Essentialism - by Greg McKeown

Essentialism, or how to discern the vital few from the trivial many. This book is a worthy guide to choosing the right actions, removing obstacles and making execution effortless. In a wider context of books about de-cluttering our life and finding the core intent of living a fulfilling life, this one has served me as a true compilation of the bigger message.

It’s practical, full of quotes from other works and real-life situations where either a problem or a solution via essentialism is applied. It feels like a light read —because it’s so well redacted and edited— but it has a depth and very relatable sense to it.

Some of my key takeaways:

• Routines, once in place, are the gifts that keep on giving.
• Focus on small wins and repetition, rather than the objective.
• Make peace with the fact that saying ’no’ means trading popularity for respect.
• When people make their problem our problem, we’re not helping, we’re just enabling.
• Routinely create space to contemplate and remove the habit of always keeping the mind entertained.

This book is definitely a foundational brick for building a house of discipline, fortitude and fulfillment.