Essentialism

🎯 Core Principle

“Less, but better.”
Don’t do more things. Do the right things—and do them really well.

🔑 Key Mindset Shifts

1. The Power of Choice

• You always have a choice, even when it feels like you don’t.

• If you don’t actively choose how to spend your time, others will choose for you.

“Only once you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, can you make your highest contribution.”

2. Almost Everything is Nonessential

• Most things are trivial. Very few really matter.

• Apply the 90% Rule: If something isn’t a 9 or 10 out of 10, treat it like a 0.
  
  

3. Trade-Offs Are Inevitable—Choose Them Deliberately

• Every “yes” is a “no” to something else.

• Ask: “What am I saying no to if I say yes to this?”

🧰 Tools & Practices for an Essentialist Life

✅ 1. Explore Before You Commit

• Pause before saying yes.

• Ask: “Is this the best use of my time and energy?”

• Protect space to think and reflect.
  
  

✅ 2. Eliminate the Nonessential

• Cut out or reduce:

  • Tasks that drain but don’t matter

  • Relationships that distract from your path

  • Obligations based on guilt or fear

“If it’s not a clear yes, then it’s a clear no.”

✅ 3. Execute Effortlessly

• Create routines and buffers that make essential tasks easy and repeatable.

• Focus on progress over perfection.

• Rest is productive: it preserves clarity and decision power.
  
  

🧘‍♂️ The Inner Work of an Essentialist

• Clarity = Power: Know what matters most to you.

• Boundaries = Freedom: Say no to protect your highest contribution.

• Play & Sleep = Fuel: Don’t glorify burnout.
  
  

📌 Key Takeaway

“An Essentialist thinks almost everything is nonessential. A Nonessentialist thinks almost everything is essential.”

The result? More impact, less stress, and a deeply intentional life.