Becoming an Essentialist

Summary

Gregg McEwan, author of 'Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less,' discusses the importance of focusing on vital tasks rather than trivial many. He emphasizes the need for discernment in a hyper-connected world, where busyness often lacks purpose. McEwan advocates for creating space to discern and prioritize what truly matters, suggesting that success without discipline can lead to failure. The conversation explores the balance between ambition and essentialism, highlighting the paradox of success and the power of consistent, small efforts over time.

Takeaways

• 📚 The concept of 'essentialism' is about the disciplined pursuit of less but better, focusing on what is truly important and eliminating the non-essential.
• 🌐 In today's hyper-connected world, there is an overload of opinions and information, leading to a potentially harmful form of busyness that lacks productivity and accomplishment.
• 🔄 The paradox of success suggests that undisciplined success can lead to failure; success requires discernment and the ability to prioritize what truly matters.
• 🚫 Learning to say 'no' is crucial for essentialism, as it allows for the preservation of time and energy for the most important tasks and goals.
• 🔄 The importance of creating a buffer in life to accommodate unexpected events and to maintain a steady, consistent pace rather than constant starts and stops.
• 💡 Essentialism promotes the idea that more effort does not always equate to better results; it's about focusing on high-leverage activities that truly move the needle.
• 🤔 The script emphasizes the need for reflection and discernment to identify the 'vital few' activities that are most important in one's life or work.
• 🛑 The idea that if you don't prioritize your life, someone else will, highlighting the importance of being proactive in decision-making and setting boundaries.
• 🔄 The script discusses the pitfalls of the 'hustle culture,' where busyness becomes a status symbol rather than a reflection of meaningful work.
• 📈 The need for a system that makes pursuing essential tasks as effortless as possible, streamlining the process of focusing on what truly matters.
• 🎯 The final takeaway is about the lifelong work of identifying and focusing on the vital few things that bring value and meaning, as opposed to the trivial many.

Q & A

What is the main concept of Gregg McEwen's book 'Essentialism'?

The main concept of 'Essentialism' is the disciplined pursuit of less but better. It's about identifying what is essential, eliminating the non-essential, and creating a system to focus on what truly matters in life.

How does Gregg McEwen describe the current 'hustle culture' in America?

Gregg McEwen describes the current 'hustle culture' as a state where people often define themselves by being busy, which he suggests has shifted from a sense of internal mission to a reactive comparison with others, leading to a feeling of busyness without a sense of accomplishment.

What is the 'paradox of success' that Gregg McEwen discusses in his book?

The 'paradox of success' refers to the idea that success, if left undisciplined, can become a catalyst for failure. It suggests that the more successful one becomes, the more opportunities arise, which if pursued without discernment, can lead to a plateau or decline in progress.

How does Gregg McEwen differentiate between 'Essentialism' and 'Non-essentialism'?

Essentialism is about focusing on what is truly important and eliminating distractions, creating a system for consistent progress. Non-essentialism, on the other hand, is the undisciplined pursuit of more, which often results in short-term bursts of activity followed by diminishing returns and a lack of focus on what truly matters.

What is the importance of creating a buffer in our lives according to Gregg McEwen?

Creating a buffer is important because it allows for unexpected events and tasks that may arise, ensuring that essential projects are not pushed out by less important but more urgent matters. It helps maintain consistency and progress without the stress of constantly starting and stopping.

How does Gregg McEwen suggest we approach saying 'no' to non-essential tasks?

McEwen suggests that we first recognize that we are constantly saying 'no' in a compulsive way through our actions. He advises to apply this logic consciously to important decisions, ensuring that we are not just busy but productive, and that we prioritize our time and energy on what truly matters.

What role does social media play in our lives according to the conversation with Gregg McEwen?

Social media, like any technology, can be a good servant but a poor master. It can contribute to a sense of busyness without productivity if not used consciously and thoughtfully. McEwen advises using social media with a clear purpose and message to avoid being consumed by the noise.

How does Gregg McEwen define the difference between 'busyness' and 'productivity'?

McEwen defines 'busyness' as a state of constant activity often driven by external factors and comparison, which may not lead to a sense of accomplishment. 'Productivity', on the other hand, is about making meaningful progress on tasks that are aligned with one's internal mission and values.

