The ONE Thing

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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.

20h ago

The Science of Excellence: How To Master Your Craft, Passion vs. Obsession, The Myth of Balance, and More w/ Brad Stulberg

The version of success you’ve been sold is really just stress with better branding. Brad Stulberg has spent 20 years researching and reporting on the top 1% in their field - Olympians, powerlifters, bestselling authors - and has written 5 books on what he’s learned, including Peak Performance and his newest, The Way of Excellence. In this episode, you'll learn: - Why work-life balance fails - Whether your obsession with work is fueling you or burning you out - Why hitting a goal you've chased for years can leave you empty - Why positive self-talk doesn't actually work - Why you can't feel fear and curiosity at the same time - How elite performers rest without feeling guilty Know someone who may find this episode helpful? Share it with them: https://the1thing.com/podcast-episode/the-science-of-excellence-how-to-master-your-craft-passion-vs-obsession-the-myth-of-balance-and-more-w-brad-stulberg/ *** Chapters: [00:00] Intro [01:47] What Actually Counts as Excellence? [03:45] The Two Ingredients for Meaningful Work [07:03] The Science of The Last Percent [10:15] Why Fear and Curiosity Can't Coexist [15:10] Self-Soothing Doesn’t Work. This Does. [21:55] Good Passion vs. Obsessive Passion [24:55] Why Does Winning Feel So Empty? [28:03] Is An Identity Crisis Inevitable? [35:02] The Importance of Recovery [41:45] The Value of Inefficiency [47:03] Your Challenge This Week Links & Tools from This Episode: • The ONE Thing Operating System • Brad Stulberg • Follow Brad Stulberg on X • The Way of Excellence by Brad Stulberg • Free Resources
Jul 13

How to Reinvent Yourself: A 4 Step Framework for Starting Over

Jay Papasan talks with Steve Kamb, founder of Nerd Fitness and author of How to Try Again, about what it takes to change course. Steve shares his PACT framework: Pause, Accept, Change, and Try, and explains why real change often feels messy before it feels clear. Together, Jay and Steve explore identity shifts, false expectations, the myth of “normal,” and how small experiments can help you move toward a life that fits the season you’re actually in. Know someone who may find this episode helpful? Share it with them: https://the1thing.com/podcast-episode/how-to-reinvent-yourself-a-4-step-framework-for-starting-over/ *** We talk about: [00:00] Starting Over & Trying Again [04:51] Steve’s 4 Step Framework [12:10] There Is No Normal [19:52] Change is Uncomfortable [24:59] Experiment Your Way Out [42:43] Force Yourself to Be Mid Links & Tools from This Episode: • The ONE Thing Operating System • How to Try Again by Steve Kamb • Nerd Fitness • Steve Kamb • Free Resources Produced by NOVA
Jul 6

A Deep Dive on Our Most Impactful Coaching Tool

Get The Someday Letter Worksheet: https://linkly.link/2ld7z Most of us are comfortable setting annual goals. But what happens when you look 10 years into the future and let yourself dream without boundaries? In this episode, Jay Papasan shares one of the most powerful tools used in The ONE Thing coaching program: the Someday Letter. It’s a simple but deeply clarifying exercise that asks you to write a letter to yourself from the future, describing the life, work, relationships, values, and adventures you want to create. Jay opens up about his own resistance to the exercise, why it took him 18 months to finally do it, and the surprising clarity he found on the other side. He explains how the Someday Letter helps you work backward from a future vision, make better decisions in the present, and stop chasing short-term gains that don’t lead where you actually want to go. Know someone who may find this episode helpful? Share it with them: https://the1thing.com/podcast-episode/a-deep-dive-on-our-most-impactful-coaching-tool/ *** We talk about: [00:00] Why This Tool is So Powerful [3:35] How to Write Your Someday Letter [16:10] The ONE Thing Challenge Links & Tools from This Episode: • The ONE Thing Operating System • The Someday Letter Workbook • Free Resources Produced by NOVA
Jun 29

