Essentialism
The Disciplined Pursuit of Less
by Greg McKeown
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“@DavidGiard One of my favorite books. (I keep trying on essentialism but I always fail when it comes to fewer books.) | @ProductKaPujari @Twinkleinvest Incredible book | Just bought 12 copies of @GregoryMcKeown's Essentialism for friends. Most important book I've read this year and I'm only 50% through. | Read Ryan's list of 42 books that will change your life for the better?all described in one sentence. | Read Ryan's list of 42 books that will change your life for the better—all described in one sentence. | Really resonated with me, and I will certainly incorporate many of these principles into my work and personal life. | These are some good ones plus Essentialism, Tao te Ching, Striking Thoughts, Meditations | This book changed my life. #Essentialism”
Source →“@DavidGiard One of my favorite books. (I keep trying on essentialism but I always fail when it comes to fewer books.) | @ProductKaPujari @Twinkleinvest Incredible book | Just bought 12 copies of @GregoryMcKeown's Essentialism for friends. Most important book I've read this year and I'm only 50% through. | Read Ryan's list of 42 books that will change your life for the better?all described in one sentence. | Read Ryan's list of 42 books that will change your life for the better—all described in one sentence. | Really resonated with me, and I will certainly incorporate many of these principles into my work and personal life. | These are some good ones plus Essentialism, Tao te Ching, Striking Thoughts, Meditations | This book changed my life. #Essentialism”
Source →“@DavidGiard One of my favorite books. (I keep trying on essentialism but I always fail when it comes to fewer books.) | @ProductKaPujari @Twinkleinvest Incredible book | Just bought 12 copies of @GregoryMcKeown's Essentialism for friends. Most important book I've read this year and I'm only 50% through. | Read Ryan's list of 42 books that will change your life for the better?all described in one sentence. | Read Ryan's list of 42 books that will change your life for the better—all described in one sentence. | Really resonated with me, and I will certainly incorporate many of these principles into my work and personal life. | These are some good ones plus Essentialism, Tao te Ching, Striking Thoughts, Meditations | This book changed my life. #Essentialism”
Source →“@DavidGiard One of my favorite books. (I keep trying on essentialism but I always fail when it comes to fewer books.) | @ProductKaPujari @Twinkleinvest Incredible book | Just bought 12 copies of @GregoryMcKeown's Essentialism for friends. Most important book I've read this year and I'm only 50% through. | Read Ryan's list of 42 books that will change your life for the better?all described in one sentence. | Read Ryan's list of 42 books that will change your life for the better—all described in one sentence. | Really resonated with me, and I will certainly incorporate many of these principles into my work and personal life. | These are some good ones plus Essentialism, Tao te Ching, Striking Thoughts, Meditations | This book changed my life. #Essentialism”
Source →“@DavidGiard One of my favorite books. (I keep trying on essentialism but I always fail when it comes to fewer books.) | @ProductKaPujari @Twinkleinvest Incredible book | Just bought 12 copies of @GregoryMcKeown's Essentialism for friends. Most important book I've read this year and I'm only 50% through. | Read Ryan's list of 42 books that will change your life for the better?all described in one sentence. | Read Ryan's list of 42 books that will change your life for the better—all described in one sentence. | Really resonated with me, and I will certainly incorporate many of these principles into my work and personal life. | These are some good ones plus Essentialism, Tao te Ching, Striking Thoughts, Meditations | This book changed my life. #Essentialism”
Source →“@DavidGiard One of my favorite books. (I keep trying on essentialism but I always fail when it comes to fewer books.) | @ProductKaPujari @Twinkleinvest Incredible book | Just bought 12 copies of @GregoryMcKeown's Essentialism for friends. Most important book I've read this year and I'm only 50% through. | Read Ryan's list of 42 books that will change your life for the better?all described in one sentence. | Read Ryan's list of 42 books that will change your life for the better—all described in one sentence. | Really resonated with me, and I will certainly incorporate many of these principles into my work and personal life. | These are some good ones plus Essentialism, Tao te Ching, Striking Thoughts, Meditations | This book changed my life. #Essentialism”
Source →“@DavidGiard One of my favorite books. (I keep trying on essentialism but I always fail when it comes to fewer books.) | @ProductKaPujari @Twinkleinvest Incredible book | Just bought 12 copies of @GregoryMcKeown's Essentialism for friends. Most important book I've read this year and I'm only 50% through. | Read Ryan's list of 42 books that will change your life for the better?all described in one sentence. | Read Ryan's list of 42 books that will change your life for the better—all described in one sentence. | Really resonated with me, and I will certainly incorporate many of these principles into my work and personal life. | These are some good ones plus Essentialism, Tao te Ching, Striking Thoughts, Meditations | This book changed my life. #Essentialism”
Source →“@DavidGiard One of my favorite books. (I keep trying on essentialism but I always fail when it comes to fewer books.) | @ProductKaPujari @Twinkleinvest Incredible book | Just bought 12 copies of @GregoryMcKeown's Essentialism for friends. Most important book I've read this year and I'm only 50% through. | Read Ryan's list of 42 books that will change your life for the better?all described in one sentence. | Read Ryan's list of 42 books that will change your life for the better—all described in one sentence. | Really resonated with me, and I will certainly incorporate many of these principles into my work and personal life. | These are some good ones plus Essentialism, Tao te Ching, Striking Thoughts, Meditations | This book changed my life. #Essentialism”
Source →“@DavidGiard One of my favorite books. (I keep trying on essentialism but I always fail when it comes to fewer books.) | @ProductKaPujari @Twinkleinvest Incredible book | Just bought 12 copies of @GregoryMcKeown's Essentialism for friends. Most important book I've read this year and I'm only 50% through. | Read Ryan's list of 42 books that will change your life for the better?all described in one sentence. | Read Ryan's list of 42 books that will change your life for the better—all described in one sentence. | Really resonated with me, and I will certainly incorporate many of these principles into my work and personal life. | These are some good ones plus Essentialism, Tao te Ching, Striking Thoughts, Meditations | This book changed my life. #Essentialism”
Source →“@DavidGiard One of my favorite books. (I keep trying on essentialism but I always fail when it comes to fewer books.) | @ProductKaPujari @Twinkleinvest Incredible book | Just bought 12 copies of @GregoryMcKeown's Essentialism for friends. Most important book I've read this year and I'm only 50% through. | Read Ryan's list of 42 books that will change your life for the better?all described in one sentence. | Read Ryan's list of 42 books that will change your life for the better—all described in one sentence. | Really resonated with me, and I will certainly incorporate many of these principles into my work and personal life. | These are some good ones plus Essentialism, Tao te Ching, Striking Thoughts, Meditations | This book changed my life. #Essentialism”
Source →Recommended by 12 notable people, including Tim Ferriss and Ryan Holiday
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Reading Profile
Should I read this?
