The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results (Summary)
A single domino can topple another domino that is 50% larger. If you were to start a chain with a regular-sized domino, the 23rd domino would be the height of the Eiffel Tower, and the 57th would almost reach the moon. This is the secret to extraordinary results: not doing more, but finding the first, most important 'domino' and focusing all your energy on tipping it over.
Multitasking Is a Myth That Kills Productivity
The brain cannot focus on two things at once. What we call multitasking is actually rapid task-switching, which comes with a 'switching cost' — losing time and focus with every interruption, leading to more errors and less efficiency.
Stanford researchers found that heavy multitaskers—people who constantly juggle emails, messages, and multiple work projects—were actually worse at switching tasks, filtering irrelevant information, and using their memory than people who preferred to do one thing at a time.
The Focusing Question Is Your Compass
To find your priority, you must ask one question: 'What's the ONE Thing I can do, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?' This question forces you to identify the lead domino that will knock over the rest.
If your goal is to get in shape, the question isn't 'How do I get in shape?'. It's 'What's the ONE Thing I can do to ensure I work out?' The answer might be 'Hire a personal trainer.' By doing that one thing, deciding when to work out, what exercises to do, and how to stay motivated all become easier or unnecessary.
Success Is Built Sequentially, Not Simultaneously
Instead of trying to do everything at once, you should line up your priorities and knock them down one by one. This 'domino effect' creates unstoppable momentum where each success makes the next one easier.
Comedian Bill Murray applied this principle to acting. For the film 'What About Bob?', his ONE Thing wasn't to 'be funny' but to master a single scene. He would focus intensely on getting one scene right, then move to the next, building the entire hilarious performance piece by piece, not all at once.
Willpower Is a Finite Resource—Time Block Accordingly
Willpower operates like a phone battery; it starts full in the morning and drains throughout the day with each decision. To be effective, you must schedule your ONE Thing when your willpower is highest and protect that time ruthlessly.
The authors recommend treating your time block for your ONE Thing like a critical doctor's appointment. Mark it on your calendar for 3-4 hours, preferably in the morning. Don't let anything else be scheduled over it, and tell others it's an unbreakable commitment. This ensures your best energy goes to your most important task.
