The ONE Thing

December is chaotic. The kids are out of school. Family is visiting, or you're traveling. There are parties you should go to and gifts you should buy. Don't forget the holiday cards! If ever there was a season for The ONE Thing, 'tis the season. Jay and his personal coach, Jordan Freed, spend this episode giving you the tools you need to have a meaningful, calm(ish) holiday season. They walk you t...

Here at The ONE Thing, we’re all about helping people be successful. Most folks would assume we value serial high achievement, but we don’t. In this episode, we take a look at when achievement becomes an addiction and why it isn’t the same thing as success. Kim Zuroff, our Director of Growth at The ONE Thing, is our guest. She dominated Ironman Triathlons, climbed Kilimanjaro, and raced up the car...

Captain Daryle Cardone has 5,000 sailors entrusted to him, many of them in their 20s without much experience in life, much less in battle. He has two nuclear power plants to manage, plus a floating runway with multi-million dollar aircraft taking off 24 hours a day. Sufficient to say Captain Cardone knows a thing or two about leadership. We’re thrilled to have him on the show today. Jay and Captai...

Do you have something you’ve been dreaming about doing for a while, but keep finding reasons to put it off? Take this episode as a sign to go do it today.  Officially taking over as host, Jay Papasan outlines new changes to the podcast that will better serve listeners: More actionable content and more conversations driven by questions from people trying to implement The ONE Thing out in the real w...

It’s time for the host to sit in the hot seat. For over 70 episodes, Nikki Miller asked guests insightful questions, connecting their theories to practical implementation for The ONE Thing podcast listeners. Today, she’s the one being interviewed. Jay Papasan takes on his new role as host. Nikki reflects on what it’s meant to be a public ambassador of The ONE Thing, all the preparation that has go...

Can you imagine freeing up 30% of executives’ time, while also increasing joy and resilience in the workplace? Keith Ferrazzi joins the show today to discuss his new book, “Never Lead Alone,” which promises to do exactly that. Keith walks us through some of the diagnostic questions and high return practices (HRPs) outlined in “Never Lead Alone” that can create a new social contract and culture in...

Learning, innovation, and growth all rely on failure. The discomfort of failure bakes important lessons into our brains. The uncertainty that precedes the point of failure expands our minds. Dr. Manu Kapur joins the show today to explain why we should deliberately design for failure in our businesses and personal lives. Dr. Manu Kapur heads the Future Learning Initiative at ETH University Zurich a...

Fifteen years ago, when Jenn Lewis was first asked questions from The Goal Setting Retreat, she cried. To be fair, her partner JP hadn’t told her what they were for and he brought them up in the middle of a busy restaurant. Today, Jenn joins the show to share what couples can expect from The Goal Setting Retreat and how they may get emotional… in a good way. Jay Papasan serves as the host for this...

Is your business actually stalling out or are you just bored? How can you tell the difference? And if you are just bored, how can you overcome that? Nikki Miller and Chris Dixon do a deep dive into the topic, giving clear tactics to address the issue. Nikki and Chris discuss iterative reflection, “gap and gain,” autonomy, and authorship. They also dig into habit formation, mindsets, and accountabi...

Jay Papasan, Nikki Miller, and one hour of pure The ONE Thing fundamentals: It doesn’t get any better than this. Recorded at the Keller Williams Family Reunion, Nikki and Jay give a one-hour masterclass on how Jay and Gary Keller developed The ONE Thing and how you can apply it to your life today. This is a must-listen and the perfect episode to share with loved ones and colleagues. Jay and Nikki...

We often hear the term “naive optimism,” but the fact is, most of us are living in “naive cynicism.” Dr. Jamil Zaki joins the show today to explain why cynicism harms our well-being and businesses. He also gives us ways to combat it. Dr. Jamil Zaki is the Director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab. He has gathered his latest research in a new book, “Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of...

Investing in a generous relationship not only exponentially grows your relationship with a person, but it exponentially grows your network. If you aren’t just interested in making a successful deal, but in creating a successful career, this is The ONE Thing episode you need to listen to. Jay Papasan steps in as the podcast host and interviews his friend and fellow author, Mo Bunnell. They dissect...