This book offers a mindset shift: do less but better by cutting out the non-essential. It reads like a series of anecdotes and motivational nudges, with occasional diagrams. The useful part is its core idea—daring to focus only on what truly matters—and the practical ways it helps you identify and eliminate the trivial. However, it can feel repetitive, stretching one elegant concept across 200 pages. If you're already a minimalist or want fresh insight, you'll find it thin; if you're drowning in busyness, it might be the reset you need.
Read this if...
- •A mid-level manager at a growing startup who's juggling too many initiatives and feels they're excelling at nothing—they need a way to say no without guilt.
- •A freelancer whose calendar is packed with low-paying, draining clients; this will help them prune and focus on the few that energize them.
- •A burnt-out academic researcher buried in committees and side projects who needs permission to stop chasing every opportunity and protect time for their one meaningful contribution.
Skip this if...
- •You'll likely put it down when you realize the core advice—'do less, but better'—is restated in different forms for most of the book.
- •Annoying if you prefer original research; it leans on anecdotes and the author's experience running workshops.
- •Skip if you're already a seasoned minimalist or have read similar productivity books—this won't add new layers.
Have you ever found yourself struggling with information overload? Have you ever felt both overworked and underutilised? Do you ever feel busy but not productive? If you answered yes to any of these, the way out is to become an Essentialist. In Essentialism, Greg McKeown, CEO of a Leadership and Strategy agency in Silicon Valley who has run courses at Apple, Google and Facebook, shows you how to achieve what he calls the disciplined pursuit of less. Being an Essentialist is about a disciplined way of thinking. It means challenging the core assumption of ‘We can have it all’ and ‘I have to do everything’ and replacing it with the pursuit of ‘the right thing, in the right way, at the right…
Before You Buy
Reading Specifications
Difficulty:easy
Length:274 pages (Medium)
Audience Fit
- A mid-level manager at a growing startup who's juggling too many initiatives and feels they're excelling at nothing—they need a way to say no without guilt.
- A freelancer whose calendar is packed with low-paying, draining clients; this will help them prune and focus on the few that energize them.
- A burnt-out academic researcher buried in committees and side projects who needs permission to stop chasing every opportunity and protect time for their one meaningful contribution.
- You'll likely put it down when you realize the core advice—'do less, but better'—is restated in different forms for most of the book.
- Annoying if you prefer original research; it leans on anecdotes and the author's experience running workshops.
- Skip if you're already a seasoned minimalist or have read similar productivity books—this won't add new layers.
Check formats, pricing, and availability options for Kindle, physical print, or audiobooks directly.
View available editions on AmazonKey themes
Why recommended
Recommended by 27 sources and appears in Organization, Focus, and Best Productivity Books.
Recommended by notable people
People and public figures who have recommended this book.
Recommendation Signals
Recommendation proof is sourced from public posts, interviews, reading lists, and cited references.
Austen Allred
“@DavidGiard One of my favorite books. (I keep trying on essentialism but I always fail when it comes to fewer books.) | @ProductKaPujari @Twinkleinvest Incredible book | Just bought 12 copies of @GregoryMcKeown's Essentialism for friends. Most important book I've read this year and I'm only 50% through. | Read Ryan's list of 42 books that will change your life for the better?all described in one sentence. | Read Ryan's list of 42 books that will change your life for the better—all described in one sentence. | Really resonated with me, and I will certainly incorporate many of these principles into my work and personal life. | These are some good ones plus Essentialism, Tao te Ching, Striking Thoughts, Meditations | This book changed my life. #Essentialism”
Appears In
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“This is Dalio’s operating manual for life and work—part memoir, part handbook. He distills his hedge fund’s culture into repeatable 'principles' for radical transparency and systematic thinking. The useful part is the concrete algorithms for error-logging and group decision-making; the annoying part is the cultish fervor around his own brilliance and the implication that his way scales universally. It reads like a boss’s extended memo, sometimes riveting, sometimes eye-rolling.”
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Each recommendation is collected from a public source — interviews, articles, or curated lists — and linked to its original URL. Books with many verifiable recommendations from respected people rank higher.