One Word That Will Change Your Life

by Dan Britton, Jimmy Page, Jon Gordon

"One Word "explains how to simplify your life and business by focusing on just ONE WORD for the entire year. This full-color second edition will includeAdditional impact stories of One Word (with pictures) in chapter 7A new chapter called "One Word Legacy," which identifies and describes the legacy readers will leave as a result of their annual One Words.An additional 6 dimensions to the Action PlanAdditional material on developing the One Word for teams and families, specifically how a group of people can also have a One Word

The simplicity of choosing one word makes it a catalyst for life-change. Clutter and complexity lead to procrastination and paralysis, while simplicity and focus lead to success and clarity. Readers will learn how to develop simplicity in their world and develop a discipline for life.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Business, Leadership, Personal Growth, Audiobook

112 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 3, 2012

Reviews

[Molly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Garbage. I rolled my eyes about nine million times. The concept? Eh, ok, it could work for some people, but it just isn't for me. Too preachy. Too blech. I hate self-help books.

[Lisa Power · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick and easy read. The design is pleasant and modern. The concept is interesting enough, but the process built around finding one word to use as a guide for the coming year seemed to fit somewhere between contrived and anecdotal. Each reader will likely come to a word differently, making this book unnecessary. Content seemed more appropriate for a website or blog.

[ash | · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided to begin my year with finding my one word that will be my guiding theme for the year. My one word for 2024 is Consistency.

[Brian Decker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I likely would never have read this book had someone higher up at my employer not sent it as a Christmas gift (a thoughtful gesture I certainly appreciated!). I could have done without the apocryphal quotes and dubiously-cited anecdotes (at one point the authors cite ‘a sports team in China’ as employing their method), but the book nonetheless has some worthwhile lessons and strategy to find clarity and purpose in your professional and personal life. Much of the method is very similar to a lot of other writing on mindfulness. The book is very easy to digest and can be read in a single evening.

[Daniel MH · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yep, another "Christian" self-help book! You call it God I call it subconscious..
The core of this book is good, the authors are giving a good lesson. BUT.. this book could be summed up in about 3-4 pages. For marketing and business purposes the authors decided to make it 66 pages going for that "extra buck".
Fine!
Anyway, It's pretty much a waste of time. A perfect book for closed-minded people. That's where the authors are aiming.. I do not recommend it!

[John Drawdy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Apparently the flying spaghetti monster, if you pray hard enough, has Santa Claus put your one word in your stocking on Christmas Eve.

[Ada-Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick and powerful read. Got my 2018 word. Time to bring it!!!!

[Tãufiq Guevara]

Faith, my word of this year.

[Becky Pavich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great idea and a quick, easy to follow process. Excited to get 2022 started with an impactful word!

[Nate Balcom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread 01/01/2025
First book of 2025 is in the books! Just like last year, I'm in the discernment process waiting for my word to choose me. Happy New Year all!

*****
Reread 01/01/2024
First book of 2024 is in the books! I'm in the discernment process waiting for my word to choose me. Happy New Year all!

*****

Reread 01/01/2023
First book of 2023 is in the books! Much like last year I've been pondering my One Word over the past few days, and reread this book to help me in discovering my word for 2023. I feel that my word is close... but hasn't quite chosen me yet.

*****

Reread 01/01/2022
First book of 2022 is in the books! I've been pondering my One Word over the past few days, and reread this book to help me in discovering my word for 2022.

*****

Reread 01/01/2021
First book of 2021 is in the books! Now time to sit down and let my word choose me! What will my one word for 2021 be?

*****
First Read 2019:
I did it!! Book #30 of my #30BookSummer Challenge!
From Memorial Day to Labor Day I read 30 books!!! It was a challenge and a stretch but I completed the mission!

One Word by Jon Gordon is a great idea and a fantastically fast read. What will your one word be?

[Joeann Fossland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little book. I have used the one word process with my coaching clients for years and know how powerful it is! The authors have done a very nice job in succinctly explaining the power, the process and the joy of distilling the Focus for a year into 1 word! I recommend this for individuals, businesses and families!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great concept! The book was short and sweet and covered the concept well. I found some parts of the book to be a little over the top and all the examples of the many groups adopting the concept to be unnecessary but interesting. I have my word and I’ve already done a few things differently as a result, so it does work!

[sahand · Rating 5 out of 5]

My word would be : Love...

[Lanae · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept here is good, but this would have been better as a blog post. It's best to cut to the chase here and focus.

[Bethany · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sure, I like the concept. But it really took three middle aged white men to write a 100 page book about it? And did it HAVE to have a whole chapter focused on god? Whew.

[Moh. Nasiri · Rating 3 out of 5]

One Word , a book to read for the new year vision.
Summary:
Every New Year, 87 percent of adults —more
than 206 million people—create 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. That ’s why an endless number
of books and articles are written each year
promising a “new you” and “your best life now.”

87 percent of us make New Year ’s resolutions every year!

Although these resolutions are meant to be good
and well-intentioned solutions, unfortunately they
are built on a flawed foundation of more effort,
willpower, and goal setting. We set to-do goals
instead of to-be goals. Success is measured by
what we accomplish instead of who we become.
Making resolutions convinces us that all we
have to do is roll up our sleeves again and get
The Story of One Word 3
to work. The practice encourages us to put the
power of life change in our heads and hands with
a game plan to change our habits and then turns
us loose. This approach ignores the most important
part of life change: the heart .

