3 Questions to Ask Yourself to Reprioritize Your Career Goals

Dear Essentialists,

One of the most inspiring things I have ever heard from a reader of “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less" was that he wished he had read it 50 years ago. He was paying me a compliment but it was heavy with regret. His comment still encourages me to work to build an Essentialism community where we can encourage each other to focus on what really matters.

With this in mind, let me share how the new podcast and newsletter will work together. 

Every Monday (starting two days ago) a NEW episode of the podcast "Essentialism with Greg McKeown" will drop. I was nervous and excited about launching it. But I have been really encouraged by the response. You can listen and subscribe here. 

Then, every Wednesday (starting right now) you will receive the “1-Minute-Wednesday” newsletter. It will complement the podcast from the week. But read it at your own risk because even if you haven't listened to the full podcast episode, you may feel convinced to listen to it (again, and again). 

This week is a little different because I launched four episodes of the podcast right out of the gate. So what can I say to build on conversations with Anna McKeown, Arianna Huffington, Linda and Drew Scott and Dr. Helen Williams? 

Whether you have listened yet, or not, here are three questions you can ask to reprioritize your goals right now. Take a moment this week to ask:

1. What is something essential you have been underinvesting in? Don't overthink your answer. Just go with the first answer that comes to you. Somehow your intuition already knows where you need to begin.
2. Why does this matter so much to you? Ask this a few times. Each time try to go a little deeper. You are trying to put into words why, really why, you care so much about this.
3. What is an easy, enjoyable step you can take in under a minute to start investing in this area? So many of us fail to make progress because we are thinking about the 1,000th step instead of the first step. Identify one step that is so small you think, "I can do that."

You may regret many things 50 years from now, but asking these questions is not likely to be one of them. 

This moment matters. 

Greg