The ONE Thing

How do you stay afloat when everything is falling apart? Life can - and will - hit you hard. And how can you lead others when you feel like you can’t lead yourself? This week, Jay sits down for an interview with Tiffany Fykes and Sarah Reynolds from Empire Building, to share some of the deeply personal hardships he has navigated in the past several years, and opens up about what it really looks li...

Big goals have a way of starting strong and slowly falling apart. Motivation fades. Life intervenes. Momentum stalls. In this episode, Jay Papasan shares what actually separates the people who follow through from those who stay stuck in restart mode. After studying more than 400 entrepreneurs and business owners who went through The First Domino program, Jay distills their success into five repeat...

For years, Jen Davis did what high performers are taught to do. Say yes. Move faster. Carry more responsibility. Lead at a high level and keep pushing. From the outside, her career looked like the definition of success. Then she was forced to pause. And that pause completely shifted her thinking. She had been running full speed ahead, without realizing the impact it was having on the things that m...

We’re closing out the year with a special highlight reel from some of Jay Papasan’s favorite conversations of 2025, all centered on two big themes: taking action and sustaining action. On the “taking action” side, Jenny Wood reframes fear as a signal of agency, Pat Flynn walks us through his “DeLorean” future-casting exercise, and Sahil Bloom challenges us to let our calendars prove what truly mat...

So much of life runs on a “default” operating system—school, work, productivity tools, even your phone. But what happens when that default just doesn’t work for you? In this episode, Jay Papasan sits down with BestSelf Co. founder Cathryn Lavery to talk about being diagnosed with ADHD at 31, realizing she was a “Mac forced to run PC software,” and how she began designing systems that actually matc...

Are you choosing the right book for the season you’re in—or just grabbing whatever looks interesting? In this solo episode, Jay Papasan walks through the ten books he recommends and gifts more than any others. These are not simply his “favorites”—they’re the books that shaped his craft as a writer, helped him level up as an entrepreneur, grounded him in discipline, clarified his thinking about mon...

Do you ever feel like you’re doing everything “right”? Performing at a high level, meeting everyone’s expectations, carrying the load—and yet still feel yourself slowly wearing down? It’s more common than you might realize—and there’s a way out. Jay Papasan is joined by behavioral psychologist and bestselling author Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe to unpack why the people who look the strongest are often...

We all want to make a difference — but how do you start giving when life already feels full? In this solo episode, Jay Papasan shares his personal “5 Step Giving Framework,” a simple and strategic way to turn good intentions into consistent action. Drawing from research, experience, and years of purposeful practice with his wife, Wendy, Jay outlines how gratitude, time, money, leadership, and weal...

How many times have you said, “It’s not the right time”? Whether it’s starting a new business, writing your book, or making a big life change, we all fall into the trap of waiting for perfect timing. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t exist. In this episode, Jay Papasan shares a personal story about finally deciding to adopt a second dog — and how that simple decision revealed a deeper truth about action,...

Every November, Jay Papasan dedicates time to exploring one of the most powerful productivity tools you have—the ability to say no. This year's "No-vember Special" dives deep into 11 different ways to protect your time, energy, and focus, often without ever saying the word "no." From Steve Jobs' legendary turnaround at Apple to simple scripts you can use in daily life, Jay explains why saying no i...

Every year, Americans spend more than $100 billion on education—books, courses, conferences, and training—and research shows that less than 20% ever do anything with what they learn. That means roughly $80 billion of potential goes unrealized every year. This episode is about joining the 20% who act. Jay Papasan walks you through the T.I.P.P.S. framework—a simple process he’s taught for years to h...

When Gary and Jay wrote The ONE Thing, they defined success as “getting what you want.” But most of us chase goals we didn’t truly choose. In this episode, author and creator Sahil Bloom shares how he reset his scorecard, left a lucrative path, and built a life aligned with his values—starting with time. Sahil explains why the worst distractions often look like great opportunities, and how to run...

Are you constantly trying to please everyone—and still ending up exhausted and unfulfilled? This week, Jay shares the five permission slips every high achiever needs to hear. From setting healthy boundaries to redefining what success looks like, Jay walks you through how to release perfectionism, protect your energy, and rebuild self-trust. You’ll learn how to give yourself permission to disappoin...