What is the significance of the 'buffer game' that Gregg McEwen plays with his children?

The 'buffer game' is a fun way to teach the concept of creating space and buffer in life. It illustrates the idea of maintaining a steady pace and avoiding sudden stops, which can be applied to various aspects of life, including work and personal projects.

How does Gregg McEwen suggest we approach the idea of 'more effort equals more results'?

McEwen argues that more effort doesn't always correlate to more results. Instead, he advocates for an essentialist approach where focus is placed on high-leverage activities that are exceptionally valuable, rather than indiscriminately increasing effort across all tasks.

What advice does Gregg McEwen give for maintaining consistency in long-term projects?

McEwen advises setting an upper and lower bound for daily contributions to a project, such as writing a journal. By committing to a small, manageable amount daily, one can achieve consistency and long-term success without being overwhelmed by large, sporadic efforts.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Embracing Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Gregg McEwen, author of the New York Times best-seller 'Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less', discusses the concept of essentialism—a philosophy that encourages focusing on the vital few things over the trivial many. He emphasizes the importance of discerning what is essential in life and work to create a system that makes pursuing these aspects effortless. McEwen critiques the modern 'hustle culture', suggesting that busyness without purpose leads to a lack of fulfillment and productivity. He shares his views on the paradox of success, where unbridled success can lead to failure if not managed with discipline.

05:00

🌐 The Paradox of Success and the Dangers of Non-Essentialism

In this paragraph, the discussion delves into the phenomenon of success leading to an undisciplined pursuit of more, which can result in failure. The speaker observes that with the increase of opportunities, there's a risk of companies and individuals losing focus and clarity, leading to a plateau or decline. The paradox of success is highlighted, where success can become a catalyst for failure if not approached with essentialist principles. The importance of maintaining discipline and focus, even in the face of passion and ambition, is underscored to ensure long-term contribution and satisfaction.

10:01

🔄 The Consequences of Overcommitment and the Importance of Prioritization

The speaker shares a personal anecdote about missing the birth of his child due to a misplaced sense of responsibility towards a work commitment, illustrating the pitfalls of overcommitment. He emphasizes the need for prioritization in life, suggesting that without it, one's life can be dictated by external pressures. The importance of creating space for discernment and ensuring personal well-being to maintain clarity of purpose is discussed. The paragraph highlights the trade-offs involved in taking on too many interests and the need for restraint to stay true to one's essential path.

15:02

🛠️ The Buffer Principle: Creating Margin for the Unexpected

This paragraph introduces the concept of creating a buffer in one's life to accommodate unexpected events and maintain consistency in progress. The speaker discusses the tendency to overcommit and the importance of building in flexibility to handle unforeseen circumstances. He uses the analogy of driving with a buffer to avoid stopping, emphasizing the value of steady progress over starts and stops. The idea of creating a 'security fund' of time and resources is presented as a strategy to ensure the pursuit of essential projects without the stress of external pressures.

20:02

🚀 Essentialist Execution: Consistency Over Intensity

The speaker advocates for an essentialist approach to execution, which favors consistent small efforts over time rather than sporadic intense bursts of activity. He contrasts the nonessentialist approach of starting strong and fading with the essentialist method of setting upper and lower bounds for daily tasks to ensure long-term consistency. The benefits of this approach are illustrated through the story of the speaker's grandfather, who consistently wrote a sentence every few days for 50 years, resulting in a significant body of work.

25:05

🤔 Navigating Social Media and Technology with Intention

In this paragraph, the discussion turns to the impact of social media and technology on essentialism. The speaker notes that while technology can be a good servant, it can be a poor master if not used with intention and discipline. He advises using social media as a tool for sharing a carefully curated message rather than aimlessly seeking followers. The importance of having a clear purpose and strategy for using social media to avoid being consumed by the noise is emphasized.

🎯 The Power of Focus and the Unimportance of Most Things

The final paragraph concludes the conversation by reiterating the power of focusing on the few things that are exceptionally valuable while recognizing the unimportance of most other things. The speaker encourages the adoption of an essentialist mindset to filter out noise and focus on high-leverage activities. He suggests that this mindset shift can lead to a profound change in behavior, allowing individuals to build systems that protect and enable the pursuit of what truly matters.

