Quotes About Clarity

Until my ONE Thing is done—everything else is a distraction.

Achievers operate differently. They have an eye for the essential. They pause just long enough to decide what matters and then allow what matters to drive their day. Achievers do sooner what others plan to do later and defer, perhaps indefinitely, what others do sooner. The difference isn't in intent, but in right of way. Achievers always work from a clear sense of priority.

buying into The ONE Thing becomes difficult because we've unfortunately bought into too many others—and more often than not those "other things" muddle our thinking, misguide our actions, and sidetrack our success.

It's not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?

Where I'd had huge success, I had narrowed my concentration to one thing, and where my success varied, my focus had too.

It is those who concentrate on but one thing at a time who advance in this world." — Og Mandino

If you can honestly say, "This is where I'm meant to be right now, doing exactly what I'm doing," then all the amazing possibilities for your life become possible.

If today your company doesn't know what its ONE Thing is, then the company's ONE Thing is to find out.

No matter how many to-dos you start with, you can always narrow it to one. Keep going. You can actually take 20 percent of the 20 percent of the 20 percent and continue until you get to the single most important thing!

The way to get the most out of your work and your life is to go as small as possible.

Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is? Mitch: No. What? Curly: This. [He holds up one finger.] Mitch: Your finger? Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and everything else don't mean sh*t. Mitch: That's great, but what's the "one thing"? Curly: That's what you've got to figure out.

If you were trying to talk a passenger through landing a DC-10, you'd stop walking. Likewise, if you were walking across a gorge on a rope bridge, you'd likely stop talking.

Tackling these tasks in the order we receive them is behaving as if the squeaky wheel immediately deserves the grease. But, as Australian prime minister Bob Hawke duly noted, "The things which are most important don't always scream the loudest.

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook." — William James

As a result, buying into The ONE Thing becomes difficult because we've unfortunately bought into too many others—and more often than not those "other things" muddle our thinking, misguide our actions, and sidetrack our success.

A big, specific question leads to a big, specific answer, which is absolutely necessary for achieving a big goal.

When everything feels urgent and important, everything seems equal. We become active and busy, but this doesn't actually move us any closer to success. Activity is often unrelated to productivity, and busyness rarely takes care of business. "The things which are most important don't always scream the loudest." Bob Hawke

Knowing when to pursue the middle and when to pursue the extremes is in essence the true beginning of wisdom. Extraordinary

When you want the absolute best chance to succeed at anything you want, your approach should always be the same. Go small. "Going small" is ignoring all the things you could do and doing what you should do. It's recognizing that not all things matter equally and finding the things that matter most.

If your to-do list contains everything, then it's probably taking you everywhere but where you really want to go.

Once you've figured out what actually matters, keep asking what matters most until there is only one thing left. That core activity goes at the top of your success list.

When you choose a big life, by default, you'll have to go small to get there. You must survey your choices, narrow your options, line up your priorities, and do what matters most. You must go small. You must find your ONE Thing.

Live with purpose and you know where you want to go. Live by priority and you'll know what to do to get there.

The question of balance is really a question of priority. When you change your language from balancing to prioritizing, you see your choices more clearly and open the door to changing your destiny.