Are you overwhelmed by the sheer number of business and self-help books out there? With more than 40,000 titles published every year, it's impossible to read them all — and most of us don't have the time to waste on the wrong ones. The real challenge is knowing which books will actually help you grow, both personally and professionally. That's why Jay Papasan sits down with Todd Sattersten, publis...

Success expands everything—opportunities, decisions, people, and complexity. Jay calls this the High Achiever’s Paradox: as the pie gets bigger, chronic problems compound. Drawing on coaching transcripts and discovery calls, he spotlights three patterns that get harder with success: (1) honoring time blocks amid constant interruptions, (2) delegating instead of clinging to your competency, and (3)...

Morgan Housel is back on the show to talk about his newest book, The Art of Spending Money. You know him from The Psychology of Money and Same As Ever. This time, we dive into what happens after you’ve earned the money—how to actually use it well. Morgan makes the case that money can buy comfort and independence, but not love, health, or meaning. Because it’s easy to measure, many of us fall into...

In this solo episode, Jay revisits a formative moment from middle school that turned “never quit” into his lifelong badge of honor—and how that same belief later became an Achilles heel. Perseverance helped him finish books, build businesses, and do hard things. But persistence misapplied can steal time from our future selves. Jay unpacks why winners actually quit—on purpose—and how sunk costs, lo...

If you’ve ever chased big goals and felt oddly alone while doing it, this one’s for you. Liz Bohannon—founder of Sseko Designs (now part of Noonday Collection) and author of Beginner’s Pluck—makes a compelling case that the connection we crave lives on the far side of our fear of rejection. She shares her RICH framework for social health: Initiative, Rhythms, Communication and Conflict, and Help....

What if the path out of overwhelm starts with a glass of water? In this conversation, Sarah Reynolds—co-founder of Empower Home—shares how building one small keystone habit led her to lose 110 pounds and rebuild her energy. She explains how focusing on hydration, then adding practices like intermittent fasting, helped her replace perfectionism with progress and even shift the culture of health on...

Hustle can help you finish a launch, but it can’t be your lifestyle. In this episode, Jay and Chris dig into what it really means to lead for the long haul: trading glorified exhaustion for intentional sustainability. Chris shares his 2021 brush with burnout—and the hard reset that followed—making the case that energy, not time, is a leader’s most valuable asset. Together, they explore where to st...

There’s a reason rest feels like stress when you’re hooked on hustle. Jay unpacks why so many high achievers get trapped in a cycle of motion over progress—how the Zeigarnik effect and our dopamine bias for fast wins pull us toward low-value tasks—and what it costs us in value, time, and morale. He then gets tactical: how to own the problem, say “no” more often, and swap performative work for prio...

What if the biggest thing standing between you and your goals isn’t the economy, the competition, or even your circumstances—it’s you? In this solo episode, Jay Papasan shares six common patterns of self-sabotage uncovered from hundreds of coaching participants and offers simple, actionable ways to break them. From procrastination and avoidance to people-pleasing, poor boundaries, and constant dis...

Most people think the market is too crowded to stand out, but Sam Vander Wielen proves otherwise. After leaving a legal career she hated, Sam faced enormous personal and professional challenges, yet built an eight-figure business selling legal templates online. Her secret? Embracing authenticity—sharing her real story, letting her brand reflect her true self, and doing the unglamorous work of list...

Before discovering The ONE Thing, Mauricio and Christine were stuck in survival mode—juggling kids, work, and the chaos of daily life. Everything changed when a copy of The ONE Thing landed on Mauricio’s desk. What started as reluctant curiosity grew into a shared commitment: they embraced the 411 and time-blocking, turning scattered days into intentional progress. By having weekly conversations a...

This week, we’re doing something special. I’m bringing you a live keynote from none other than Gary Keller, where he shares what he calls the “10 Bold Truths”—a collection of powerful ideas designed to help you build an extraordinary life. These truths are the backbone of our BOLD training at Keller Williams, and they align beautifully with the principles behind The ONE Thing. From mindset and foc...