Keywords

💡Essentialism

Essentialism is a philosophy and approach that emphasizes identifying and focusing on what is truly important in one's life, work, and goals. It is the central theme of the video, with the author Gregg McKeown advocating for a disciplined pursuit of less but better. The concept is used to discuss how individuals can achieve more meaningful success by eliminating non-essential activities and focusing on vital few tasks, as illustrated by McKeown's distinction between 'trivial many' versus the 'vital few'.

💡Minimalism

Minimalism is a lifestyle and design approach that encourages simplicity and the removal of unnecessary elements. In the context of the video, minimalism is mentioned as a similar approach to essentialism, where individuals are encouraged to ask critical questions about where they spend their time and energy. The script refers to essentialism as a form of minimalism that helps in creating a system to make prioritizing the essential tasks as effortless as possible.

💡Hustle Culture

Hustle culture is a societal phenomenon where being busy and constantly working are seen as virtues. The video discusses how this culture has led to a sense of busyness without productivity, with people feeling overwhelmed and stretched thin. McKeown points out that this culture promotes a constant reactive comparison, which can detract from a sense of accomplishment and internal mission.

💡Overload

Overload refers to the state of having too much information or work to handle efficiently. The script mentions that we have moved from information overload to opinion overload due to hyper-connection. This concept is tied to the theme of essentialism as it highlights the need to filter out non-essential inputs to maintain focus and productivity.

💡Discipline

Discipline is the practice of training oneself to follow a set of rules or patterns of behavior. In the video, discipline is a key component of essentialism, where McKeown talks about the 'disciplined pursuit of less.' It is about creating systems and habits that support focusing on what is essential, as opposed to being undisciplined and reacting to every opportunity or distraction.

💡Contribution

Contribution is the act of giving or adding something, often in the context of making a meaningful impact. The video emphasizes the importance of making contributions that align with one's values and priorities. McKeown suggests that essentialism helps individuals discern what contributions are most important to them and to focus their efforts on those areas.

💡Non-Essentialism

Non-Essentialism is the opposite of essentialism, representing an undisciplined pursuit of more activities or goals without prioritization. The script uses this term to describe a lifestyle that often leads to burnout and a lack of fulfillment. McKeown contrasts non-essentialism with essentialism, pointing out that the former does not deliver on its promise of happiness and success.

💡Buffer

Buffer refers to creating extra space or time to accommodate unexpected events or changes in plans. In the context of the video, McKeown talks about the importance of creating a buffer in one's schedule to maintain consistency and avoid the stress of constantly reacting to new demands. The concept is used to illustrate the need for planning and flexibility in pursuing an essentialist lifestyle.

💡Intentionality

Intentionality is the quality of being deliberate and purposeful in one's actions. The video encourages viewers to approach their work and life with intentionality, focusing on what truly matters. McKeown discusses how essentialism requires being intentional about the use of time and energy, ensuring that efforts are directed towards the most important tasks and goals.

💡Consistency

Consistency refers to the quality of being steady and invariable over time. The video highlights the power of consistent effort in achieving long-term goals. McKeown shares his experience with journaling as an example of how consistency, even in small daily actions, can lead to significant results over time.

💡Trade-off

Trade-off is the act of balancing one goal against another, often involving giving up something in order to gain something else. The script discusses the inherent trade-offs involved in the pursuit of more activities or interests. McKeown warns that while there may be short-term advantages to taking on many projects, there are long-term costs to discernment and focus.

Highlights

Gregg McEwan emphasizes the importance of essentialism, the disciplined pursuit of less but better, to focus on what truly matters in life.

McEwan discusses the cultural shift from being connected to hyper-connected, leading to an overload of opinions and a potentially harmful busyness.

The author highlights the paradox of success, where undisciplined success can lead to failure, and the need for essentialism to maintain progress.

McEwan explains the dangers of the hustle culture and the importance of not being defined by reactive comparison to others.

The interview touches on the idea that busyness without productivity can lead to a sense of being overwhelmed without accomplishment.

Gregg shares his personal experience of the consequences of not prioritizing, leading to a focus on the importance of discerning what is essential.

The conversation explores the idea that success can be a poor teacher, and the need to let conscience and internal clarity guide actions rather than external success.

McEwan suggests that saying no is a necessary skill to avoid being consumed by non-essential tasks and distractions.

