Overview

In this enlightening conversation, Nathan Berry interviews Jay Papasan, co-author of bestselling books including "The Millionaire Real Estate Agent" (1.6 million copies) and "The One Thing" (3.5 million copies). Jay shares powerful insights on how consistent small actions lead to extraordinary success, how to establish authority in your industry, and the transformative power of focus. Whether you're a creator, entrepreneur, or professional, Jay's practical wisdom on building habits, prioritizing effectively, and creating valuable content offers a masterclass in achieving significant results through disciplined action.

Actionable Insights

Interview Top Performers to Find Winning Patterns

Jay reveals how they created their bestselling books by interviewing successful people and identifying common patterns: "If you want to do something big that has been done, go interview as many people that have done it and then ask the question, what do they all have in common?" For their first book, they interviewed 27 top real estate agents, analyzed their financial statements, and discovered they all consistently focused on lead generation. This research-based approach positioned them as experts almost overnight.

How to implement: Choose an area where you want to establish expertise. Identify 20+ top performers in that field. Create a structured interview focused on their habits, systems, and mindsets. Look for patterns across all interviews. Package these common elements into a simple model others can follow.

Create a Common Language For Your Industry

One of the most powerful ways Jay and his team established authority was by standardizing terminology and creating a common language for their industry. When examining real estate agents' financial statements, they discovered everyone was using different terms and categories, making comparison impossible. By standardizing this language, they created immediate value.

How to implement: Identify confusing or inconsistent terminology in your field. Create clear definitions and frameworks that standardize how people discuss important concepts. Share this framework openly through content, courses, or a book. Position yourself as the clarifying voice in your industry.

Time Block Your "One Thing" Before Anything Else

Jay emphasizes the importance of prioritizing your most important work through time blocking: "The key is like a meeting with yourself to do your most important work." Most people fill their calendars with meetings for others without reserving time for their highest-value activities.

How to implement: Identify the activity that delivers the most value in your work. Block 2-4 hours several times weekly for this activity before scheduling anything else. When people request that time, simply say "I'm already booked" rather than explaining. Protect these blocks religiously, treating them as seriously as your most important meetings.

Track Key Success Metrics Consistently

Jay shares how he tracks four specific metrics that drive his success: books read, writing sessions completed, promotion activities, and adding people to his network. He's maintained these tracking systems for years, creating accountability for the small actions that compound into major results.

How to implement: Identify 3-5 leading indicators that predict your success. Create a simple tracking system (even a basic spreadsheet). Review these metrics weekly. Consider sharing them with a coach or accountability partner who will consistently ask about them. Look for patterns between your metrics and your results.

Build Your Network One Person at a Time

Rather than focusing on mass networking, Jay developed a systematic approach to building meaningful connections: "Since like 2000, maybe 11, I just try to add one person to my database each week." This "slowest success plan" has compounded into a valuable network of relationships over time.

How to implement: Schedule one coffee or virtual meeting each week with someone interesting in your industry. After building a small network, create a personal, non-promotional newsletter to maintain connections. Include personal updates and ask recipients to reply with what they're working on. Consistency over years builds an invaluable relationship network.

Create "Hurdles" That Filter Out Low-Value Requests

To protect his time while still being helpful, Jay creates intentional hurdles: "If you'll email me here, my assistant will send you an hour and 15 minute class I taught on it. And if you still have questions, circle back." This approach filtered out 6 of 7 requests, saving valuable time.

How to implement: For common requests, create reusable resources (videos, documents, FAQs) that answer most questions. When people ask for help, direct them to these resources first. Only schedule live conversations with those who review the materials and still need assistance. This preserves your time for those truly committed to taking action.

Invest Time Upfront in Documentation and Delegation

Jay explains the delegation dilemma: if a task takes you an hour, it might take 30 hours to fully train someone else to do it. Most people choose the short-term solution (doing it themselves) over the long-term investment (training others), costing them hundreds of hours over time.

How to implement: Identify recurring tasks that drain your time. Use screen recording tools to document your process while completing the task. Create written SOPs with clear standards. Invest several hours upfront in training someone to handle these tasks. Review and refine their work until it meets your standards. Accept that the initial investment will pay off multiple times over.

