{"id":3136,"date":"2025-12-16T05:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amberrfield.com\/staging\/1483\/?p=3136"},"modified":"2025-12-14T08:28:01","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T14:28:01","slug":"the-power-of-focus-a-book-review-of-gary-kellers-the-one-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amberrfield.com\/staging\/1483\/the-power-of-focus-a-book-review-of-gary-kellers-the-one-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Focus: A Book Review of Gary Keller’s The ONE Thing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Last month, prompted by our CEO at Strudel AI<\/a>, Kristin Isaac, I read The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Extraordinary Results<\/a><\/em> by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. It’s an older book (2013), but it had such an impact on the way I think about priorities that it’s worth reading and worth talking about here. The ONE Thing<\/em> is an incredibly short book so if you’re busy, it won’t take long to plow through it and absorb the important points. I’ll give you my quick list of takeaways here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ONE Question<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The whole book centers around one powerful question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“What’s the ONE Thing you can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This question drives everything else the book discusses. It’s a brilliant little question, really, because it forces you to prioritize and identify the single most impactful task (the “domino” Keller & Papasan call it) that, when pushed, will knock down all the other metaphorical dominos in your life and work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The core argument is that success is built sequentially, not simultaneously. By identifying your ONE Thing in different areas of your life (e.g., career, personal life, health), you establish a clear priority funnel and you’ll know exactly where to focus your time and energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Debunking The Myths of Productivity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Keller and Papasan challenge several common misconceptions that hold people back. This section rings true to me and includes six common myths that you might be inadvertently believing right now. I feel the most important three are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n