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When the world feels heavy, many of us fall into the same cycle: doom scrolling, numbing out, or waiting for things to improve In this episode, Jay shares a powerful perspective shift inspired by a lesson from Mr. Rogers: instead of just looking for the helpers, as Mr. Rogers suggests - become one. Rather than waiting for change, we must act. Jay breaks down the science behind action and emotions, including the surprising research of Brené Brown, and outlines his 11 "infinite resources" - 11 ways we can influence change in our life, our relationships, and our world - all without feeling…

The ONE Thing

by Keller Podcast Network · English · Business

Discover the surprisingly simple truth behind extraordinary results. Learn how the most successful people in the world approach productivity, time management, business, health and habits with The ONE Thing. A ProduKtive® Podcast.

More from The ONE Thing

  1. E552 · 6 Apr 2026 · 43 min

    How Billionaires Set Goals: A Step-by-Step Guide to Achieve Your Goals Using the 4-1-1

    If you want to achieve real and sustainable success, you don’t need another productivity system - try this instead. In this episode, Jay Papasan sits down with Director of Training Chris Dixon to unpack one of the most requested teachings in The ONE Thing community: the 411. They explain why to-do lists, project management tools, and reactive planning often leave people busy but not truly productive. Then they walk through how the 411 creates a simple, one-page view of your most important goals by connecting the year, the month, and the week. Jay and Chris also break down the rhythm that…

  2. E551 · 30 Mar 2026 · 46 min

    The Science Behind Sustained Success with Nir Eyal

    What if the biggest thing holding you back isn’t your skills, your resources, or even your discipline—but your beliefs? In this conversation, Jay sits down with Nir Eyal to unpack the hidden force behind motivation and persistence. While most people think success comes from knowing what to do, Nir makes a compelling case that the real driver is belief. If you don’t believe the effort will pay off—or that you’re capable of sustaining it—you’ll quit long before results show up. They break down the “motivation triangle” of behavior, benefit, and belief, and explore how limiting beliefs quietly…

  3. E550 · 23 Mar 2026 · 33 min

    Don’t Waste Your Hardest Lessons: Julia Lashay’s 5 Principles of Unshakable Resilience

    Content Warning: This episode includes discussion of the loss of a child and experiences of grief. It may be distressing for some listeners. Please listen with care and take the space you need. Resilience isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something you build—often in the moments you’d never choose. In this episode, Jay sits down with Julia Lashay to explore how adversity shapes leadership. From losing everything financially during the Great Recession to the unimaginable loss of her son, Julia shares how she found a way forward when life felt impossible. Instead of pushing past pain, she…

  4. 5 Oct 2026 · 38 min

    Stop Trying to Find Your Purpose. Ask This Question Instead | Tom Rath | Ep. 578

    StrengthsFinder 2.0 author Tom Rath on why the hunt for purpose makes people anxious, and the questions he asks instead. His new book is named after it: What's the Point? You've been told to find your purpose since high school. You're still waiting for it to show up. The word is the problem. Most of us hear it and tense up, as if purpose has to descend from the heavens on a sunny day every ten years. Tom's books have sold more than 10 million copies. Five months before his newest book launched, he called his publisher and dropped its working title, Purpose Unlocked, worried readers would be…

  5. E577 · 28 Sep 2026 · 30 min

    Before You Set New Goals, Decide What to Let Go Of

    How to simplify your busy life before setting new goals. You raised your hand for a committee years ago, and now it’s just draining time and energy every week. It’s out of alignment - and it’s almost goal-setting season. That work project that seemed like a great idea at the time is still eating your week, and nothing new fits. Before you add another goal to the list, you have to pause and find the space for it. On August 1st, Jay Papasan left Keller Williams after almost 26 years, and he’s still in what he calls a season of addition by subtraction. Are you living your own definition of…

  6. E576 · 21 Sep 2026 · 42 min

    15 Truths for Business & Life: Inbox Zero, Hustle Culture & More

    Winners never quit. Clear the inbox. Outwork everyone. You've followed rules like these for years without checking them. Charlie Munger kept a latticework of mental models so he'd make better decisions. Jay Papasan keeps his own in a notes document he carries around. About 88 entries so far, written down so he's less likely to keep repeating the same mistakes. You're most likely to hurt yourself, Jay warns, when you're anchored to a truth that may not be true. So he puts fifteen of his own on the table, then one he's abandoned. He expects you to disagree with a few. The ones that make you…

  7. E575 · 14 Sep 2026 · 32 min

    Why Your Business Feels Unpredictable (and how to fix it) w/ Jordan Freed

    You work all day and your results still swing month to month. One month you're unstoppable, the next the pipeline is empty and you can't understand why. Jordan Freed says your business has a first down: one repeatable action that makes everything after it predictable, and most of us have never named ours. In this episode, Jay sits down with Jordan Freed - head coach at The ONE Thing and Jay's own former coach. He says he has never coached a real estate professional who hit their listing number every single month and missed the rest of their goals. Just in time for football season, Jay and…

  8. E573 · 7 Sep 2026 · 29 min

    Success Is Boring (and how to show up anyway)

    You know what you should be doing every day. But most days you find a reason to make them tomorrow. Then the year ends looking exactly like the last one. Motivation was never going to carry you through work this boring. The people who show up every day set it up so that skipping costs them something. Jay Papasan edited Mia Hamm's book at HarperCollins. The story that stuck with him had nothing to do with the World Cup. It was wind sprints alone in a park in the off-season heat, and the note her coach left under her windshield wiper. Being number one in your market gets built the same way,…

  9. E573 · 31 Aug 2026 · 41 min

    Ex-Google Leader: How to Actually Grow Into Your New Job Title - Shannon Anderson-Finch

    If you've ever taken a new job or a new title and kept feeling like the old you, Shannon Anderson-Finch has a name for it: the gap between a change and a transition. Most people try to skip it. Shannon spent 15 years at Google and Deloitte, where she was named Coach of the Year, before starting her own practice. She now coaches new VPs at a large retailer and a first-time hospital president through that same gap. Her model runs in the wrong order: an ending, then a messy middle where you're neither here nor there, and only then a beginning. The middle is where she watches high achievers get…

  10. E572 · 24 Aug 2026 · 20 min

    Type 2 Work, and The Hidden Cost of Convenience

    We spend a lot of energy trying to make life faster, easier, and more convenient. But what might we lose when we remove too much of the hard? Jay breaks down the “fun scale,” from Type One Fun that feels good in the moment to Type Two Fun that feels difficult while you’re doing it but becomes meaningful in retrospect. Then there’s Type Three Fun: hard experiences that never seem worth it. The difference often comes down to three things: choice, completion, and connection. Did you choose the challenge? Can you see a finish line? Is the struggle connected to something meaningful? Jay also…

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