The author discusses the importance of creating buffers in life to accommodate unexpected events and maintain steady progress.

McEwan explains the concept of active waiting and purposeful patience as a way to maintain focus and intentionality.

The interviewee talks about the need for consistency in efforts over the long term, rather than short bursts of intense activity.

Gregg shares a personal story about his grandfather's journaling practice, emphasizing the power of consistency in achieving long-term goals.

The conversation addresses the role of technology and social media in creating distractions and the need for disciplined use of these tools.

McEwan suggests that more effort does not always equate to more results, and the importance of focusing on high-leverage activities.

The author encourages slowing down and being more deliberate to make time for focusing on essential tasks and eliminating non-essential ones.

Gregg concludes by stressing the importance of building a system that protects and enables the pursuit of what is truly important in life.

Transcripts

most of the stuff that's going on is not

vital it's a trivial many versus the

final few and I think it's not just one

more thing to figure out what those

vital few things are it is the work of

life Gregg McEwen is the author of the

New York Times best-selling book

essentialism the disciplined pursuit of

less in the book Gregg describes an

approach similar to minimalism that gets

us to ask the right questions about

where we're spending our time energy and

effort this is my edited conversation

with Gregg about his essentialist

philosophy the myth of success and why

small consistent steps far outweigh the

alternative you can get the full

one-hour interview on patreon enjoy

Gregg thanks so much for being here

really excited to talk with you talking

about the crossover between less and

ambition so how can we do more with less

before we delve too deep into that tell

me a little bit about the work you do

right now give me a little bit of an

introduction I wrote the book

essentialism this is about the

disciplined continual perpetual pursuit

of less but better I love how you just

framed it as less but with ambition it's

it's about how to figure out what is

essential eliminate what's not and

create a system for making it as

effortless as possible to do what you've

identified as being very important when

I look at our culture I would say in

America but I'm sure it's spread pretty

far there is this work hard hustle grind

it out busyness that is promoted and in

a lot of ways people they enjoy

attaching this label to themselves I'm

so busy

I'm just overwhelmed with all this stuff

that I have to do how do you view our

hustle culture today and is that

something that as you would describe as

when I first came to America I would ask

people how they are and who this is

we're talking almost 20 years ago and

they would say you know they'd say I'm

great

great it was almost like I'm American of

course I'm great and and I liked him I

like this sort of inherent optimism and

positivity I connected to that I related

to that but if you ask people now as

often as not when you ask them how they

are now the first word will be busy I'm

busy I'm so busy I'm good I'm good but

I'm busy I'm busy busy with this whole

flavors are busy and so I do think that

something has changed it's not just in

our own mind something as significant

has changed and even in those years I

think we've

from being connected to hyper-connected

and that that's not a small change in

the human condition it shifts from a

place where sometimes we had information

overload yes we've had that for a long

time but we're now in a state of opinion

overload and so this is particularly the

kind of busyness that I think is is most

potentially harmful is where we're busy

not because we just have a sense of

internal mission that matters a sense of

contribution that we want to make in the

world it's that we're busy because other

people are busy we're doing things

because other people are doing stuff we

see them on social media oh that

person's doing this thing they're in

that place they're pursuing this idea

and so keeping up with the Joneses has

been a deep part of human nature I'm

sure forever but when you add into it

this hyper connection this hyper

comparison then I think it gets to the

point where people do feel pretty crazy

all the time so that people feel busy

but not productive they feel stretched

too thin at work or at home but they

don't feel a sense of accomplishment

with it they feel instead a can't a

constant sense of other people hijacking

their agenda you know and so and this is

the this is the problem problem isn't

that you have a lot to do

that's it and it la it's obviously a

very busy place this is the perfect

moment for it's not just that you have a

lot to do it's it's that you're being

defined by this constant reactive

comparison this I think is really the

issue it's a it's a badge of honor for a

lot of people the I remember when I was

getting started out as a filmmaker and a

lot of the people that I surrounded

myself with who I thought were good

mentors talked about how they will sleep

when they're dead that working hard is

the most important thing that if they

only got four to five hours of sleep or

less that's okay because they got the

job done that you can smile and be happy

once you have the money once you have

the success is this something that

you've seen because you've worked with a

lot of startup and tech companies this

kind of culture is it heightened there

in in certain environments where maybe

it's entrepreneurial driven or people

