Three Essential Questions

“Essentialism is not about how to get more things done; it’s about how to get the right things done. It doesn’t mean just doing less for the sake of less either. It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.”
― Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

“Remember that if you don’t prioritize your life someone else will.”
― Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing.” -Anne Dillard, The Writing Life

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” -Samuel Beckett

Greg McKeown in his excellent book Essentialism, urges us to ask three questions to best figure out how to spend our time. And ultimately, our lives. They are as follows:

“What do I feel deeply inspired by?”

“What am I particularly talented at?”

“What meets a significant need in the world?”

The first question is probably the easiest to answer. It just requires us to notice. To pay attention to our feelings and what lights us up.

If you can’t answer the second question, ask some close friends or family members. Just be open to what they tell you as you might be surprised by their response.

The third question…While there is significant need everywhere, in order to figure out the intersection of our passion, talent and need, it might require some short-term experimentation. Try and fail. Learn. Iterate. Try and fail again. Learn. Iterate…Eventually you’ll figure it out.

When you do, everything else is cream cheese.