Reddit reviews The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

I'm an avid reader of business books and have read all of these. Anything Tim Ferris is garbage in my opinion. That being said, there are three books you have to read:

1. 48 Days To The Work You Love by Dan Miller
   
   
2. The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller
   
   
3. Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt.
   
   You will get so much mileage out of those three books alone and they're all very easy reads.

I'm reading this right now that is only adding fuel to my desire to work non stop. Haha

Not everyone has the mental fortitude to start their own business. You may not have what it takes. The reason I say that is because of what I've experienced the past couple years. I'll give you the cliff notes version.

I'm turning 30 next month. For the last 10 years I've been a part of different businesses, startups, and started a few of my own businesses on the side. I always had a fulltime job that supported me, but I worked on side projects in my free time. Like you I had been dreaming about the day I would own my own business fulltime for YEARS, and I had been actively working towards that goal.

Fast forward to 2 years ago. I finished school, moved to a different city, and started my own business (it's a service business that is client based). I was FINALLY my own boss. All of 2013 I tried so many things to get clients in the door, some of it works, most of it didn't. Worked my ass off, got depressed after working so hard for months and seeing no results and barely getting by. Lost weight because I wasn't eating enough because I couldn't afford food. Borrowed money from every family member I could.

Finally, at the beginning of 2014 I started to get traction. The seeds I planted were starting to pay off. I got media attention and I thought I 'made it'. Not only could I pay all my bills, I had money left over at the end of the month. I enjoyed that success for a few months, but then I made the mistake of resting on my laurels and eventually clients ran out. I then refocused, started crushing it a few months ago, and now I'm finally getting back to the level I was before. I now have systems in place so I won't ever go back to that place I was, that I will keep growing and be more focused.

Why does all of this matter? It matters because being a business owner is HARD. It's arguably the hardest thing I've done, and I have literally been preparing and dreaming of it for over a decade. There were many times I nearly failed, I made countless mistakes, and it affected my happiness substantially. There were many times I would have given up had I not burned the proverbial boats. I HAD to make this work, there was no other way.

Why does it apply to you? Because having a good work ethic and being self motivated is CRITICAL to success when you own your own business. Read stories of other entrepreneurs, they are always working far more hours then their friends, they are passionate, driven, and goal oriented.

Why am I writing all of this? Because I don't think I started out having the most amazing work ethic. There were many times over the past couple years where I would take a day off here or there in addition to my weekends, or that I would do the minimum during my work day. Some of that was due to depressing circumstances, but I was also too easy on myself because I have spent my whole life being conditioned to take orders from a boss. Now I was the boss, and I was being too nice to my number one employee! I had to learn the hard way how to keep myself motivated, and now I consider myself an excellent and effective worker. These are the things I've done, maybe some of them will work for you:

• I work in 60 minute chunks and I set a timer. For 50 minutes, I work completely focused on whatever task is at hand. At the end of 50 minutes I take a 10 minute break and get away from my computer and walk around. This method of working has been one of the most effective things I've incorporated into my routine.
  
• I make a HAND WRITTEN todo list at the beginning of the day. For some reason, actually writing it down is incredibly powerful (I used to just use a list on a computer). I check things off throughout the day. I also put a star next to the item that I consider to be the most important thing to get done, the one thing that makes everything else in my life easier or unnecessary. I learned this from reading the book The One Thing
  
• I set a schedule for the day and I stick to it. I know when I am going to start my day, and when I'm going to end my day. Also, even though I work from home I make sure that I get dressed instead of just working in my PJ's.
  
• I take care of myself. This means I work out a few times a week, I make sure I eat a health breakfast, I meditate, and when I'm off work I don't check e-mail or work on work related things. This actually makes me really eager to get to work the next day and really crush it.
  
• I keep a work journal. I write in my work journal every day listing what I've done, my thoughts of the day, and various personal metrics I'm tracking. This journal has been instrumental in my success, because after I looked over it I was able to see patterns where I didn't see them before. It was through this journal that I realized I was so much more productive when I worked in 60 minute chunks with a 10 minute break.
  