are trying to create something for

themselves yes I mean I think that I

mean this is where I first observed the

phenomenon which is that working with

Silicon Valley companies I noticed that

you know in the early days of a company

they would be maybe have a state of

clarity a certain clarity a sense of

this is what we're trying to do and this

is who we are and this is who we aren't

and this is what we're not trying to do

and so they would have that clarity if

they got that clarity it would drive

success and with the success would come

an increase of options and opportunities

and that sounds like the right problem

to have that whole pants and everything

I just described but it did in fact turn

out to be a problem

if all of that opportunity those options

if it pulls you in to what Jim cons is

called the undisciplined pursuit of more

and if these companies would fall into

that problem

they would start to plateau in their

progress or start to fail altogether now

that's true for companies and it's also

true for individuals the same pattern

the same problem and so what I found was

a sort of paradox of success that

success if let allowed to be

undisciplined would

I'm a catalyst for failure and that that

undermines everything you've got people

who are driven capable curious they've

got all the things perhaps they need to

be able to break through to the next

level but they don't and but it's

because of this pattern and so that's

why essentialism subtitle is the

disciplined pursuit of less it's because

it's an antidote to that problem that's

the whole idea and that we can become

essentialists before we have to before

we start to fail altogether before we

see that we've given up all the things

that mattered most for all the things

that mattered least you can act upon

your life and upon your desire to make a

contribution and and become more

discerning so that you can go from a

level of success and contribution to an

even higher level of contribution in the

book you say it's the disciplined

pursuit of less but better yeah it's a

really important distinction and I think

that there are some people perhaps Gary

Vaynerchuk who I haven't sat down to

talk with yet who would likely say it's

the pursuit of more but better as in we

don't have to do less we can if we find

out our path well we're really

passionate about we can work even harder

to get there is that something and this

is just my assumption of maybe where his

views are at I could be totally wrong

but I think this is probably something

that a lot of people would identify with

it's something that I identify with

being somebody who is incredibly

passionate about filmmaking and

oftentimes stretching myself too thin

starting to work on weekends working

nights even though I have the freedom to

choose not to do that

how do you view that mentality of trying

to fit even more in when we know exactly

what we should be working on I mean one

of the responses that I have to that is

if non-essential ISM meaning if the

undisciplined pursuit of more is working

for someone keep doing it if it's

producing the results it promises well

then carry on ignore everything I'm

saying

so if non-essential ism is producing

breakthrough contribution really

meaningful relationships

satisfying life happiness in the moment

and a sense of mission for the future I

mean if it's delivering on those things

keep doing it the problem is that

non-essential ISM doesn't for most

people and I might even say anybody

deliver on its promise so so what it

actually produces is short term you can

prove it sort of present a short term

burst of activity but it quickly becomes

a diminishing return right so if you do

the 5 hours a night yeah you can do 5

hours a night you can do that for a few

nights but there's a point at which the

discernment level starts to go down the

joy level ghost starts to go down and if

your joy and discernment starts to go

down it means that you have less ability

to pick the right next project and so

very quickly you are falling into the

pattern of plateauing yes you're doing

more you do do lots of things and

they're all interesting to you but you

actually what you're not noticing is

that you're starting to lose the edge

that you absolutely require you must

have in order to discern the next big

level of contribution I mean I can I can

speak to this in my in my own life in a

variety of ways but it you know one of

the experiences that led me to really

focus on this subject in this book was

that I mean you know I got an email from

my colleague at the time said look

Friday would be a very bad time for your

wife they have a baby because I need you

to be at this client meeting between

1:00 and 2:00 heylook and I'm sure they

were joking and yet somehow I took it as

a responsibility of burden you know I've

got to navigate this balance this Friday

comes along that is when we're in the

hospital my wife just had our daughter

where were instead of being focused I

allow another passion another interest

to confuse it and so I go to my shame to

the meeting and even if some great thing

had come from that meeting which in fact

it didn't surely and clearly I made a

fool's bargain what I learned from that

lesson is the simplest idea which is if

you don't prioritize

your life someone else will and that's

that idea of being heightened awareness

of what the priority is and making sure

that we aren't just busy pursuing lots

of things but that we are creating space

to actually pause and discern and make

sure that we're sleeping enough so that

our discernment is intact so that we can

keep on figuring out what is the most

important contribution I can make and so

