The day before yesterday, I asked for a simplified version of the focusing question from The One Thing, recommended by MJ DeMarco.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t fully understood by everyone, judging from the comments. But I really admired how they answered me !
What I was looking for was a simpler mental version of the original question.
The original phrasing is:
“What’s the ONE thing I can do such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
Today, I spent about an hour working on it to find a reduced formulation that retains all its effectiveness.
Here is my version:
“What’s the one possible thing that simplifies the most everything else?”
Definition:
Here, “simplifies” means both making things easier (easier) and eliminating what’s unnecessary (unnecessary).
“The most” specifies that, among all possible actions, this is the one with the maximum leverage — the single action with the greatest impact.
Structure analysis compared to the original:
Merged selection and feasibility → “one possible thing” combines What’s the ONE thing + I can do.
Causality and leverage → “that simplifies” expresses the effect and includes both ease and elimination.
Maximum impact → “the most everything else” emphasizes that this action is the most decisive among all options.
The reduced version keeps the original essence while being shorter, clearer, and mentally practical. I'm waiting for your thoughts !
Unfortunately, I wasn’t fully understood by everyone, judging from the comments. But I really admired how they answered me !
What I was looking for was a simpler mental version of the original question.
The original phrasing is:
“What’s the ONE thing I can do such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
Today, I spent about an hour working on it to find a reduced formulation that retains all its effectiveness.
Here is my version:
“What’s the one possible thing that simplifies the most everything else?”
Definition:
Here, “simplifies” means both making things easier (easier) and eliminating what’s unnecessary (unnecessary).
“The most” specifies that, among all possible actions, this is the one with the maximum leverage — the single action with the greatest impact.
Structure analysis compared to the original:
Merged selection and feasibility → “one possible thing” combines What’s the ONE thing + I can do.
Causality and leverage → “that simplifies” expresses the effect and includes both ease and elimination.
Maximum impact → “the most everything else” emphasizes that this action is the most decisive among all options.
The reduced version keeps the original essence while being shorter, clearer, and mentally practical. I'm waiting for your thoughts !
Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member:
Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)
Access Restricted: Unlock 1,000,000+ Posts
Stop Peeking Through the Keyhole.
Open the Door.
You hit a wall because the best advice isn't free—it's earned. Since 2007, MJ DeMarco has been active here daily (99.9% active rate), building a war room for entrepreneurs who refuse to settle for mediocrity.
- Active Daily: Life-changing content posted dozens of times every day. No dead threads.
- MJ's Inner Circle: Direct access to the author of The Millionaire Fastlane.
- Vetted Network: Connect with founders scaling to 7 and 8 figures.
- Proven Roadmaps: Strategy over motivation. Execution over "hustle porn."
"SCALED TO 6-FIGURE MONTHS"
"Tips and advice here saved me from huge mistakes, others allowed me to scale my business to 6-figure months."— User MitchC
"INSANE QUALITY OF PEOPLE"
"The number of high quality people I've met from this forum has been insane. All of it predicated on building real value."— User Richard Peck
"You are the average of the five people you surround yourself with."
Are you surrounding yourself with success?
