Contents
Praise for One Word That Will Change Your Life
One Word is a great little book that conveys a profoundly simple idea. Discover your One Word for the year, own it, live it, and experience its impact on your life. One word for this book: Priceless!
Ken Blanchard , coauthor of The One Minute Manager and Leading at a Higher Level
My wife and I read One Word , and we loved it! My favorite word for this book is Powerful! Read it today and discover the power of One Word!
Lou Holtz , former Head Coach of University of Notre Dame
Our lives so often feel cluttered, confused, and complex. One Word shows the way to the simplicity of focus. It guides you to what should currently matter most and clarifies how to live from that place. This is a game-changing concept that will transform how you do your life. Get One Word . Read One Word . Find your One Word ... and you will experience the best year of your life!
Dan Webster , Founder, Authentic Leadership, Inc.
In the past 10 years, Ive been asked to editorially review at least 1,000 books on leadership, personal change, and life purpose. If I were forced to choose one favorite among them, my number one choice would be One Word That Will Change Your Life . Why? In a word, the book makes a bold promiseand then it delivers. Ive read it cover to cover twice now. Dan, Jimmy, and Jon have produced a gift that will do just what it says: change your life! I recommend you embark on the thrilling One Word adventure and invite your friends, family, and coworkers to join you. I predict youll soon have some of your most interesting experiences ever.
Ron Forseth , Vice President of Business Development, Outreach Inc.
Cover design: Michael J. Freeland
Copyright 2014 by Jon Gordon, Dan Britton, and Jimmy Page. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com . Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions .
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with the respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom.
For general information about our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.
Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com . For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com .
ISBN 978-1-118-80942-6 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-118-82859-5 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-82848-9 (ebk)
If you want your life to change...
to be more rewarding and exciting than ever...
you can do it with just One Word .
We guarantee it.
Introduction
If we could give you one thing that would improve your life in incredible ways, would you receive it? If this one thing was so intuitive and easy to use that you would be crazy not to try it, would you give it a shot?
What is this one thing? Its just One Word . Thats right One Word That Will Change Your Life .
In this book we will show you how to discover the word that is meant for you. Its your One Word vision or theme for the entire year, and it will help you become the person you were born to be.
When we first discovered this simple concept in 1999, we never imagined thousands of people would experience life change year after year. However, over the years we have witnessed others experiencing the same life change we have experienced. We came to realize that we had to share this life-changing concept with as many people as possible.
A simple concept must be communicated in a simple way. Thats why we have designed this book so that you can read it in just 49 minutes. In this case, less is best. Simple is powerful.
One Word That Will Change Your Life is a proven way to create clarity, power, passion, and life change. Each year, resolutions are rarely kept, and goals are often easily forgotten. But One Word sticks. By living a single word that is meant for you, youll find renewed purpose and meaning throughout the year and achieve laserlike focus and power for your life.
We have created a One Word process that has three steps:
1. Prepare your heart . This is where you take action to strategically disengage from the hectic pace of life and look inside. Eliminating noise and clutter properly prepares you for the work of the heart. We show you easy, practical ways to create some space and get ready for your One Word .
2. Discover your word . This step helps you ask simple questions to find your word. We believe that there is a word meant just for you, and we guide you on the pathway to discover it. You will learn the four key questions to ask that will reveal your word.
3. Live your word . This is the fun part. We help you experience your word and apply it to every area of life. This step will inspire you along the journey as you live your word with purpose and passion every day throughout the year.
We have also created an action plan featured at the end of the book to help you implement and apply the One Word process and live your word for the year.
To maximize your One Word experience, we invite you to visit www.GetOneWord.com , where you can receive additional insights, read stories of impact, and download helpful resources.
Join thousands of people and hundreds of schools, businesses, churches, and sports teams who have found their word... and discover how to harness the transformational power of your One Word . Lets get started and enjoy the journey together!
Chapter 1
The Story of One Word
Every New Year, 87 percent of adults more than 206 million peoplecreate new goals and resolutions, only to experience the same frustrating results: false starts and failure. In fact, 50 percent of resolution makers will fail by the end of January! You read that right. Only half of us stick to our convictions for even 30 days. Most resolutions are long forgotten by summer. We derail and give up. Thats why an endless number of books and articles are written each year promising a new you and your best life now.