "NO" is it's own leadership capability. It is not just a peripheral skill. As with any ability, we start with limited experience. We are novies at "No". Then we learn a couple of basic techniques. We make mistakes. We learn from them.
24. The Latin root of the word decision- is or cid- literally means "to cut" or "to kill".
25. Essentialists accept the reality that we can never fully anticipate or prepare for every scenario or eventuality; the future is simply too unpredictable. Instead, they build in buffers to reduce the friction caused by the unexpected.
26. An Essentialist produces more-brings forth more- by removing more instead of doing more.
27. As these ideas become emotionally true, they take on the power to change you.
28. "Out of all virtues simplicity is my most favorite. So much so that I tend to believe that simplicity can solve most of the problems, personal as well as the world problems. If the life approach is simple, one need not lie so frequently, nor quarrel nor steal, nor envy..
..anger, abuse, kill. Everyone will have enough and plenty so meed not hoard, speculate, gamble , hate. When character is beautiful, you are beautiful. That is the beauty of simplicity." -Ela Bhatt
Indeed that is the beauty of leading ad an Essentialist.
~End~
Indeed that is the beauty of leading ad an Essentialist.
~End~
