#127 | 🎯 What’s Your One Thing?

A collection of the best hidden gems, mental models, and frameworks from the world’s top thinkers; to help you become 1% better and live a happier life ❤️

Hello curious minds 🧠

Last year, I finished my PhD. This year, I turned 30.

Naturally, the question came up: what’s next?

But that led to deeper ones.
What needs to change? What does this next chapter require of me?

One word kept surfacing:

Unlearning.

To grow, I can’t keep doing what worked in my 20s. As the saying goes: what got you here won't get you there.
I have to challenge what feels normal.
Even the things that got me here.

And honestly, it overwhelmed me.

I was asking questions with no clear answers.
What should I focus on?
What matters most now?

Then, on a random date night, I picked up a book I had been ignoring:
The One Thing by Gary Keller.

I assumed the concept was too simple for me to spend time reading it.
It is simple but it’s more powerful than I realised.

Here’s the idea:
If you want real results, stop doing everything.
Focus on the one thing that matters most.

Focus is an underrated superpower in today’s world.

I have always juggled multiple projects.
It helped me explore, learn, and grow.
And I am not against it.
But now? It’s time to focus.
To build deeper, not just wider.

The One Thing helped me zoom in.
On my big picture.
On my daily actions.
And on how to make sure both align.

When your vision and your actions connect, momentum happens.

In this newsletter, I will share how to apply The One Thing and how it’s shifting the way I work.

🚀 If you are new here…

Hi, I’m Ryan 👋🏼 I am passionate about lifestyle gamification 🎮, which it’s just a fancy way saying I approach life like a video game, designing my character intentionally, and strive to level up every day. I am obsesssssssss with learning things that can help me live a happy and fulfilling life.

Every Sunday, through The Limitless Playbook newsletter, I share 1 actionable idea from the world's top thinkers 🎯

Oh, and fun fact: I am a PhD candidate in AI 👻 I am deeply interested in how AI can help us 10x the way we live, learn, and thrive; so expect me to share some cool AI tools, insights, and research 🤖

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🧠 The One Thing

If you take only one idea from this newsletter, let it be this:

What’s the ONE thing I can do such that, by doing it, everything else becomes easier or unnecessary?

That’s the question.

Ask it every day.

Then block time for that one thing. Make it non-negotiable. That’s your priority.

Now, to make that question even more powerful, there’s one more concept you need:

Someday to Today.

It connects your long-term vision with your daily actions. You stop guessing. You know exactly how what you are doing today moves you closer to where you want to go.

Here’s how it works:

Someday Goal: What’s the ONE thing I want to do someday?
⬇️
5-Year Goal: Based on that, what’s the ONE thing I can do in the next 5 years
⬇️
1-Year Goal: Based on that, what’s the ONE thing I can do this year?
⬇️
Monthly Goal: Based on that, what’s the ONE thing I can do this month?
⬇️
Weekly Goal: Based on that, what’s the ONE thing I can do this week?
⬇️
Daily Goal: Based on that, what’s the ONE thing I can do today?

That’s it.

Simple. Structured. It’s a ladder that keeps you grounded in action and aligned with your vision.

Personally, I reset my weekly One Thing every Sunday. Then I build my daily focus from there.

A reminder: your One Thing shouldn’t be random. It’s the highest-leverage action. The one that unlocks progress. The better you get at choosing it, the more results you get with less effort.

Want help putting this into practice?

Here’s a simple Notion template I built to map it all out.

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I am always curious about what others are passionate about and what they are currently working on. Hit reply and share what’s been keeping you busy these days. I would love to learn!

With love,

Ryan O. 🎮

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