I.
ONE THING IS NOT A NEW
CONCEPT.
1.
King David Understood it.
Psalm 27:4
4 One thing have I
desired of the Lord, that will I
seek after; That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.
2.
Paul the Apostle understood it.
Philippians 3:13-14
13 Brethren, I
count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I npress toward the mark for the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
3.
Martha embraced it.
Luke 10:38-42
38 Now it came to
pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman
named Martha received him into her house. 39 And she had a
sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. 40 But
Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost
thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore
that she help me. 41 And Jesus answered and said unto her,
Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42 But
one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be
taken away from her.
II.
THE ONE THING MADE
PRACTICAL.
1.
The focusing question.
a.
"What's the ONE Thing you can do such that by
doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?"
b.
What is your Domino Effect?
Bill Gates Example
·
Bill's ONE passion in high school was computers.
·
This led him to develop ONE skill, computer
programming.
·
In high school, he got ONE job in the computer
programing field.
·
Which led to
him eventually starting ONE company - Microsoft.
·
Microsoft focused on ONE thing -- the development and
sale of BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800, which eventually made Bill
the ONE richest man in the world for 15 years in a row.
·
After Bill retired from Microsoft, he formed ONE
foundation that focused on ONE Thing: to tackle some of the world's
"really tough problems" like health and education.
·
The majority of the foundation's money went to ONE
area, their Global Health Program -- which had ONE goal: the use science and
technology to save lives in poor countries... To do this, they settled on find
a solution to the ONE major cause of death -- infectious disease... The ONE
solution they came up with was vaccination
2.
Use the 80/20 Principle then go Deeper.
a.
The MINORITY of your effort leads to the MAJORITY of
your results...
20%
of your customers usually account for 80% of your profits.
20%
of your investments usually account for 80% of your returns.
20%
of your habits usually result in 80% of your success
It's not necessarily about the
exact numbers (80%; 20%) as much as it's about the simple truth behind them,
which is this: a SMALL percentage of what you do accounts for a LARGE
percentage of the results you experience.
b.
Our to-do-List must become a success list.
c.
The Most Important Thing must get our undivided
Attention.
"...What's
happening when we're actually doing two things at once? It's simple. We've
separated them. Our brain has channels, and as a result we're able to process
different kinds of data in different parts of our brain. This is why you can
walk and talk at the same time. There is no channel interference. But here's
the catch: you're not really focused on both activities. One is happening in
the foreground and the other in the background. You can do two things at once,
but you can't focus effectively on two things at once. We're right when we say
something is "front and center" or "top of mind," because
that's where focus occurs--in the prefrontal cortex. When you focus, it's like
shining a spotlight on what matters. You can actually give attention to two
things, but that is what's called "divided attention." And make no
mistake. Take on two things and your attention gets divided. Take on a third
and something gets dropped.
3.
Use Small doses of Discipline long enough to develop Habits.
a.
"Success is actually a short race -- a sprint
fueled by discipline just long enough for habit to kick in and take over.
b.
According to research, it takes, on average, 66 days
to develop a discipline into a habit. This number might vary for you depending
on your situation, but remember that it's not something that you can do
over-night.
III.
HOW IT WORKS.
1.
Analyzing the Question.
a.
What's the ONE Thing I can do... This first part
of the Focusing Question is about taking action... it's not the ONE thing you
"should do", or "could do", or "would do" -- but
the ONE Thing you CAN do. The word "can" implies action, as opposed
to others, which imply intention.
b.
Such that by doing it... this part of the question
lets you know you're about to get specific. It means that you're about to take
action on something that actually has a purpose.
c.
Everything else will be easier or unnecessary?
this final part of the Focusing Question is about LEVERAGE. It says that
when you do this ONE Thing, everything else you could do to accomplish your
goal will now be either doable with less effort or no longer even necessary.
2.
GOAL SETTING.
What's
the ONE thing I want to do someday?
FIVE-YEAR
GOAL: Based on my Someday Goal, what's the ONE thing I can do in the next 5
years?
ONE-YEAR
GOAL: Based on my Five-Year Goal, what's the ONE thing I can do in this year?
MONTHLY
GOAL: Based on my One-Year Goal, what's the ONE thing I can do this month?
WEEKLY
GOAL: Based on my Monthly Goal, what's the ONE thing I can do this week? DAILY
GOAL: Based on my Weekly Goal, what's the ONE thing I can do today? RIGHT NOW:
Based on my Daily Goal, what's the ONE thing I can do right now?
3.
Block Time and Reserve best Time for your
One Thing.
IV.
AVOID THE 4 THEIVES OF
PRODUCTIVITY.
1.
The Inability to say no.
We
must avoid saying yes to most things unless they're connect to our ONE Thing.
2.
Fear of Chaos.
Messes
occur. In time, you'll learn to deal with the chaos in your own unique way. But
don't let chaos control you.
3.
Poor Health Habits.
a.
Pray and read the word.
b.
Exercise and eat right and get enough sleep.
c.
Spend time with friends and family for emotional
energy.
d.
Set goals, plan, and calendar for mental energy.
e.
Time block your ONE Thing for business energy.
4.
Unproductive Environments.
a.
Alert other of what you are doing.
b.
Put up a sign.
c.
Get rid of all distractions.
V.
LIVING WITHOUT REGRET.
The Top Five Regrets
of the Dying
"I
wish that I'd let myself be happier"
"I
wish I'd stayed in touch with my friends"
"I
wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings"
"I
wish I hadn't worked so hard"
"I
wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected
of me."
