Essentialism – Greg McKeown: Review and Summary

Essentialism is more than just a method of time management. It is a methodical process for identifying what is actually necessary and then getting rid of everything that isn’t so that we may contribute as much as possible to the things that are truly important.

The purposeful pursuit of less allows us to take back control of our own decisions by making us use more selective standards when deciding where to spend our valuable time and energy, rather than implicitly allowing others to make such decisions for us.

Essentialism is not an extra step. In every aspect of our life, it’s a completely new approach to doing less but better. Become one of the millions who have changed their perspective on the world by using essentialism.

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About the Author

Greg McKeown is a world-renowned author, educator, and speaker who emphasizes the value of living and leading as an Essentialist. He is one of the most well-known writers for the Harvard Business Review and LinkedIn Influencers group, and he has given speeches at organizations including Apple, Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Salesforce, Symantec, and Twitter.

He is a Young Global Leader for the World Economic Forum, co-created the Stanford University course Designing Life, Essentially, and co-authored the Wall Street Journal bestseller Multipliers. He graduated from Stanford University with an MBA.

Review

Pursuing what really matters will be more precise with essentialism, which will also provide you more control and richer, sweeter rewards. — Forbes

McKeown makes the material new and the solutions simple to apply in this likable and insightful treatise on the art of doing less in order to do better.” His clear and astute instructions will guide readers to “the way of the essentialist.” — Achievement

Do you also sense it? That constant urge to experience life’s pleasures? to carry out all the “right” actions? In actuality, it is not how development is made. Rather, you run the risk of dispersing your efforts so far that you have no effect at all.

Greg McKeown thinks that simplifying life to its most basic components holds the key. He can assist you in discovering the purpose of your life, but he cannot tell you what is fundamental to all lives. — Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive and To Sell is Human

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When they accept the right project at the right moment in the right manner, entrepreneurs are successful. They must be adept at saying “no” to all of their other ideas in order to do this.

Essentialism provides succinct and elegant guidance on how to identify your top priorities and focus your energy in ways that will provide the biggest benefits for you in the long run. — Reid Hoffman, co-founder and chair of LinkedIn and co-author of The Start-up of You, a #1 New York Times bestseller

Being a self-described “maximalist” who always aspires to accomplish everything, this book pushed me and made my life better. You should read it as well if you wish to work better rather than less. — Chris Guillebeau, author of The $100 Startup, a New York Times bestseller

Simple, straightforward, and purposeful design elevates us beyond the complicated, superfluous, and perplexing. This holds true for both the design of a product and the design of a life. Greg McKeown provides us with the crucial manual for precisely such an endeavor with Essentialism. —IDEO CEO Tim Brown

Greg McKeown presents a strong argument for doing less in order to achieve more in Essentialism. He reminds us that in today’s corporate world, having the capacity to say “no” and maintaining concentration are both essential and underappreciated. —Jeff Weiner, LinkedIn CEO

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Essentialism is a potent remedy for the current madness that permeates our lives and our organizations. Read Greg McKeown’s words carefully, pause, and consider how you may use them in your life.

You’ll do less, do it better, and you’ll start to notice that the madness is starting to fade. —Robert I. Sutton, Stanford University professor and author of Scaling Up Excellence and Good Boss, Bad Boss

Essentialism is a unique gem that has the power to transform lives.” Greg provides profound understanding, a wealth of background information, and practical advice on how to fully enjoy life.

I’ve been living an Essentialist lifestyle, and it has had a significant influence on both my well-being and productivity. Senior Vice President of Intel Security Bill Rielly.

Summary

More and more people have asked me, “How do you find the time to do so much?” during the past few years. It was occurring so frequently that I took the time to figure out what I was doing that other people weren’t in 2019.

I thought that perhaps I might publish a book about time management, but I found that my “secret” is more about focus and priorities than it is about time. The book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, authored by Greg MeKeown, is the title of the book I had previously intended to write.

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Essentialism is the belief that your greatest contribution should be identified and then prioritized over all other options. You may experience the joy of achieving substantial progress in the things that are most important when you invest in fewer things

This image from the book effectively conveys the concept. The energy spent on 12 tasks is shown by the little arrows on the left. A single job with the same quantity of energy is shown on the right.

According to McKeown, the paradox of success is that when we succeed, we are presented with additional chances, which puts a strain on our time and diverts us from the primary focus that first led to our success. This implies that you will have to turn down good possibilities in order to save your time, effort, and focus if you want to stay successful.

Mckeown covers a lot of ground in his book, and he does a fantastic job of illustrating his points with useful illustrations and specific examples of how essentialists differ from non-essentialists. Although brief, this read was impactful and thought-provoking.

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