The ONE Thing

179. How a Promise Can Make Your ONE Thing Stick | Alex Sheen


Listen Later

Have you ever scheduled time for your most important work?

Chances are, all of us has done this at least once. But do you regularly time block and then protect that time like the air you breathe, defending it against every distraction that comes up? For most of us, the answer is no – but why is that?

In this episode, we suggest that this is because we’re not great at keeping the promises we make to ourselves or to others – and we believe that if you can get a little more intentional about the promises you make when you’re planning your time, and the commitments you make to others, then everything else will become easier or unnecessary. Our guest, Alex Sheen, has taken this idea of a promise and turned it into a movement and a book called Because I Said I Would, which is helping people all over the world make promises that stick.

We recorded this conversation as part of our monthly ONE Thing webinar series. Every month, we feature an incredible author so that you can learn directly from them and ask questions. If you want to sign up for our next FREE monthly webinar, head over to the1thing.com/webinars.

In this episode, you will learn...

  • [7:30] How the “market conditions” of promises have changed with technology
  • [12:30] The anatomy of a promise
  • [18:00] How you can gracefully say no – and still help people move towards their goals
  • [28:30] How you can leverage time blocking to prioritize what you do and don’t promise to do

  • The ONE Thing to Implement From This Episode:

    What’s the ONE thing that you’re not doing that would make saying no easier or unnecessary?

    Maybe you need to get clear on why you’re saying yes to what you’re saying yes to and no to what you’re saying no to. If you don’t have clarity on your bigger purpose, your bigger Why, it can be difficult to stick to your guns and say no when it matters.

    Or maybe you need a go-to no sentence like Alex’s: “It would be easy for me to say yes right now, but I respect you too much to keep a promise I can’t keep.”

    How much time do you think you’ll need to block to come up with that sentence? And how many times do you think you’ll have to practice it, even just one time a day, before it just sounds natural? Sounds like a good candidate for a 66-Day Challenge: http://the1thing.com/66daychallenge.

    Links & Tools From This Episode

    • Learn more at https://becauseisaidiwould.com/
    • Read: Because I Said I Would
    • Get your promise cards: https://becauseisaidiwould.com/requestcards/
    • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BecauseISaidIWould/
    • Twitter: https://twitter.com/bcisaidiwould
    • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/becauseisaidiwould/


    • AWESOME FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU!

      • Get more support & accountability: Join the Living Your ONE Thing Community
      • The Kick Ass Guide To Accountability
      • Form your first power habit with your 66 Day Challenge Calendar
      • Check out our awesome blog!


      • Mentioned in this episode:

        Factor 75

        Head to FactorMeals.com/one50 and use code one50 to get 50%

        off. That’s code one50 at FactorMeals.com/one50 to get 50% off!

        Factor 75

        ...more
        View all episodesView all episodes
        Download on the App Store

        The ONE ThingBy Keller Podcast Network

        • 4.8
        • 4.8
        • 4.8
        • 4.8
        • 4.8

        4.8

        1,091 ratings


        More shows like The ONE Thing

        View all
        BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast by BiggerPockets

        BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast

        16,749 Listeners

        Progress Mode with Brendon Burchard by Brendon Burchard

        Progress Mode with Brendon Burchard

        3,602 Listeners

        Achieve Your Goals with Hal Elrod by Hal Elrod

        Achieve Your Goals with Hal Elrod

        1,341 Listeners

        The Amy Porterfield Show by Amy Porterfield

        The Amy Porterfield Show

        4,591 Listeners

        The Tom Ferry Podcast Experience by Tom Ferry

        The Tom Ferry Podcast Experience

        1,115 Listeners

        The StoryBrand Podcast by StoryBrand.com

        The StoryBrand Podcast

        1,936 Listeners

        The Brian Buffini Show by Brian Buffini

        The Brian Buffini Show

        2,521 Listeners

        THE ED MYLETT SHOW by Ed Mylett

        THE ED MYLETT SHOW

        14,031 Listeners

        Ninja Selling Podcast by Ninja Selling

        Ninja Selling Podcast

        329 Listeners

        DarrenDaily On-Demand by Darren Hardy LLC

        DarrenDaily On-Demand

        1,741 Listeners

        Empire Building by Keller Podcast Network

        Empire Building

        422 Listeners

        HousingWire Daily by HousingWire

        HousingWire Daily

        171 Listeners

        All It Takes Is A Goal by Jon Acuff

        All It Takes Is A Goal

        1,436 Listeners

        The BetterLife Podcast by Brandon Turner and Cam Cathcart

        The BetterLife Podcast

        848 Listeners

        The Millionaire Real Estate Agent | The MREA Podcast by Keller Podcast Network

        The Millionaire Real Estate Agent | The MREA Podcast

        395 Listeners

        BigDeal by Codie Sanchez

        BigDeal

        950 Listeners

        The Color of Money | Transformative Conversations for Wealth Building by Keller Podcast Network

        The Color of Money | Transformative Conversations for Wealth Building

        32 Listeners

        Think Like A CEO with Gary Keller & Jay Papasan by Keller Podcast Network

        Think Like A CEO with Gary Keller & Jay Papasan

        2 Listeners