Top 180 Greg McKeown Quotes (2025 Update)
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51. “There is a huge body of scientific research to explain the mechanism by which routine enables difficult things to become easy. One simplified explanation is that as we repeatedly do a certain task the neurons, or nerve cells, make new connections through communication gateways called “synapses.” With repetition, the connections strengthen and it becomes easier for the brain to activate them.”

— Greg McKeown

52. “Clear intent leads to alignment; vague direction produces misalignment every time.”

— Greg McKeown

53. “The tendency to continue doing something simply because we have always done it is sometimes called the “status quo bias.”

— Greg McKeown

54. “A strategic position is not sustainable unless there are trade-offs with other positions.”

— Greg McKeown

55. “Just because I was invited didn’t seem a good enough reason to attend.”

— Greg McKeown

56. “You cannot overestimate the unimportance of practically everything.”

— Greg McKeown

57. “There is a difference between losing and being beaten. Being beaten means they are better than you. They are faster, stronger, and more talented.”

— Greg McKeown

58. “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.”

— Greg McKeown

59. “These three elements – explore, eliminate, execute – are not separate events as much as a cyclical process. And when we apply them consistently we are able to reap greater and greater benefits.”

— Greg McKeown

60. “Instead of focusing on the efforts and resources we need to add, the Essentialist focuses on the constraints or obstacles we need to remove. But.”

— Greg McKeown

61. “The life of an Essentialist is a life of meaning. It is a life that really matters.”

— Greg McKeown

62. “In every set of facts, something essential is hidden.”

— Greg McKeown

63. “One simple answer is we are unclear about what is essential. When this happens we become defenceless. On the other hand, when we have strong internal clarity it is almost as if we have a force field protecting us from the non-essentials coming at us from all directions.”

— Greg McKeown

64. “You don’t have to be overwhelmed by essential projects. Often, when you name the first obvious step, you avoid spending too much mental energy thinking about the fifth, seventh, or twenty-third steps. It doesn’t matter if your project involves ten steps or a thousand. When you adopt this strategy, all you have to focus on is the very first step.”

— Greg McKeown

65. “When faced with so many tasks and obligations that you can’t figure out which to tackle first, stop. Take a deep breath. Get present in the moment and ask yourself what is most important this very second – not what’s most important tomorrow or even an hour from now. If.”

— Greg McKeown

66. “Looking at that first step or action through the lens of 2.5 seconds is the change that makes every other change possible. It is the habit of habits.”

— Greg McKeown

67. “The word school is derived from the Greek word schole, meaning “leisure.” Yet our modern school system, born in the Industrial Revolution, has removed the leisure – and much of the pleasure – out of learning.”

— Greg McKeown

68. “As Peter Drucker said, “In a few hundred years, when the history of our time will be written from a long-term perspective, it is likely that the most important event historians will see is not technology, not the Internet, not e-commerce. It is an unprecedented change in the human condition.”

— Greg McKeown

69. “Jim Collins, the author of the business classic Good to Great, was once told by Peter Drucker that he could either build a great company or build great ideas but not both. Jim chose ideas. As a result of this trade-off there are still only three full-time employees in his company, yet his ideas have reached tens of millions of people through his writing.8.”

— Greg McKeown

70. “To eliminate non-essentials means saying no to someone. Often. It means pushing against social expectations. To do it well takes courage and compassion. So eliminating the non-essentials isn’t just about mental discipline. It’s about the emotional discipline necessary to say no to social pressure.”

— Greg McKeown

71. “My experience has taught me this about how people and organizations improve: the best place to look is for small changes we could make in the things we do often. There is power in steadiness and repetition.”

— Greg McKeown

72. “Edward M. Hallowell, a psychiatrist who specializes in brain science, explains, play has a positive effect on the executive function of the brain. “The brain’s executive functions,” he writes, “include planning, prioritizing, scheduling, anticipating, delegating, deciding, analyzing – in short, most of the skills any executive must master in order to excel in business.”

— Greg McKeown

73. “These executives are quoted in an article called “Sleep Is the New Status Symbol for Successful Entrepreneurs.”4 Nancy Jeffrey of the Wall Street Journal writes: “It’s official. Sleep, that rare commodity in stressed-out America, is the new status symbol.”

— Greg McKeown

74. “Albert Einstein once said: “When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.”6.”

— Greg McKeown

75. “Fewer things done better,” “Communicating the right information to the right people at the right time,” and “Speed and quality of decision making.” Indeed, this is what it means to lead essentially.”

— Greg McKeown

76. “After all, if you don’t set boundaries – there won’t be any. Or even worse, there will be boundaries, but they’ll be set by default – or by another person – instead of by design.”

— Greg McKeown

77. “Saying no is its own leadership capability. It is not just a peripheral skill. As.”