• I have a white board that I see it every day that I list my goals I want to hit for the day, for the week, and for the month. I have things on these different lists that are things I know are crucial to complete if I want my business to sustain itself and grow.
  
• I talk with others about my goals. Now, there is something to be said about keeping goals hidden which can make you more productive, but I also talk about my day to my family and friends when we hang out at night which keeps me accountable. I want to be able to say, "Wow I really crushed it today, I did X, Y, and Z, which really moves me forward." instead of, "I checked some e-mails... and that's about it..."
  
  More so than anything, I think the thing that keeps me motivated are those times I can point to in the past couple years where I had no money. Where I was eating one meal a day, and I was depressed as fuck. I don't ever want to go back there. Some people can learn from others mistakes, other people have to learn the hard way. I wanted to be the former, but I turned out to be the latter.
  
  Now, you're road may be easier than mine. Maybe you are smarter than me, maybe you have advantages I don't have, I have no way of knowing. All I know is that I was like you, I dreamed of owning my own business for years, and the reality is far different than what I imagined. That being said, I have learned and grown so much, I feel like I am a much better person because of the struggle I have gone through (and still am going through to be honest).
  
  TL;DR: Owning a business is hard. You may not have what it takes. There is hope, even if you are a bad worker, you can learn to be a good one that is self motivated.

I think a very helpful book to read would be The ONE Thing.

I've written a blog post that sums up the book.

The gist is, once you have determined the most effective thing to do, which by doing, will make everything else easier or unnecessary, you do that ONE thing, first thing in the day.

You offered a lot of good habits to work on. The key the book pushes is, determine what the single most important one is, and do that thing, first thing, every day.

Some science that will help;

Focus on one change at a time.

Create and Implementation Intention for the new habit.

Attach this II at the end of a habit you already have.

My example is I've never been good at pull ups. I created the Implementation Intention, "If I use the bathroom, I will do two pull ups." Its so simple and I am doing between 20-30 pull ups a day.

Thank you for sharing. What is the field you freelance in?

I work from home for the last 3 years now on the same company. We keep core hours and have to be online from 10am-4pm (or 5 or 6pm, lol, I don't know). The point is, we need to be available for communication, but we can work anytime we want, as long as we produce an output everyday (which is similar to the non-zero day idea: http://www.reddit.com/r/NonZeroDay/comments/1qbtd6/this_belongs_here_ryans01_original_post_about_non/)

The first few years were kinda harsh on my physical, mental, and emotional health since I wanted to be really good at what I'm doing, and hit the deadlines (which are often than not, very different). The industry is very volatile, and so you need to be always updated. If you're young, you'll need to catch-up, and it will be hardwork. But at the same time, you only have your body, so you've to take care of yourself.

I got really big and got a 34% body fat at one point. And damn, I was like I need to change it. I've done muay thai and c25k training to jump start my fitness adventure. But now, I'm just mainly doing strength training with plyometrics on my lunch times. But aside from adding fitness activities, I fixed my rest schedule and diet.

I used to be that person who sleeps at 5:30am, btw! But I switched my schedule such that instead of sleeping late late to keep up with the deadlines, I will just rest (YAY) and wake up very early!

I often wake up at 5:30ish -6 am, and read and fuck around the internet or go to sleep or continue with work. I sunbathe for a bit around 7am and walk around. I stop working at 5:30pm to walk around and get some sun before it sets (it's just my thing, man).

There's quite a lot of articles around the internet for this sort of thing. But other productive things that works for me are:

• have variations of your work stations (I sometimes work on my bedroom, dining table, patio, garden, kitchen, treadmill desk, etc; sometimes I go out in a cafe though and see real people)
  
• have a transition between working and non-working hours
  
• or have a lot of rests (like mini-meals) when you're just fucking around, declare it a resting period; clear your head and move on, and go back to work
  
• if you're stucked, communicate with your team or client on what they really want; this usually unstucks me
  
• not all tasks will use the same brain power; do tasks that requires full concentration and critical thinking when you are well-rested; do tasks that you can't automate that even a zombie can do when you're a bit tired, hungover, or even a bit distracted (there's an article about this!)
  