that's what I'm saying I say there's an

inherent trade-off when people are just

I'm so interested in them so guys I'm

gonna do more of everything yeah there's

an advantage to that for a time perhaps

but you're giving up something along the

way as well and you have to be careful

about what you're giving up because

otherwise you wake up one day and you

say my goodness I've done all these

different things but I basically lost my

way I don't know what it is anymore that

I want to do and you're so consumed and

you've been so consumed and this happens

for years for people's lives and then

they were why aren't I even doing this

and they got they got disconnected and

that's the risk I mean success is a very

poor teacher that's what Bill Gates said

anyway right he should know that's an

interesting person to say that so we

shouldn't let success dictate the next

thing we do we should let conscience and

our internal you know clarity be the

guide but to allow that to be the guide

we have to behave in a variety of ways

to make sure that we can even hear it

amidst all the noise and is all the

passionate projects and that to me is a

much better guide in a much better way

to ensure that we actually get utilized

for our best and highest use rather than

just the latest interesting project how

do we say no to things because saying no

is really uncomfortable saying yes feels

good when somebody says hey like we'd

love to grab coffee and pick your brain

or just chat a little bit but saying yes

leaves you feeling good leaves them

feeling good for the short term in the

long term then when it comes to that day

when you have to meet up with them

you're like oh I'm already so busy I

don't have time to do this so how do we

tack fully say no to people I actually

do the first

you have to accept is that we are saying

no all the time and everybody is what we

are not aware of is that we are saying

no so we're just saying no in an in a in

a you know compulsive way every time I

check email I'm saying no to something

every time I you know randomly go on

social media or on you know on YouTube

which is its own kind of social media

every time you get pulled into some

binging watching something you're saying

no to stuff and so in a sense we're

quite good at saying though we just

don't use the words no and so we have to

in a way apply that same logic to more

important projects more important work

so that we just pause before saying yeah

I'm gonna do that we pause before going

on social media I mean yes we have to

learn how to be able to communicate to

other people and maybe we'll get back to

that but but I actually think the first

thing we need to learn about saying

though is is is just within ourselves do

you find that sometimes you need to

sprint that you need to maybe put in a

little bit more hours or tip the scale

in one direction to finish a project or

do you find that generally your balance

is is in check well I think that I think

that what you I think my experience and

my expectation is that unexpected things

will come up like that is what my

experience has taught me you think it

will be like X but really there will be

things you didn't plan for and that's

exactly why you have to create buffer in

the system that's why you should not

take on every project you think you can

do even if you're interested even if

it's aligned even if and I can name so

many things like that to me that I've

just gone I mean example executive

coaching I mean coaching I mean there's

a real demand for essentialism coaching

and I have requests in all sorts of ways

for that and I could list a whole line

of other kinds of products and services

that people will proactively ask for

and I feel tempted by all of them

because I want to make a difference

because it aligns with so many of the

things that I want to do but if I were

to say yes to all of them I would be

violating the thing I've observed in all

of my life which is that there will be

unexpected things so you start the

coaching you start o provide some

coaching to a few people yeah but that

takes twice as long three times as long

as you really thought it would you gotta

prepare for you to think about it you

gonna they cancel on you multiple times

you cancel on everything's everything

comes up and suddenly what you thought

was X is really three X of time and

energy in fact I have a CEO friend who

says to me that he takes every time and

budget estimate and multiplies it by PI

and I thought he was exaggerating at

first but I found that to be really

accurate and so so I think the key is

not to say well do I push extra in those

moments or not well yeah I mean if you

want to get the thing done you're bound

to have to push harder than you thought

it's to make sure you're not taking on

so many things that when you do that

you're pushing out things that are far

more important but less urgent to you so

so it's by me I didn't write a book for

like at least two years now since the

publisher was ready to the agents ready

to I'm even ready to but no it doesn't

feel right show restraint two years

that's hard to not do it but it means

that now when I've just come to the

point where I feel ready to do it and

the timing feels right you know I didn't

ruin relationships for the last two

years and I could have damaged any

number of relationships in my family if

I just said yeah I want to do it in

there ready let's do it let's add

another whole huge project so I think

the key is how do not have those

projects in the first place

be careful what you take on don't take

it on just because you can don't take it

on just because it's good make sure it's