Change Your Relationship with The Gap (In Business and in Life)

High achievers know the gap well: the space between where you are and where you want to be. It can drive growth, but it can also become a source of fear, avoidance, and self-judgment. In this episode, Jay talks with five-time entrepreneur and executive coach Hannah Soto about the three ways business owners and high achievers often relate to the gap. They chase it, believing fulfillment lives on the other side. They hide from it by staying busy, over-planning, or avoiding the next scary step. Or they use it as proof they aren’t enough. Hannah shares how her own experience walking the Camino de Santiago changed her relationship with suffering, resilience, and becoming. Together, she and Jay explore how to stop treating the gap like a problem to fix and start seeing it as evidence of a compelling vision. *** We talk about: [00:00] What is The Gap? [04:46] Stop Chasing Fulfillment Like a Finish Line [15:09] Overcoming Avoidance [23:29] Can Coaches Help? [27:13] Self-Doubt And Judgement [38:27] The ONE Thing Weekly Challenge Links & Tools from This Episode: • The ONE Thing Operating System • Hannah Soto’s Website • Hannah Soto’s Instagram • Free Resources Produced by NOVA
Jun 22

Getting Unstuck: How to Fix the 3 Most Common Behaviors Holding High Achievers Back

You already know what to do. So why is it so hard to do it consistently? In this episode, Jay Papasan breaks down three patterns that keep entrepreneurs and high achievers trapped in the gap between knowing and doing. First, we often think we’re clear when we’re really being general. Second, we chase new information instead of mastering the system we already have. Third, we let the 80% masquerade as the 20%, allowing urgency, inboxes, DMs, and other distractions to pull us away from the work that matters most. Jay also explores why these patterns persist. Often, they are serving us in the short term, protecting us from discomfort, failure, disappointment, or uncomfortable emotions. But what protects us today can hold us back tomorrow. *** To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: the1thing.com/pods. We talk about: [00:00] The Gap Between Knowing and Doing [02:40] Why You’re Not as Clear as You Think [9:10] Stop Chasing the Shiny New System [15:41] When the 80% Pretends to Be the 20% [21:27] Why These Patterns Keep Repeating [25:11] The Weekly Challenge Links & Tools from This Episode: The ONE Thing Operating System The First Domino training program Free Resources Produced by NOVA
Jun 15

Social Accountability 101: How Peer Pressure Can Help You Achieve Your Goals

You know what to do. You start strong. You have the system, the motivation, and the goal. Then, a few months later, you’re right back where you started. What happened? In this episode, Jay Papasan breaks down one of the biggest reasons high achievers struggle with consistency: they try to go it alone. The solution is social accountability. Not someone forcing you to follow through, but choosing to be accountable to your goals by bringing the right people into your process. Jay shares three simple ways to tap into the power of “we”: doing it in public, doing it with others, and doing it around others. From public progress reports to gym buddies, coworking sessions, and body doubling, each strategy gives you a different way to create positive pressure and follow through when motivation fades. Challenge of the Week: Pick your ONE Thing for the week. Reach out to one person and tell them what you’re committing to. Ask them to check in with you on Saturday and ask how it went. That simple progress report could be the accountability you need to stay consistent. *** To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: the1thing.com/pods. We talk about: [00:00] Why You Can’t Stay Consistent [02:00] Ditching the Lone Wolf Mentality [03:29] Building in Public [09:02] The Gym Buddy Effect [15:44] Social Pressure is A Good Thing [23:29] Your Weekly Challenge Links & Tools from This Episode: The ONE Thing Operating System: https://the1thing.com/os Dr. Gail Matthews’ goal-setting research at Dominican University: https://scholar.dominican.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=psychology-faculty-conference-presentations Check Out The Episode with Donald Miller Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHp-XeObSLA Free Resources: https://the1thing.com/free-resources-v2 Produced by NOVA
Jun 8

