Reasonably Happy with Paul Ollinger Find your Essential Intent w/ Greg McKeown
10 snips
Dec 18, 2025 
In this conversation, Greg McKeown, bestselling author of 'Essentialism' and 'Effortless,' shares his wisdom on prioritizing what truly matters. He emphasizes the importance of choosing opportunities over obligations and offers practical strategies like the 90% rule for decision-making. Greg also discusses the impact of deep mutual understanding in relationships, revealing the seven words that can effectively de-escalate conflicts. His insights challenge listeners to evaluate their intentions and focus on meaningful pursuits in life.
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Meeting While His Child Was Born
- Greg McKeown missed his newborn daughter's birth because he attended a client meeting instead of prioritizing family.
- He learned the hard lesson: if you don't prioritize your life, someone else will.
Priority Is Singular
- Priority was singular for 500 years; the plural 'priorities' dilutes focus and creates false equivalence.
- Essentialism reframes life to search for the single decision that drives thousands of others.
Optionality Outpaced Our Decision Skills
- Modern life massively expanded optionality while our decision skills lag behind, creating chronic cognitive drain.
- This mismatch forces people into 'red brain' exhaustion when using old decision habits in a high-choice world.