The ONE Thing

The version of success you’ve been sold is really just stress with better branding.

Brad Stulberg has spent 20 years researching and reporting on the top 1% in their field - Olympians, powerlifters, bestselling authors - and has written 5 books on what he’s learned, including Peak Performance and his newest, The Way of Excellence.

In this episode, you'll learn:

- Why work-life balance fails

- Whether your obsession with work is fueling you or burning you out

- Why hitting a goal you've chased for years can leave you empty

- Why positive self-talk doesn't actually work

- Why you can't feel fear and curiosity at the same time

- How elite performers rest without feeling guilty

Know someone who may find this episode helpful? Share it with them: https://the1thing.com/podcast-episode/the-science-of-excellence-how-to-master-your-craft-passion-vs-obsession-the-myth-of-balance-and-more-w-brad-stulberg/

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Chapters:

[00:00] Intro

[01:47] What Actually Counts as Excellence?

[03:45] The Two Ingredients for Meaningful Work

[07:03] The Science of The Last Percent

[10:15] Why Fear and Curiosity Can't Coexist

[15:10] Self-Soothing Doesn’t Work. This Does.

[21:55] Good Passion vs. Obsessive Passion

[24:55] Why Does Winning Feel So Empty?

[28:03] Is An Identity Crisis Inevitable?

[35:02] The Importance of Recovery

[41:45] The Value of Inefficiency

[47:03] Your Challenge This Week

Links & Tools from This Episode:

• The ONE Thing Operating System

• Brad Stulberg

• Follow Brad Stulberg on X

• The Way of Excellence by Brad Stulberg

• Free Resources

Jay Papasan talks with Steve Kamb, founder of Nerd Fitness and author of How to Try Again, about what it takes to change course. Steve shares his PACT framework: Pause, Accept, Change, and Try, and explains why real change often feels messy before it feels clear.

Together, Jay and Steve explore identity shifts, false expectations, the myth of “normal,” and how small experiments can help you move toward a life that fits the season you’re actually in.

Know someone who may find this episode helpful? Share it with them: https://the1thing.com/podcast-episode/how-to-reinvent-yourself-a-4-step-framework-for-starting-over/

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We talk about:

[00:00] Starting Over & Trying Again

[04:51] Steve’s 4 Step Framework

[12:10] There Is No Normal

[19:52] Change is Uncomfortable

[24:59] Experiment Your Way Out

[42:43] Force Yourself to Be Mid

Links & Tools from This Episode:

• The ONE Thing Operating System

• How to Try Again by Steve Kamb

• Nerd Fitness

• Steve Kamb

• Free Resources

Produced by NOVA

Get The Someday Letter Worksheet: https://linkly.link/2ld7z

Most of us are comfortable setting annual goals. But what happens when you look 10 years into the future and let yourself dream without boundaries?

In this episode, Jay Papasan shares one of the most powerful tools used in The ONE Thing coaching program: the Someday Letter. It’s a simple but deeply clarifying exercise that asks you to write a letter to yourself from the future, describing the life, work, relationships, values, and adventures you want to create.

Jay opens up about his own resistance to the exercise, why it took him 18 months to finally do it, and the surprising clarity he found on the other side. He explains how the Someday Letter helps you work backward from a future vision, make better decisions in the present, and stop chasing short-term gains that don’t lead where you actually want to go.

Know someone who may find this episode helpful? Share it with them: https://the1thing.com/podcast-episode/a-deep-dive-on-our-most-impactful-coaching-tool/

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We talk about:

[00:00] Why This Tool is So Powerful

[3:35] How to Write Your Someday Letter

[16:10] The ONE Thing Challenge

Links & Tools from This Episode:

• The ONE Thing Operating System

• The Someday Letter Workbook

• Free Resources

Produced by NOVA

High achievers know the gap well: the space between where you are and where you want to be. It can drive growth, but it can also become a source of fear, avoidance, and self-judgment.

In this episode, Jay talks with five-time entrepreneur and executive coach Hannah Soto about the three ways business owners and high achievers often relate to the gap. They chase it, believing fulfillment lives on the other side. They hide from it by staying busy, over-planning, or avoiding the next scary step. Or they use it as proof they aren’t enough.

Hannah shares how her own experience walking the Camino de Santiago changed her relationship with suffering, resilience, and becoming. Together, she and Jay explore how to stop treating the gap like a problem to fix and start seeing it as evidence of a compelling vision.

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We talk about:

[00:00] What is The Gap?

[04:46] Stop Chasing Fulfillment Like a Finish Line

[15:09] Overcoming Avoidance

[23:29] Can Coaches Help?

[27:13] Self-Doubt And Judgement

[38:27] The ONE Thing Weekly Challenge

Links & Tools from This Episode:

• The ONE Thing Operating System

• Hannah Soto’s Website

• Hannah Soto’s Instagram

• Free Resources

Produced by NOVA

You already know what to do. So why is it so hard to do it consistently?

In this episode, Jay Papasan breaks down three patterns that keep entrepreneurs and high achievers trapped in the gap between knowing and doing. First, we often think we’re clear when we’re really being general. Second, we chase new information instead of mastering the system we already have. Third, we let the 80% masquerade as the 20%, allowing urgency, inboxes, DMs, and other distractions to pull us away from the work that matters most.

Jay also explores why these patterns persist. Often, they are serving us in the short term, protecting us from discomfort, failure, disappointment, or uncomfortable emotions. But what protects us today can hold us back tomorrow.

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To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: the1thing.com/pods.

We talk about:

[00:00] The Gap Between Knowing and Doing

[02:40] Why You’re Not as Clear as You Think

[9:10] Stop Chasing the Shiny New System

[15:41] When the 80% Pretends to Be the 20%

[21:27] Why These Patterns Keep Repeating

[25:11] The Weekly Challenge

Links & Tools from This Episode:


The ONE Thing Operating System

The First Domino training program

Free Resources

Produced by NOVA