the right thing at the right time for

the right reasons then when you get to

execution there's buffer built in so you

can actually spend the extra time you

need to to me it feels like there's a

lot in common with finances and creating

a security fund that's like the first

thing the first step that Dave Ramsey

and everybody talks about if you're

trying to head towards financial into

and it's save up a thousand dollars put

it in a glass box underneath your bed

hide it away and make sure that you

don't touch it unless there's an

emergency and it creates a buffer and

that's something that I did when I was

pursuing a career creating original

content

I needed a buffer I needed to say okay I

have a year's worth of living expenses

in the bank now I feel much more

confident free and flexible that I can

pursue this without stress or anxiety

and what you're saying is that we can do

that same exact thing with time totally

and it's exactly what one should do and

I suspect it could be one of the items

on your checklist as you think through

those first questions is not just am i

interested passionate about this is it

aligned but one more question if I do

this will have buffer for the the other

projects in my life that I've already

identified as being essential and that's

just one little thing that you say I

won't think about it unless it's there I

won't remember to ask that question but

you build it into you build into remind

yourself so that you slow down in the

decision-making process yeah I mean

buffer I mean my children I play a game

buffer game in the car where we we drive

you know we'll drive from point A to

point B and my goal is to never stop the

car you know even for a stoplight so how

do you do that you have to create a lot

of distance between you and the car in

front of you so that you can go slower

that's fine but you never stop and

that's me trying to teach them through a

fun game the principle of buffer in our

life I want to be able to make progress

and when I make steady progress I don't

want to have huge starts and stops yeah

it's the consistency that produces

incredible breakthroughs and buffers

keyed absolutely key to doing that

imagine it takes a lot of patience to

live like that yeah and I don't feel

like a and it I don't feel especially

patient I don't the actually I think

that's probably you know among my main

weaknesses but I have absolutely come to

believe that the real kind I don't

patience like you're not bothered about

something real patience is purposeful

purposeful waiting active waiting your

intent is still there but you're going

to show like maybe an upper and lower

bound on your behavior I'll give you an

illustration of what I mean so so

writing a journal a lot of people want

to write a journal

lots of people start very few people

continue writing a journal why they want

to do that's why they start this way

they've bought it that's why they did it

I mean the whole journal industry is

like a bought books that never get

written in so so there's two ways to

approach it and one way the way the

nonessential approach it is by saying

okay the first day I'm jumping into this

I care about this so much I'm going to

be so passionate about it and they don't

think about buffer or anything like that

for the futures and they just jump in

and write three pages that first day

completely like they blow out an hour a

couple of hours doing whatever day two

well I don't have don't have an hour

than I have two hours I don't have half

an hour built into this schedule every

to be able to do this there's no way

they can do it day two so they - they're

like ah I'll do it tomorrow

and that's this almost over day three

they've got to make up for two days

there's no way they're gonna do it it's

almost over before it begins

so the essentialist way of doing that it

says says okay knowing what we know

about unexpected things we have to

create buffer therefore I will write

every day a tiny amount no more than

five sentences no less than one sentence

upper and lower bound and because my

goal is to do this consistently for a

long time so you it's almost like the

impatience the desire drives consistency

once you have the right mindset and and

let me just tell you what that looks

like

over a long period of time my when my

grandfather died my Jewish grandfather

died in New York and I went to his house

right after that happened only way would

English relative that made it to America

I'm there I'm looking through everything

what do I notice he's left behind

nothing III don't even know properly who

to invite to his funeral because because

they've just got like telephone books

with member I don't know who's who I

don't know if this person just is they I

don't have just a plumber or if it's one

of his good friends it's all in his head

and it all went with him when my other

grandfather passed away I was able to

get a copy of a book that he'd been

writing one sentence every two or three

days for 50 years in one book that's

that's to me that it's extraordinary to

have to have that much accomplished

through such a simple mechanism so

that's what we're going for we want

consistency over the long run about

something that really matters that's

that's all into this principle of

execution but the essentialist approach

to execution it's a small amount over a

long period of time rather than a big

unexpected thing you know you do it you

try and do it you force it and it

doesn't last long

the second thing that the first is so

much more powerful and and more

effortless than the second approach we

talked a little bit about technology and

social media and how it can become a