• don't have a long distance relationship which uses the computer to communicate too; you need human contact!
  
• oh, and there'll be a lot of temptations to do a lot of projects, gaming or not... it takes discipline to not fall into that trap too. It's generally good, but completing something that is not perfect is way more better than not completing something that looks perfect in your mind.
  
  bonus: read this http://www.amazon.com/The-ONE-Thing-Surprisingly-Extraordinary/dp/1885167776
  
  edited to really answer the question lol

• Cultivating an Unshakable Character
  
  
• The One Thing; Pictures/illustrations included (;
  
  
• Awaken the Giant Within
  
  

The ONE Thing

Here are all the books with amazon links, Alphabetical order :)

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• Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim et al. Link: http://amzn.com/1591396190
  
• Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh et al. Link: http://amzn.com/160941280X
  
• Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown Link: http://amzn.com/0804137382
  
• Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days by Jessica Livingston Link: http://amzn.com/1590597141
  
• How Google Works by Eric Schmidt et al. Link: http://amzn.com/1455582344
  
• Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World by Gary Vaynerchuk Link: http://amzn.com/006227306X
  
• Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way by Richard Branson Link: http://amzn.com/0307720748
  
• Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath et al. Link: http://amzn.com/1400064287
  
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck Link: http://amzn.com/0345472322
  
• Never Eat Alone, Expanded and Updated: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time by Keith Ferrazzi et al. Link: http://amzn.com/0385346654
  
• Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable by Tim S. Grover et al. Link: http://amzn.com/1476714207
  
• Rework by Jason Fried et al. Link: http://amzn.com/0307463745
  
• Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else by Geoff Colvin Link: http://amzn.com/1591842948
  
• The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss Link: http://amzn.com/0307465357
  
• The Choose Yourself Guide To Wealth by James Altucher Link: http://amzn.com/150100994X
  
• The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison: *God Doesn't Think He's Larry Ellison by Mike Wilson Link: http://amzn.com/0060008768
  
• The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz Link: http://amzn.com/0062273205
  
• The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book That Will Change the Way You Do Business by Clayton M. Christensen Link: http://amzn.com/0062060244
  
• The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries Link: http://amzn.com/0307887898
  
• The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime by MJ DeMarco Link: http://amzn.com/B004BDOUAI
  
• The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday Link: http://amzn.com/1591846358
  
• The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller et al. Link: http://amzn.com/1885167776
  
• The Startup Owner's Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company by Steve Blank et al. Link: http://amzn.com/0984999302
  
• The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell Link: http://amzn.com/0316346624
  
• Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth by Gabriel Weinberg et al. Link: http://amzn.com/1591848369
  
• Unlabel: Selling You Without Selling Out by Marc Ecko Link: http://amzn.com/1451685319
  
• Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel et al. Link: http://amzn.com/0804139296

This. I get wanting to sympathize, and I get not wanting to beat up OP for what might be an addiction, but enabling is something else entirely. Your advice for finding a creative hobby is spot on -- I've started dabbling in music production, and learning how to recreate sounds I've heard a million times before is insanely satisfying and gives me something to look forward to after work, or on the weekends when I don't have any other plans. That's me, but it could be anything -- your example of building lasers sounds badass and interesting.

I just want to emphasize your point about a consistent routine. I think we could all be healthier, physically and/or mentally, and making exercise or meditation an automatic thing you do means it's stress-free and burns zero willpower. One of the best pieces of advice I've seen in my life comes from The ONE Thing: Build one good habit at a time. Just one. Anything that helps you get closer to your goals. Give it the time and effort it needs, and do it every day, even on the weekends. When it's done, you've done your "self improvement" for the day, and you don't have to do any more until tomorrow. And when it's truly routine, to the point where you don't feel like you're choosing to do it, you just do it -- pick another good habit. Rinse and repeat.