— Greg McKeown

78. “Boundaries are a little like the walls of a sandcastle. The second we let one fall over, the rest of them come crashing down.”

— Greg McKeown

79. “When we play, we are engaged in the purest expression of our humanity, the truest expression of our individuality.”

— Greg McKeown

80. “What if the biggest thing keeping us from doing what matters is the false assumption that it has to take tremendous effort? What if, instead, we considered the possibility that the reason something feels hard is that we haven’t yet found the easier way to do it?”

— Greg McKeown

81. “If you believe being overly busy and overextended is evidence of productivity, then you probably believe that creating space to explore, think, and reflect should be kept to a minimum. Yet these very activities are the antidote to the nonessential busyness that infects so many of us. Rather than trivial diversions, they are critical to distinguishing what is actually a trivial diversion from what is truly essential.”

— Greg McKeown

82. “A non-Essentialist thinks almost everything is essential. An Essentialist thinks almost everything is non-essential.”

— Greg McKeown

83. “Instead, ask the more essential question that will inform every future decision you will ever make: “If we could be truly excellent at only one thing, what would it be?”

— Greg McKeown

84. “Getting to the essence of a story takes a deep understanding of the topic, its context, its fit into the bigger picture, and its relationship to different fields.”

— Greg McKeown

85. “An essential intent, on the other hand, is both inspirational and concrete, both meaningful and measurable. Done right, an essential intent is one decision that settles one thousand later decisions.”

— Greg McKeown

86. “Today Essentialism is not just something I do. An Essentialist is something I am steadily becoming. At first it was a few deliberate choices, then it grew into a lifestyle, and then it changed me, at my very core. I continue to discover almost daily that I can do less and less – in order to contribute more.”

— Greg McKeown

87. “As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The crime which bankrupts men and states is that of job-work; – declining from your main design to serve a turn here or there.”

— Greg McKeown

88. “The results of this research were startling: when there was a high level of clarity of purpose, the teams and the people on it overwhelmingly thrived. When there was a serious lack of clarity about what the team stood for and what their goals and roles were, people experienced confusion, stress, frustration, and ultimately failure.”

— Greg McKeown

89. “Once the mental work shifts to the basal ganglia, mental space is freed up to concentrate on something new. This allows us to autopilot the execution of one essential activity while simultaneously actively engaging in another, without sacrificing our level of focus or contribution.”

— Greg McKeown

90. “When we push back effectively, it shows people that our time is highly valuable. It distinguishes the professional from the amateur.”

— Greg McKeown

91. “Condensing means saying it as clearly and concisely as possible.”

— Greg McKeown

92. “As Peter Drucker said, “In a few hundred years, when the history of our time will be written from a long-term perspective, it is likely that the most important event historians will see is not technology, not the Internet, not e-commerce. It is an unprecedented change in the human condition. For the first time – literally – substantial and rapidly growing numbers of people have choices. For the first time, they will have to manage themselves. And society is totally unprepared for it.”4.”

— Greg McKeown

93. “The reality is, saying yes to any opportunity by definition requires saying no to several others.”

— Greg McKeown

94. “Essentialists accept they cannot be popular with everyone all of the time. Yes, saying no respectfully, reasonably, and gracefully can come at a short-term social cost. But part of living the way of the Essentialist is realising respect is far more valuable than popularity in the long run.”

— Greg McKeown

95. “Our options may be things, but a choice – a choice is an action. It is not just something we have but something we do. This experience brought me to the liberating realization that while we may not always have control over our options, we always have control over how we choose among them. Have.”

— Greg McKeown

96. “In the many hours Geoff spent resting he came to see an interesting paradox in his addiction to achievement: for a type A personality, it is not hard to push oneself hard. Pushing oneself to the limit is easy! The real challenge for the person who thrives on challenges is not to work hard. He explains to any overachievers: “If you think you are so tough you can do anything I have a challenge for you. If you really want to do something hard: say no to an opportunity so you can take a nap.”

— Greg McKeown

97. “Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter.”

— Greg McKeown

98. “An Essentialist has the courage and confidence to admit his or her mistakes and uncommit, no matter the sunk costs.”

— Greg McKeown

99. “There are three deeply entrenched assumptions we must conquer to live the way of the Essentialist: “I have to,” “It’s all important,” and “I can do both.” Like mythological sirens, these assumptions are as dangerous as they are seductive. They draw us in and drown us in shallow waters.”

— Greg McKeown

100. “Essentialists, on the other hand, see boundaries as empowering. They recognise that boundaries protect their time from being hijacked and often free them from the burden of having to say no to things that further others’ objectives instead of their own. They know that clear boundaries allow them to proactively eliminate the demands and encumbrances from others that distract them from.”

— Greg McKeown