Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Born From A Painful Mistake: The book's origin story is deeply personal. McKeown left the hospital just hours after his daughter was born to attend a client meeting. His manager told him the client would respect this choice, but McKeown realized he had made a terrible bargain. This moment of clarity sparked his journey into essentialism and the core insight that if you don't prioritize your life, someone else will.

The Word Priority Was Singular: For 500 years after entering English in the 1400s, priority remained singular. It meant the very first or prior thing. Only after the Industrial Revolution did people start using priorities in plural form. This linguistic shift reveals how modern culture has distorted the concept of what truly comes first.

Outselling Harry Potter In Brazil: The book has achieved remarkable cultural impact. In Brazil, Essentialism has outsold Harry Potter. Steve Harvey calls it his favorite book. Maria Shriver shares insights from it at her Sunday luncheons. Kanye West declared himself an Essentialist on The Joe Rogan Podcast.

Three Million Copies Sold: Together with his second book Effortless, McKeown has sold over three million copies. The books have been published in 40 languages. More than two million copies of Essentialism alone have been sold worldwide.

Japanese Graphic Novel Series: The ideas from Essentialism have been adapted into a series of graphic novels in Japan. This demonstrates how the philosophy has transcended cultures and formats to reach diverse audiences.

The 90 Percent Rule: McKeown introduces a ruthless decision making tool. When evaluating any option, identify your single most important criterion and rate the option from 0 to 100. If it scores below 90, automatically change it to 0 and reject it. This prevents spreading effort across merely good options instead of excellent ones.

Inspired By Dieter Rams: The book draws its core philosophy from legendary designer Dieter Rams. His principle in German is Weniger aber besser, which translates to less but better. This became the defining motto for the essentialist approach to life and work.

Co-Created Stanford Course: McKeown co-created a course called Designing Life, Essentially at Stanford University. This served as a workshopping ground where he experimented with the concepts that later became the foundation for his book. The course helped refine his practical frameworks for essential living.

200 Columns Written In Advance: As a BYU student, McKeown aspired to write for the Daily Universe. He wrote approximately 200 columns in advance, demonstrating his ambitious nature. After just one column appeared, the newspaper canceled his column entirely. This crushing disappointment redirected his path toward the work that truly mattered.

Started Business At Age 10: McKeown launched his first business washing cars in Leeds, England when he was just 10 years old. The venture was quite profitable. This early experience taught him that effort and reward are not linearly aligned, a lesson that would later inform his essentialism philosophy.

Three Core Sections: The book is structured into three practical sections. Explore and Evaluate teaches how to discern the vital few from the trivial many. Eliminate focuses on cutting away nonessentials. Execute makes essential activities as easy as possible to accomplish through systems and routines.

Academy With 100 Countries: People from over 100 countries take online classes at The Essentialism Academy. Hundreds of thousands receive his weekly newsletter called 1-Minute Wednesday. His podcast has grown into a global conversation about living with intention and focus.

10th Anniversary Edition Released: In August 2024, a 10th Anniversary Edition was released featuring a new introduction and a bonus 21-day challenge. Since the original 2014 publication, the book has guided millions of people toward greater productivity by focusing on what truly matters and eliminating distractions.