Something Needed to Change

In 1999 we discovered the solution to failed
resolutions and unrealized goals. Instead of trying
to develop more willpower, we found a simple
way to live more powerfully. Instead of creating
goals and resolutions, we found a single word
that would be our driving force for the year. No
goals. No resolutions. Just One Word! We simply
developed a One Word theme for the year. It
became a One Word vision for everything, and it
changed our lives.

Some of you are probably thinking, “ One Word? ”
That ’s right, just a single word . Not a phrase, not
a statement, not a list—just a single word.
Our initial desire was to create a well-crafted
mission statement or cool slogan, because
something inside us always wants to make
things more complicated than they need to
be. But the truth is, people do not remember
paragraphs or even sentences. Such complexity
leads to procrastination and even paralysis.
One Word is sticky and memorable. We ’ve never
forgotten our word!

We ’ve learned firsthand that the secret to a
simplified life is One Word . Words such as
Serving, Purpose, Grace, Surrender, Power , and
Discipline have shaped and molded us in amazing
ways. By embracing, owning, and living a single
6 One Word That Will Change Your Life
word for 365 days, our lives changed. Instead of
being weighed down with unrealistic resolutions
and unmet goals, One Word provides an entirely
new perspective on how we approach our year. It
frees us up. One Word gives us renewed purpose
and meaning.

One Word creates laserlike focus that lasts.

For us, this One Word process has created laserlike
focus throughout the year. It has become a
driving force and stretches us in all six dimensions
of life: spiritual, physical, mental, relational,
emotional, and financial.
Read more on:
http://getoneword.com

[زهرا نجاری · Rating 3 out of 5]

به عنوان یک کتاب، کوتاه بود و در همین کوتاهیش هم به نظر من بسیاری از صفحه ها اضافی بودن و ازشون گذشتم.
اما به عنوان ایده، پیشنهاد خیلی خوبی میده به کسانی که با هدفگذاری مشکل دارن
اگه شما اول سال کلی هدف برای خودتون می نویسید اما یک ماه نشده همش یادتون میره و کاری از پیش نمی برید، پیشنهاد می کنم این کتاب رو بخونید. ایده ی خیلی خوبی براتون داره!

[Benjamin Barnes · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a true waste of Paper

[Seemy · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it seems common sense I think there is beauty in its simplicity - especially in the noisy distraction filled world we live in today — homing on one word to change your life can add the power of focus, minimalism and simplicity to keep mindful what your overall concentration should be towards change

To Our Continued Success!
Seemy
Waseem.tv/Blog

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[Cole W · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went into this book curious and open, but it didn’t fully land with me. The approach is simple and easy to follow, and I can see how the framework could be very meaningful for readers who connect with the spiritual focus. Personally, I found it leaned a little too heavily on the idea of placing faith in a higher power, which isn’t what I was looking for. That emphasis made it difficult for me to engage deeply with the message.

That said, the authors clearly wrote it with sincerity and a desire to inspire. I think readers who appreciate faith-based guidance or who enjoy short, motivational books may find it uplifting and practical. For me, it just wasn’t the right fit, but I can understand why others would find real value in it.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept for this book is worth considering - you pick a word that will define your life's choices for a single year. I would have preferred more written text with this book. It feels rushed and not well thought out. Compared to Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear, this book just doesn't do it for me.

P.S. My book club's discussion on the concept has been great. Much better than the book itself.

[Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gordon proposes instead of setting half-baked New Year's resolutions, you focus on the one key thing you are striving to improve/achieve for the year, and summarize it in a word that will be easy to remember. Of course, the trick is finding that word that fits your vision, but he also suggests ways to discover what that one word might be. Her provides a number of examples, and apparently there are online materials to guide you through the goal-setting process. I listened to the audiobook and did not pursue the written guides.

[Lmashaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Motivational

I really enjoyed this book. It motivates individuals, family, faith organizations, business organizations, community organizations, educational and sports organizations to commit to one character trait and name it. The focus on one word by each individual builds community strength.

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I am very intrigued by this concept and will be applying it to try to figure out my word. The audiobook is easy to understand (as is the book), but implementing it will require you actually doing it. I think that this has the potential to really impact my 2019 year and I'm excited to put it into practice. But I don't know that this necessarily needed to be a book. It could all have been summarized on their website, in a blog post or something along those lines. It's a very quick read in any case, and I did enjoy some of the examples he used to illustrate the one word in practice. In any case, I look forward to using their action plan, which can be found on their website, theoneword.com.

[Nabeel Hassan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a straightforward book that guide you to choose your word of next year, after read it you can apply it’s basic concept with you family member to set individual word and family word.

It’s and 50 min book.

[Heather Montville · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Such a quick read and a really simple theme that makes you wonder why you didn't think of it yourself. Definitely a book that can change your life if you take it to heart. Highly recommend.

[Katie Feist · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t think a book was necessary to understand the idea. I liked the idea more before I read the book.

I do have a new drinking game though; take a shot every time you read the words “One Word” in this book.

[Dave Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Try it you'll like it

[Sovanpanha Nhoem · Rating 5 out of 5]

My one word for 2021 is DISCIPLINE ~ I will update the review again about my journey throughout the year. :)

[Mari-Jo Nederhoed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great way to start the new year and guide your life with purpose and intent!