How to Build Resilience (Before You Need It) With Valorie Burton

Resilience is often treated like a personality trait. You either have it or you don’t. But Valorie Burton sees it differently: Resilience is a personal system you can build before life demands it from you. In this episode, Jay Papasan sits down with Valorie Burton, CEO of the Coaching and Positive Psychology Institute and author of Rules of Resilience, to unpack what it really takes to bounce back. They talk about the three parts of resilience: adaptive skills, protective resources, and preventive choices. They also dig into why leaders need to expect the unexpected, close their growth gaps, control the controllable, and choose thoughts that strengthen them. This conversation is a practical reminder that challenges are not just something to survive. They are opportunities to grow through, learn from, and use to become the person your goals require. Challenge of the Week: Set aside 30 minutes and ask yourself: What is the opportunity in the challenge I’m facing right now? It could be an opportunity to grow in patience, leadership, communication, courage, consistency, or self-trust. Don’t just go through the challenge. Grow through it. *** To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: the1thing.com/pods. We talk about: [00:00] Resilience As A System [05:32] Expect the Unexpected [9:07] Close the Growth Gap Holding You Back [15:32] Control What You Can [25:10] Your Weekly Challenge Links & Tools from This Episode: Rules of Resilience by Valorie Burton Valorie Burton’s Website Valorie Burton’s Resilience Assessment Free Resources Produced by NOVA
Jun 1

The Isolation of High Achievers: Why All Entrepreneurs Feel Lonely (And How to Fix It)

High performers are often great at building businesses, serving clients, supporting families, and chasing big goals. But there’s one thing they tend to neglect: friendship. In this episode, Jay shares the story of a lonely night in a Nashville hotel room that became a wake-up call. He realized he had been leaning on too few people and needed to intentionally rebuild his support system. With the help of his coach, Jay began “re-engineering his village” by identifying the qualities he wanted in close friends, reaching out more often, and saying yes to the right opportunities. That journey eventually led him to a hiking trail in rural Japan with three friends, where unstructured time, meaningful conversations, and shared adventure helped create deeper bonds. If you’ve been feeling alone while carrying big responsibilities, this episode is a reminder: friendship does not happen by accident. It can be built with purpose. Challenge of the Week: Identify the three to five qualities you want in the friendships you’re building. Get clear on what you’re looking for, then start saying yes to those people, reaching out, and creating space for deeper connection. *** To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: the1thing.com/pods. We talk about: [00:00] The Loneliness Epidemic in Business [02:52] Why High Performers Feel Alone [06:29] How Jay Fast-Tracked Friendship [12:20] The Science of Friendship [15:19] The Truth About How to Make New Friends [21:30] Your Weekly Challenge Links & Tools from This Episode: The ONE Thing Operating System Jeffrey Hall’s friendship research Free Resources Produced by NOVA

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Jay Papasan

Host

4.8

out of 5

1,092 Ratings

Top 5

06/11/2025

FBG Realtor

The One Thing Podcast is in my top 5 that I listen to weekly. Highly Recommend!
Wisdom, Experience, Thinking Bigger while Taking Action on Less

11/14/2024

Follow This Podcast

If you want to build your best possible life this is the podcast for you. Jay has a super power of communicating & teaching lessons, tactics, & best practices to build your best possible business to fund your best life.
Cheers to new beginnings

11/13/2024

Oh Say Sey

I have been a long time fan of the One Thing, both the podcast and the practice. Jay coming back to the helm gives a refreshing look at what it means to dream and to do. So many of my friends are in stages of growth and reinvention - this podcast gives such practical ways to grow slowly and then suddenly into the life we want to imagine. Highly recommend a listen! And even better - a subscribe. :)
Lost focus

09/17/2024

Lgobp

Prime focus no longer “The One Thing”. Has some good content but definitely changed course after changing host. Sorry but the caliber has never recovered.

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.