Mental fatigue is real. We live in a world where we have to make a thousand good decisions each day, and we’re expected to be highly creative at our jobs. That’s why it’s critical to learn how to optimize our brains to function well in this reality. Our guest today, Dr. Mithu Storoni, is here to give us some science-back tactics. Dr. Mithu Storoni is an University of Cambridge trained physician, n...

Brian Gottlieb enjoys his motorcycle rides and his cigars, but most of all he’s passionate about empowering his employees to find purpose in their work. Brian is our guest on the show today and he’s here to tell us about his new book, “Beyond the Hammer.” In just over 10 years, Brian grew from a business of 0 employees to 600 employees and over $1 billion in lifetime sales. How? By having an empow...

The American Dream is still alive and well, and Mark Matson wants to make sure everybody knows it. Mark joins us on the show to talk about his new book, “Experiencing the American Dream: How to Invest Your Time, Energy and Money to Create an Extraordinary Life.” Mark states that schools are promoting victimhood and entitlement, rather than hard work. He warns about seeing money as an evil thing, g...

What does “inclusion” mean anyway? Lately, “inclusion” is a buzzword, and when paired with “diversity” and “equity” it generates a lot of heat and noise. Our guest on the show has a lot to say on the topic, based on her 30 years of successful corporate leadership and her new book “Lead Bigger: The Transformative Power of Inclusion.” We’re thrilled to be joined today by Anne Chow. Anne shares what...

Push it down and power through. That’s how many of us have become high-achievers. But that’s also how many of us have developed physical and emotional unwellness. Our guests on the show today explain how to reconnect with our bodies to achieve more for internal selves. Today we’re joined by Jennifer Mann and Karden Rabin, co-authors of “The Secret Language of the Body.” They tell us their personal...

“How do you use the concept of The ONE Thing in a company environment?” One of our loyal listeners sent us this great question.  We spend today’s episode answering it, explaining how we use The ONE Thing approach when we coach a whole corporation, not just an individual. We’ve worked with military Special Forces, NBA teams, huge corporations, and small start-ups. Our approach stays consistent and...

Your company culture should not be designed around what generation your workers come from. It should not rely on being physically present in the office. The number one value and practice of your culture should be adaptability. Dr. Jessica Kriegel joins us today to explain how the data shows adaptable company cultures are the best performing ones. What many people mistake for generational differenc...

Time is the most precious resource in any environment, but it does not often get treated that way at work. Talented workers’ time gets eaten up by meetings, reducing their “flow” and productivity. Matt Martin, joins the show today to talk about changing the culture of scheduling with a little help from technology. Matt is the CEO and Co-Founder of Clockwise, a very popular calendar tool that's unl...

Jay Papasan did not plan on being the CEO of ProduKtive. As the co-founder, he had to step in when the current CEO left for another opportunity. As Jay took a closer look at the plateaued revenue, he knew he had to stay in the seat longer to make some needed adjustments.  Jay joins us on the show today to talk about the lessons he has learned as a reluctant CEO. We discuss the tough decisions he h...

Almost 20 years ago Jay and Wendy Papasan were young parents with toddlers who just needed to get away for a weekend and have a deep conversation about their future. Fast forward to today and they are leading an annual Goal Setting Retreat, helping thousands of people achieve their dreams just like they have been able to do. Jay and Wendy join us on the show today to tell us the origin story of th...

After Matt Diamante read The ONE Thing, he decided to give it a try. The ONE thing he chose was to post on social media every day. Now, after only 18 months, Matt has 190,000 Instagram followers, 20,000 followers on TikTok, and his inbox is flooded with business requests for his HeyTony advertising agency. Matt joins us on the show today to explain how The ONE Thing transformed his business. Matt’...

How many of us set goals at the beginning of the year and then tuck them away until it’s time to make new goals the next year? In this episode, Nikki and Chris explain the importance of having a six-month check-in and evaluating where you stand with your vision, goals, and execution.  They break down exactly what steps to take in a six-month check-in. They also talk about the importance of doing i...

Most people overestimate their ability to read people’s personalities. This leads to hiring the wrong people for the wrong roles, managing people in the wrong ways, and overall just making life harder for everyone. The good news is that reading people’s personalities is a skill that you can develop and improve. Our guest today, Dr. Richard Davis, has just written a book teaching you how. Richard g...