#ELBookClub May 2021 pick
This month’s book, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown was a delight to listen to. I’ve read much in the world of slowing the hustle, making room for margin, and topics like minimalism. But I really fell in love with the idea of essentialism. He talks about this idea as separating the vital few from the trivial many. Think about that. Less but better. He urges us to shift from the undisciplined pursuit of more to the disciplined pursuit of less.
Essentialism is not a way to do one more thing it it a different way of doing everything.
He talks a lot about choices. A choice is an action. Every time you make a choice, you take an action towards a greater goal. Everything you do is taking you either towards or away from your goals. Do the things that move you towards your goals. Gosh, this one hit me harder than just about anything this year. One of the most difficult things about being a small business owner is that you contain the livelihood of not only your family but also that of the people you employ. And every decision you make effects more than just you. And that is perhaps the hardest. Knowing that when you make a choice that’s in the best interest of you or your company, it may be directly not in the best interest of one of your employees or clients. And it’s such a fine line. But Greg helps tote that line with this simple truth: it isn’t a clear yes it’s clear no. And you should be slow to say “yes” and quick to say “no”. I once heard “hire slow and fire fast” as a business line as well. ANd it honestly makes a lot of sense.
ESSENTIAL IS WHEN PASSION & TALENT MEETS A NEED.
And that duo is key. Both passion AND talent.
This graphic does much to explain what Greg talk about in his book. One must admit failure to begin success, and sometimes that means reevaluating our choices to carve out what truly matters most to pursue less but more meaningful. I certainly recommend this book to small business owners and really just anyone who is looking to pursue less over more.