For example, I was sick of climbing back into bed after my alarm clock woke me up. I felt like shit and wasted many hours of my life doing this. So I got into the habit of just getting up and doing anything except crawl back under the covers. But then I'd fuck around on Reddit and put off getting ready for the day, so I started going straight to the shower as soon as I got up. Then I noticed that I wasn't always as mindful of my decisions as I'd like to be, so I started meditating as soon as I get out of the shower. That mindfulness led me to realize that being disorganized was a big source of stress, so I've been implementing some of the ideas out of David Allen's Getting Things Done, and I'm feeling more productive and less worried about upcoming projects. Once that's truly a habit, I'll probably get back into exercising in the morning.

In the past, I've tried to do everything all at once, and maybe kept it together for a day or two before burning all my willpower on too many things at the same time. But doing just this one thing? I can do that, and then I can go fuck around on Reddit.

Thank you for sharing this! I mainly do it to hold myself accountable, but it is great to hear it is helping others in their projects as well. To be honest, this is the first time I have consistently worked on a project for more than a few weeks. Usually, I hit week 5 or so and stop. The thing that made me put together a good strategy for this project was reading the one thing by Gary Keller, Deep Work by Cal Newport Scott Young's Website and Scott had a top performer and rapid learning program that gave me a great roadmap for this challenge. My suggestion to you as you start your project again is to keep things as simple as possible so it will develop into an easy habit. That is why I started doing video updates, it was easier for me to do a minute video then type up an update. Do not fall victim to the rules that you create. I would also just focus on French or algorithms, evaluate which is more important to you, this was the hardest thing for me. I'm sure you have great aspirations to accomplish both, but you need to say No to everything else to successfully say yes to your #1 project. Good luck finishing :).

Don't know if it's on audible but the last book that inspired me is this one http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1885167776/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1885167776&linkCode=as2&tag=fba457-20&linkId=AFSFTP4WYCQDLCFZ

Continuation of Keller's work.

https://www.amazon.com/ONE-Thing-Surprisingly-Extraordinary-Results/dp/1885167776/ref=nodl_

Two things.

First - you're vices are too easy for you to access; you need to change that. You can block websites using host files (google it) to make them harder to access. For example, I can only access Facebook and Reddit from my phone.

Second - you need to read up on how to be productive. If there is one thing in the whole world I could recommend you - it would be this book. I read tons of motivational and discipline non-fiction, and that is by far the best one. If you can't work, try to read things that can motivate you. I would explain more, but everything you need to know is in that book. Good luck

Osprey Flapjack Courier Daypack

Surface Pro (work laptop)

Altoids

Air pods

Burt's Bee's chapstick

Ray Ban Marshal's

Blue Blocker glasses

G2 Pilot Pens

Planner

Whatever book I'm currently reading

Hydroflask

Ridge wallet

Kershaw knife

Work phone and personal

Read this book.

Two books that I heard about from Pat Flynns blog may help:
http://www.amazon.com/The-ONE-Thing-Surprisingly-Extraordinary/dp/1885167776
and
http://www.amazon.com/Essentialism-The-Disciplined-Pursuit-Less/dp/0804137382

Yes, I used this for a long time with the Streaks app. I wrote a little about my experience here.

Gonna start it back up with a yearly wall calendar like this one.

Also, the book The One Thing dovetails nicely with this method.

the 10X Rule by Grant Cardone (https://www.amazon.com/10X-Rule-Difference-Between-Success/dp/B005DGW34C) is almost exactly what I am saying in this conversation.

The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan (https://www.amazon.com/ONE-Thing-Surprisingly-Extraordinary-Results/dp/1885167776) is a good one for how to achieve massive results, I feel like it also mentions why you should always set larger goals than you THINK you can accomplish.

The Miracle Morning by Hal Erod (https://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Morning-Not-So-Obvious-Guaranteed-Transform/dp/0979019710) is a decent one that touches on the concept but is more about motivation and structuring your day for success and things like that.

If I think of any others and remember, I'll come drop them here, need to go look at my bookshelf / todo list of books when I get home :)

Tons of books (honestly almost every success or wealth book I've ever read) talk about changing your mindset from "I cant" to "How can I" - Rich Dad Poor Dad and Think and Grow Rich come to mind.

Good to Great by Jim Collins and the One Thing by Gary Keller