Publishers Weekly
01/13/2014
McKeown began his mission for a less overcommitted life after he left his wife and hours-old baby in the hospital for an ultimately unproductive client meeting. Punctuated with zippy, thoughtful one-liners, this guide to doing “less but better” offers strategies for determining what is truly necessary, and shedding what is not. Too many people fall for the having-it-all myth, and would benefit from shifting from a non-essentialist mindset (unable to distinguish and parse out the truly important) to an essentialist one (capable of identifying the goal), contends McKeown. Instead of attempting to achieve everything, readers need to figure out how to do the “right thing the right way at the right time.” According to the author, the first step is un-committing: resisting the urge to join clubs, take on hobbies, and maintain unsatisfying friendships. Readers can stop making casual commitments, and can get over their fear of missing out. By making better choices, and not taking on the weight of other people’s problems, readers can realize the non-essential nature of virtually everything in life, and learn to be present and spend more meaningful time with family and friends. This is a smart, concise guide for the overcommitted and under-satisfied. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
Essentialism will give you richer, sweeter results and put you in real control, giving greater precision to the pursuit of what truly matters.”—Forbes
“In this likeable and astute treatise on the art of doing less in order to do better...McKeown makes the content fresh and the solutions easy to implement. Following his lucid and smart directions will help readers find ‘the way of the essentialist.’”—Success
“Do you feel it, too? That relentless pressure to sample all the good things in life? To do all the ‘right’ things? The reality is, you don’t make progress that way. Instead, you’re in danger of spreading your efforts so thin that you make no impact at all. Greg McKeown believes the answer lies in paring life down to its essentials. He can’t tell you what’s essential to every life, but he can help you find the meaning in yours.”—Daniel H. Pink, author of To Sell is Human and Drive
“Entrepreneurs succeed when they say ‘yes’ to the right project, at the right time, in the right way. To accomplish this, they have to be good at saying ‘no’ to all their other ideas. Essentialism offers concise and eloquent advice on how to determine what you care about most, and how to apply your energies in ways that ultimately bring you the greatest rewards.”—Reid Hoffman, co-founder/chairman of LinkedIn and co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Start-up of You
“As a self-proclaimed ‘maximalist’ who always wants to do it all, this book challenged me and improved my life. If you want to work better, not just less, you should read it too.”—Chris Guillebeau, New York Times bestselling author of The $100 Startup
“Great design takes us beyond the complex, the unnecessary and confusing, to the simple, clear and meaningful. This is as true for the design of a life as it is for the design of a product. With Essentialism, Greg McKeown gives us the invaluable guidebook for just such a project.”—Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO
“In Essentialism, Greg McKeown makes a compelling case for achieving more by doing less. He reminds us that clarity of focus and the ability to say ‘no’ are both critical and undervalued in business today.”—Jeff Weiner, CEO, LinkedIn
“Essentialism is a powerful antidote to the current craziness that plagues our organizations and our lives. Read Greg McKeown’s words slowly, stop and think about how to apply them to your life—you will do less, do it better, and begin to feel the insanity start to slip away.”—Robert I. Sutton, Professor at Stanford University and author of Good Boss, Bad Boss and Scaling Up Excellence
“Essentialism is a rare gem that will change lives. Greg offers deep insights, rich context and actionable steps to living life at its fullest. I’ve started on the path to an Essentialist way of life, and the impact on my productivity and well-being is profound.”—Bill Rielly, Senior Vice President, Intel Security
JULY 2014 - AudioFile
In this genuine-sounding personal effectiveness audio, Greg McKeown’s narration is compassionate, almost meditative, and a good fit for the slowly building thoughtfulness of his excellent book. Born in London and blessed with a pleasing voice, he has a calm confidence that makes it easy to slow down and absorb the large and small ideas he offers. McKeown says that once we reclaim the choices we have about our lives, we can become better at doing what’s essential by eliminating irrelevant noise, accepting the reality of trade-offs, being explicit and rigorous about our priorities, and adopting behavioral routines. None of these ideas are new, but McKeown’s quiet delivery allows for their absorption and makes this an audio lesson that lingers in the heart and spurs lasting change. T.W. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