source of distraction for us and this is

not something that's different than past

technological advancements when books

came around or radio or television

people tend to be frightened of new

technologies is there something

different about social media and we even

hinted at it at the beginning of the

conversation with the busyness seems to

be a little bit different than times

past do you find social media what role

do you use it in your life and and how

do you recommend people approach this

who perhaps want to be creators online

and they want to build a personal brand

how do you do that without letting it

the negative side come in yes so you

know old technology literally all of it

makes a good servant and a poor master

and social media is no different in that

than anything that came before but it

takes time to develop the new skills and

wisdom when a new technology comes in

and so the risk is that we throw the

baby out with the bathwater and that's

happened before in you know in the

decimal revolution you know so many

gains made but so many things lost that

nobody was even looking at our thinking

about and the same is true with social

media so so so yes one has to look at

what a what am i what do I want

intentionally to get from it what is the

what is the exchange value I'm willing

to make for what benefit and I think if

people use it consciously thoughtfully

you know what you just described a

moment ago you say okay YouTube's the

plan channel I want to be on this SERPs

the purposes I'm trying to achieve the

other things a lot less so I think I can

D invest in those items and I'm never

going to invest it just through buffer

right this is a disciplined way of using

that tool the undisciplined way of using

the tool is just to get on there with

barely a thought whether just generally

generally I I want lots of followers and

that's not what I think most people do I

mean that's what if you if you look at

other people's feeds that you often find

on Twitter or LinkedIn on an Instagram

just sort of a randomness to it what so

how does anyone even gonna follow you

how why would they follow you what

what's the message you're trying to

share so I think figuring out you know

you can't say everything to everyone

so figuring out what is it I'm trying to

say to the world what is my very tightly

you know carefully curated message I'm

trying to share and then you use the

tools to be able to enable you to share

that message and engage but I think the

order really matters if you're just out

there randomly doing it I think you'll

get consumed by the noise rather than

you be able to be an important voice of

clarity for people on there something

you said in the book is that more effort

doesn't always correlate to more results

right so if somebody was looking to

pursue an essentialist

path looking to be more intentional with

how they work how they spend their time

what would you say to try to convince

them to just slow down a little bit to

make time for this to to focus and be

deliberate the justification for slowing

down becoming more deliberate becoming

more focused is single and it's this if

you really believe that a few things are

exceptionally valuable and most other

things are noise then you will

automatically spontaneously naturally

start to change your behavior you start

to say okay well what are those few

things and you start to do everything

we've talked about well if only a few

things matter then I'll create space I'm

going to start asking what are they what

is essential and you're gonna start

saying look if it's if it's

non-essential I want to start

eliminating it and getting rid of it and

I'm gonna try and then create a system

that helps me to keep doing and focused

on the things that really mess it and

really a high leverage if you believe

that it drives the behavior if you

believe that all things are

approximately of the same value then you

it's like it's like you you're just

shoveling coal you're in a Cove and

you're just trying to get out as much as

possible and your job is to get more and

more of it and the way to do it is just

to push more and more shovel more and

more becoming an essentialist is like

discovering that you use your whole life

and a coal mine you suddenly go it's not

a coal mine I mean I mean a diamond mine

here I was thinking it was all about

just how much to get out and let's know

it's about finding those things that are

really precious and valuable and

important and as soon as you suddenly

wake up and you're in a dynamite you

behavior shifts and that's the same this

is the driver of becoming essentialist

is to suddenly see you know if somebody

else says not me it's it's difficult to

overstate the unimportance of

practically everything their ideas get

that get that new thinking in and and as

soon as you start to look at the world

through that lens you find yep that is

if

fact far closer to reality that most of

the stuff that's going on is not vital

it's a trivial many verses to fight a

few and I think it's not just one more

thing to figure out what those vital few

things are it is the work of life figure

out what they are eliminate what they

aren't and build a system that protects

and enables you to to pursue those

things that you've said a moment you

know most important thank you so much

for doing this thank you thanks for

watching again if you want to get the

full one hour unedited interview with

Greg it's available at patreon.com slash

Matt dia Bella Greg walks me through the

practical steps of how to apply

essentialism to my own life and perhaps

yours as well see you next time

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