Key Takeaways

The Power of Sequential Focus

While many creators work on multiple projects simultaneously, Jay advocates for sequential focus – giving your full attention to one important project until completion before moving to the next. When Gary Keller focused on writing their first book, "not much else happened in his business world except for that book." This level of focus enabled them to complete the book in just 100 days.

Small Consistent Actions Lead to Big Results

Jay emphasizes that most people overestimate what they can achieve in one year but underestimate what they can accomplish in five years through consistency. He references Jerry Seinfeld's habit of writing one joke every day and placing an X on a calendar: "Pretty soon it won't be about writing a joke. It'll be about not breaking the chain." This consistency principle applies to any creative endeavor.

Position Yourself as the Solution to an Industry Problem

Jay encourages creators to look for what's missing in their industry: "Any creator can ask, what is my industry missing that I'm the solution for?" By identifying a gap and filling it with valuable content, you establish yourself as a necessary voice. For Jay's team, they recognized real estate agents wanted to be seen as business people, not just salespeople, and created content addressing that desire.

Rest Is Essential to Sustained Success

Jay emphasizes building breaks into your calendar: "If you're going to be successful, it takes energy, which means you have to have rest." He recommends scheduling vacation time first, then working around it: "It's like putting a boulder in the stream... Work will flow around it. But if you don't plan for it and block it, it won't happen."

Choosing Yourself as an Authority

The conversation reveals how many industry authorities simply chose themselves rather than waiting for permission. No one elected Michael Stelzner to give the "State of Social Media" address – he created the conference and put himself on stage. Authority often begins with the confidence to position yourself as a solution provider.

Novel Ideas

Curator Rather Than Original Source

Jay positions himself not as the original source of wisdom but as a curator: "If you're drawing the wisdom of the crowd, you're just a curator... you do 120 interviews, you transcribe them, you highlight them, you look for patterns. And you are an expert now." This approach removes the pressure of needing to be the sole genius and instead focuses on finding patterns across many successful people's experiences.

Core Values as Decision Filters

Jay keeps his core values (impact, family, abundance) on his phone as a decision filter. For major decisions, he requires the option to score at least 9/10 on all three values. This creates a simple but powerful framework for making aligned choices and reducing decision fatigue.

The "Day Before Vacation Miracle"

Jay describes how people become productivity machines the day before vacation: "We don't read any crap email. Like we just get stuff done because we have a really good reason to do it." This observation reveals how artificial deadlines and constraints can dramatically boost productivity when applied intentionally.

Books as Industry Validation Tools

Jay explains how books provide instant credibility: "When people say like, what is it about your company? You can literally say, we wrote the book on X... So it's immediate validity." Unlike other marketing materials that are easily discarded, "people don't throw away books" – they pass them along, extending your marketing reach.

The "First Domino" Approach to Habit Building

When building a new habit, Jay recommends identifying the smallest possible first step: "If you want to meditate, don't start by going to a Zen center and doing it for an hour... you can get on headspace and start with 10 minutes right beside your bed." This "first domino" approach makes new habits accessible and increases follow-through.

Critical Questions

1. What is your industry missing that you're the solution for?
2. If you could only do one of your current projects, which would it be?
3. What do all top performers in your field have in common?
4. What small habit, if done consistently, would transform your results over time?
5. How can you make an investment today that saves you time for years to come?
6. What would have to be true for you to achieve your biggest goal?
7. Are your most important priorities visible on your calendar?

Conclusion

Jay Papasan's journey from publishing insider to bestselling author offers a masterclass in focused achievement through consistent small actions. His systematic approach to building habits, creating valuable content, and establishing authority demonstrates that extraordinary success isn't about heroic efforts or innate genius – it's about identifying what matters most and showing up for it consistently. By implementing just one of these insights – whether time blocking your creative work, systematically building your network, or creating content that fills a gap in your industry – you can begin creating compound results that transform your business and career over time. Remember, it's not about going big all at once, but rather the "discipline of doing the small thing" that "opens the doors to big things."