We Studied 400 High Achievers for 4 Months - This is What We Learned

10 snips

Jan 5, 2026

Motivation often fades, leaving goals behind. By studying 400 entrepreneurs, five key practices emerged: align with core values, focus on the first domino, and time block for success. Jay emphasizes simplifying actions for consistent progress and defending your calendar to protect what matters. Accountability is vital, as it outperforms willpower in sustaining momentum. This insightful discussion offers a clearer path for those feeling busy yet ineffective, revealing how small actions lead to big results.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Small Actions Create Big Momentum

Small, focused actions produce outsized momentum compared with broad, intense effort.
Jay Papasan summarizes results from studying 400 participants who succeeded by design not just willpower.

ADVICE

Find One Small Starting Action

Identify a first domino: a small, meaningful action that initiates momentum toward your goal.
Make it simple enough to do even on your worst days so momentum never fully stops.

ADVICE

Align Goals With Core Values

Align your goals with your core values so they fuel long-term motivation and prevent burnout.
Pressure-test yearly goals against your values and connect them to a deeper why beyond surface outcomes.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Big goals have a way of starting strong and slowly falling apart. Motivation fades. Life intervenes. Momentum stalls. In this episode, Jay Papasan shares what actually separates the people who follow through from those who stay stuck in restart mode.

After studying more than 400 entrepreneurs and business owners who went through The First Domino program, Jay distills their success into five repeatable commitments. This is not about working harder or piling on more habits. It’s about design. Alignment before action. Simplicity before scale.

Jay explains how identifying your first domino, the small but meaningful action that starts momentum, creates progress even on your worst days. He walks through why time blocking turns intention into execution, how defending your calendar protects what matters most, and why accountability beats willpower every time.

If you’ve ever felt busy but not effective, driven but burned out, this episode offers a clearer path forward. Small actions. Smart structure. Consistent momentum.

Challenge of the Week:

Make a commitment to apply the five practices from this episode for the year ahead. Ask yourself: Are my goals truly in alignment with what matters most to me? Have I gone upstream far enough to identify my real first domino? Have I put that action on my calendar? Am I actively defending it over time? And do I have some form of accountability beyond just relying on my own willpower?

We talk about:

[00:00] Introduction and Welcome

[03:16] Defining the First Domino

[04:28] Principle One: Alignment

[09:58] Principle Two: Focus

[20:05] Principle Three: Time Blocking

[25:35] Principle Four: Defend

[32:22] Principle Five: Commit

[40:39] Conclusion and Call to Action

***

We talk about:

Why alignment prevents burnout before it starts
How to find the first domino that actually creates momentum
The role of time blocking and accountability in keeping promises to yourself

Links & Tools from This Episode:

Sign Up for The First Domino Course
Jordan Freed’s Website
Warren Buffett, Chairperson of Berkshire Hathaway
Core Values Workshop & Free Resources
Want to be a guest or share feedback? Email podcast@the1thing.com or send us an audio note at Speakpipe.com/the1thing.

Produced by NOVA