The Reader's Journey

11. Greg McKeown: How To Master Essentialism & Focus On What Matters

• Alex & Books

Share episode

 My guest today is Greg McKeown, the NYT bestselling author of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. He teaches and lectures about the importance of living and leading as an Essentialist around the world. He is among the most popular bloggers for the Harvard Business Review. He also holds an MBA from Stanford University.

In our conversation, Greg teaches us how to be an Essentialist, the importance of trade-offs, why it's important for adults to play and get plenty of sleep, how to say no to opportunities, how you can apply Essentialism to leadership, and much more.
  

TIMESTAMPS:

  • [00:41] Defining Essentialism & why Greg wrote this book   
  • [02:49] Why trade-offs can be a good thing 
  • [06:34] Zoom fatigue & work-life balance
  • [13:00] Why being always busy can be dangerous  
  • [16:28] The benefits of play as an adult
  • [20:55] Greg McKweon & BJ Fogg's conversation 
  • [24:49] The role of sleep in being a high performer
  • [29:28] How to say No & when to pass on opportunities
  • [35:39] How to uncommit from a project or opportunity
  • [40:56] How to apply Essentialism to leadership 
  • [50:31] Books that had a huge influence on Greg & how they changed him


Learn more about the author:

***

If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe & leave a positive review.

Every week, I send out a free weekly newsletter with actionable advice from amazing books. Join 2,000+ readers here.

Connect with Alex & Books: