Gary Keller Quotes

“A different result requires doing something different.”

“A life worth living might be measured in many ways, but the one way that stands above all others is living a life of no regrets.”

“Achievers operate differently. They have an eye for the essential. They pause just long enough to decide what matters and then allow what matters to drive their day.

Achievers do sooner what others plan to do later and defer, perhaps indefinitely, what others do sooner. The difference isn’t in intent, but in right of way.

Achievers always work from a clear sense of priority.”

“Allow purpose to be the guiding force in determining the priority that drives your actions.”

“Anyone who dreams of an uncommon life eventually discovers there is no choice but to seek an uncommon approach to living it.”

“Big is bad is a lie. It’s quite possibly the worst lie of all, for if you fear big success, you’ll either avoid it or sabotage your efforts to achieve it.”

“Buying into The ONE Thing becomes difficult because we’ve unfortunately bought into too many others—and more often than not those “other things” muddle our thinking, misguide our actions, and sidetrack our success.”

“Don't fear big. Fear mediocrity. Fear waste. Fear the lack of living to your fullest”

“Don’t let small thinking cut your life down to size. Think big, aim high, act bold. And see just how big you can blow up your life.”

“Even if you’re sure you can win, be careful that you can live with what you lose.”

“Extraordinary results happen only when you give the best you have to become the best you can be at your most important work.”

“Extraordinary success is sequential, not simultaneous. What starts out linear becomes geometric.

You do the right thing and then you do the next right thing. Over time it adds up, and the geometric potential of success is unleashed.

The domino effect applies to the big picture, like your work or your business, and it applies to the smallest moment in each day when you’re trying to decide what to do next.”

“Happiness happens when you have a bigger purpose than having more fulfills, which is why we say happiness happens on the way to fulfillment.”

“If everyone has the same number of hours in the day, why do some people seem to get so much more done than others? How do they do more, achieve more, earn more, have more? If time is the currency of achievement, then why are some able to cash in their allotment for more chips than others?

The answer is they make getting to the heart of things the heart of their approach. It’s realizing that extraordinary results are directly determined by how narrow you can make your focus.”

“If you want to get the most out of your day, do your most important work—your One Thing—early, before your willpower is drawn down. Since your self-control will be sapped throughout the day, use it when it’s at full strength on what matters most.”

“Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling five balls and you’re keeping all of them in the air. But one day you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back.

The other four balls — family, health, friends, integrity — are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered.”

“It is not that we have too little time to do all the things we need to do , it is that we feel the need to do too many things in the time we have.”

“It is those who concentrate on but one thing at a time who advance in this world.”

“Juggling is an illusion. In reality, the balls are being independently caught and thrown in rapid succession.

It is actually task switching. Task switching exacts a cost few realize they are even paying.”

“Leaving some things undone is a necessary tradeoff for extraordinary results.”

“Long hours spent checking off a to-do list and ending the day with a full trash can and a clean desk are not virtuous and have nothing to do with success. Instead of a to-do list, you need a success list — a list that is purposefully created around extraordinary results.

To-do lists tend to be long; success lists are short. One pulls you in all directions; the other aims you in a specific direction. One is a disorganized directory and the other is an organized directive.

If a list isn’t built around success, then that’s not where it takes you. If your to-do list contains everything, then it’s probably taking you everywhere but where you really want to go.”

“Make sure every day you do what matters most. When you know what matters most, everything makes sense. When you don’t know what matters most, anything makes sense.”

“More than anything else, expertise tracks with hours invested.”

“Multitasking is a lie.”

“No one succeeds alone. No one.”

“Not everything matters equally, and success isn’t a game won by whoever does the most. Yet that is exactly how most play it on a daily basis.”

“One of the most empowering moments of my life came when I realized that life is a question and how we live it is our answer.”

“Passion for something leads to disproportionate time practicing or working at it. That time spent eventually translates to skill, and when skill improves, results improve.

Better results generally lead to more enjoyment, and more passion and more time is invested. It can be a virtuous cycle all the way to extraordinary results.”

“Start saying 'no'. Always remember that when you say 'yes' to something, you’re saying 'no' to everything else. It’s the essence of keeping a commitment.

Start turning down other requests outright or saying, 'No, for now' to distractions so that nothing detracts you from getting to your top priority.

Learning to say 'no' can and will liberate you. It’s how you’ll find the time for your ONE Thing.”

“Success demands singleness of purpose.”