Greg McKeown Quotes

• Remember that if you don’t prioritize your life someone else will.

  Greg McKeown

  Remember, Prioritize, Ifs

  27 Copy quote

• Essentialism is not about how to get more things done, it's about how to the get the right things done. It doesn't mean just doing less for the sake of less either. It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.

  Greg McKeown

  Mean, Order, Energy

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• Take a deep breath. Get present in the moment and ask yourself what is important this very second.

  Greg McKeown

  Important, Moments, Take A Deep Breath

  Greg McKeown (2014). “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less”, p.221, Random House

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• Essentialism: only once you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, to stop saying yes to everyone, can you make your highest contribution towards the things that really matter.

  Greg McKeown

  Giving, Trying, Saying Yes

  Greg McKeown (2014). “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less”, p.4, Random House

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• The word priority came into the English language in the 1400s. It was singular. It meant the very first or prior thing. It stayed singular for the next five hundred years. Only in the 1900s did we pluralize the term and start talking about priorities. Illogically, we reasoned that by changing the word we could bend reality. Somehow we would now be able to have multiple “first” things.

  Greg McKeown

  Reality, Talking, Years

  "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less". Book by Greg McKeown, April 15, 2014.

  41 Copy quote

• Done right, a strategic intent is really one decision that makes 1,000 decisions.

  Greg McKeown

  Decision, Done, Strategic

  31 Copy quote

• Discern the vital few from the trivial Many.

  Greg McKeown

  32 Copy quote

• The way of the Essentialist means living by design, not by default. Instead of making choices reactively, the Essentialist deliberately distinguishes the vital few from the trivial many, eliminates the non-essentials, and then removes obstacles so the essential things have clear, smooth passage. In other words, Essentialism is a disciplined, systematic approach for determining where our highest point of contribution lies, then making execution of those things almost effortless.

  Greg McKeown

  Lying, Mean, Choices

  "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less". Book by Greg McKeown, April 17, 2014.

  37 Copy quote

• If it isn't a clear yes, then it's a clear no.

  Greg McKeown

  Clear, Ifs

  "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less". Book by Greg McKeown, April 17, 2014.

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• We overvalue nonessentials like a nicer car or house, or even intangibles like the number of our followers on Twitter or the way we look in our Facebook photos. As a result, we neglect activities that are truly essential, like spending time with our loved ones, or nurturing our spirit, or taking care of our health.

  Greg McKeown

  Numbers, Car, House

  28 Copy quote

• I think we’ve been oversold the value of more and undersold the value of less.

  Greg McKeown

  Thinking, Values

  25 Copy quote

• I think we are in a non-essentialist bubble—everything seems important—so of course nothing is.

  Greg McKeown

  Thinking, Important, Courses

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• We often think of choice as a thing. But a choice is not a thing. Our options may be things, but a choice—a choice is an action. It is not just something we have but something we do.

  Greg McKeown

  Thinking, Choices, May

  Greg McKeown (2014). “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less”, p.35, Random House

  25 Copy quote

• The ability to choose cannot be taken away or even given away-it can only be forgotten.

  Greg McKeown

  Leadership, Taken, Forgotten

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• There should be no shame in admitting to a mistake; after all, we really are only admitting that we are now wiser than we once were.

  Greg McKeown

  Mistake, Admitting, Shame

  "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less". Book by Greg McKeown, April 15, 2014.

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• Play stimulates the parts of the brain involved in both careful, logical reasoning and carefree, unbound exploration.

  Greg McKeown

  Logical Reasoning, Play, Brain

  "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less". Book by Greg McKeown, 2014.

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• The word priority was singular for 500 years—what does priorities mean—'many many first things.'

  Greg McKeown

  Mean, Years, Priorities

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• I'd rather be honest and lose than be dishonest and win

  Greg McKeown

  Winning, Honest, Being Honest

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• One of the best ways to seed an opportunity is to allow someone to discover the opportunity for him- or herself.

  Greg McKeown

  Opportunity, Way, Best Way

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• If I didn’t already own this, how much would I spend to buy it?

  Greg McKeown

  Ifs

  Greg McKeown (2014). “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less”, p.18, Random House

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