Memorable Quotes From The One Thing

Here are the most memorable quotes I took while reading The One Thing by Gary W. Keller and Jay Papasan. This remains probably one of the best books I have read on productivity and self-development.

• If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one — Russian proverb
• Be like a postage stamp — stick to one thing until you get there — Josh Billings
• “Extraordinary results are directly determined by how narrow you can make your focus”
• Every great change starts like falling dominoes” — BJ Thornton
• “The key is over time. Success is built sequentially. It’s one thing at a time”
• It is those who concentrate on but one thing at a time who advance in this world. — Og Mandino
• There can only be one most important thing. Many things may be important, but only one can be the most important — Ross Garber
• You must be single-minded. Drive for the one thing on which you have decided — General George S. Patton
• Success demands singleness of purpose — Vince Lombardi
• Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
• The things which are most important don’t always scream the loudest — Bob Hawke
• “Achievers always work from a clear sense of priority”
• “Doing the most important thing is always the most important thing”
• “To do two things at once is to do neither” — Publilius Syrus
• “Success is about doing the right thing, not about doing everything right”
• “It takes an average of 66 days to acquire a new habit”
• “Willpower has a limited battery life”
• “When you gamble with your time, you may be placing a bet you can’t cover”
• “To achieve an extraordinary result you must choose what matters most and give it all the time it demands. This requires getting extremely out of balance in relation to all other work issues”
• “We are kept from our goal, not by obstacles but by a clear path to a lesser goal”
• The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man’s foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher — Thomas Henry Huxley
• “Success comes down to this: being appropriate in the moments of your life”
• Success is simple. Do what’s right, the right way, at the right time — Arnold H. Glasow
• People do not decide their futures, they decide their habits and their habits decide their futures — F.M. Alexander
• Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there — Will Rogers
• Purpose. Priority. Productivity. Profit.
• “Our purpose sets our priority and our priority determines the productivity our actions produce.”
• “Happiness happens on the way to fulfillment”
• “Purpose without priority is powerless”
• “Block four hours a day. This isn’t a typo.”
• “The pursuit of mastery bears gifts.”
• Focus is a matter of deciding what things you’re not going to do — John Carmack
• The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook — William James
• “Your environment must support your goals”
• To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at time, but we must keep on stepping — Chinese Proverb