- relentless pursuit of less but better
- ***"If you don't prioritize your life, someone else will."***
- the pursuit of success can be a catalyst for failure
- decision fatigue: the more choices we are forced to make, the more the quality of our decisions deteriorates
- I choose to, instead of I have to
- saying yes to any opportunity by definition requires saying no to others
- respect is far more valuable than popularity in the long run
- discern the vital few from the trivial many
- in order to have focus, we need to escape to focus
- filter essential information from the non-essential noise
- play doesn't just help us to explore what is essential; it is essential in and of itself
- our highest priority is to protect our ability to prioritize
- when people make their problem our problem, we aren't helping them; we're enabling them
- forcing people to solve their own problems is equally beneficial for you and for them
- if the answer is not a definite yes, then it should be a no
- eliminate any activity that is misaligned with what you're intending to achieve
- the true essential intent is one that guides are greater sense of purpose, and helps you chart your life's path
- clarity about what is essential fuels us with the strength to say no to the nonessentials
- people respect and admire those with the courage of conviction to say no
- Endowment Effect - our tendency to undervalue things that aren't ours and to overvalue things because we already own them
- boundaries come at a high price, but not pushing back costs more: our ability to choose what is most essential in life
- use the good times to create a buffer for the bad
- instead of focusing on the efforts and resources you need to add, focus on the constraints or obstacles you need to remove
- small concrete wins create momentum and affirm our faith in our further success
- start small, encourage progress, and celebrate small wins
- every habit is made up of a que, a routine, and a reward
- instead of spending our limited supply of discipline on making the same decisions again and again, embedding our decisions into a routine allows us to channel that discipline towards some other essential activity
- tune in to the present and focus on the things that are truly important - not yesterday or tomorrow, but right now
- we can easily do two things at the same time, but we can't concentrate on two things at the same time
- the life of an essentialist is a life lived without regret. If you have correctly identified what really matters, if you invest your time and energy in it, then it is difficult to regret the choices you make. You become proud of the life you have chosen to live.