The Unimportance of Practically Everything - by Greg McKeown

Thanks to Kjetil for passing this along.

Once we unlearn 50/50 logic, a whole set of behaviors become instinctive. We start scanning our environment for what is really essential. We eagerly eliminate the nonessentials. We say no to 1,000 projects in order to say yes to the one that is exactly what we are looking for.

Just think of Warren Buffett's philosophy, quoted by Mary Buffett and David Clark in The Tao of Warren Buffett, "You only have to do a few things right in your life, so long as you don't do too many things wrong." The authors continue, "Warren decided early in his career it would be impossible for him to make hundreds of right investment decisions, so he decided that he would invest only in the business that he was absolutely sure of, and then bet heavily on them. He owes 90% of his wealth to just ten investments. Sometimes what you don't do is just as important as what you do."

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Related quote: "Most of what we say and do is not essential. If you can eliminate it, you'll have more time, and more tranquility. Ask yourself at every moment, 'Is this necessary?" -Marcus Aurelius