Discussion "Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most" by Greg Mckeown
Translated Transcript from our discusison
Hello everyone, today we are talking about a very light-hearted book called “Effortless” The core idea of this book is to emphasize that hard work is not an honor in itself, and we don’t need to seek excessive effort. Sometimes, overexerting ourselves can be counterproductive. We should be brave enough to believe that we can also achieve good results through ease.
In our lives, I believe everyone has had experiences like this: You put in a great deal of effort for something, dedicated years of hard work, and yet ended up with nothing. But there are other things you accomplish effortlessly or even accidentally. Why does this happen? It’s because too much effort can become a heavy cognitive burden. When someone carries a heavy cognitive load, it takes up space in their mind, affecting their ability to perform tasks. If you overthink an activity, constantly worry about potential failures, and are overly cautious, your mental burden can make your actions go astray.
Take Steph Curry from the NBA as an example. He is incredibly accurate with his three-point shots. Have you noticed that before games, he often does something unconventional, like shooting random long-distance shots from far away on the court, even near the stands, just for fun. The audience erupts in cheers when he does this. During actual games, players obviously don’t shoot from the stands, so why does he do this? It’s to help him relax.
Athletes know that when they perform well, it’s often because they’ve entered a state known as “the zone.” When you’re in the zone, you can deliver your top performance. However, if you enter a high-stakes game with heavy psychological pressure and an overwhelming desire to win, your movements might become distorted. Overexerting yourself can lead to worse outcomes. That’s why it’s crucial to relax and maintain a calm state of mind while doing things.
This book is divided into three main parts, with a total of fifteen chapters, five chapters in each part. The first part, called “Effortless State”, helps us find ways to enter a relaxed state. The second part, “Effortless Action”, introduces tools and methods to accomplish tasks efficiently. The third part, “Effortless Results”, explains how to achieve leveraged results rather than simple linear ones, which we’ll cover at the end.
First, let’s talk about the Effortless State. The author says, first and foremost, we should actively pursue a state of ease. How do we do this? When doing anything, think about whether there’s an easier way. We don’t do things to suffer, but many people, when talking about entrepreneurship or doing something significant, think first about the hardship they have to endure, preparing to be knocked down by the harsh realities of society. They believe that without being “beaten up” by the market, success is impossible. Often, those who speak this way haven’t actually started a business. True entrepreneurship means striving to avoid hardship, minimizing losses, and using simple solutions to solve problems whenever possible. Regularly ask yourself: Is there an easier way?
Second, recognize that important things can also be easy. We once discussed a book called “Why Does E=mc2?”, which explains Einstein’s theory of relativity. After reading it, you realize that Einstein’s discovery of special relativity was actually quite simple. We used to think of it as an earth-shattering discovery, but Einstein reached it by consistently contemplating the conservation of momentum and the relationship between time, space, and relativity. He ultimately derived the content of special relativity using straightforward mathematics and the principle of momentum conservation. So, many important things can also be easy. Only when you establish this fundamental mindset, believing in ease and simplicity, will you begin to look for less strenuous paths.
To be honest, I have developed a habit of not preparing PowerPoint slides or rehearsing before any speech. Sometimes, I even deliver three-hour speeches on the spot. This pursuit of relaxation allows my mind to be free from rigid frameworks, rehearsed catchphrases, or predetermined highlights, resulting in a more relaxed delivery and often spontaneous inspiration. Instead of giving a pre-planned performance, I engage directly with the audience. This non-strenuous approach actually has higher demands: we need to be natural, engaged, and achieve a state of flow.
Another method is to think in reverse. Reverse thinking means that as long as you can solve a problem, there’s no need to make it overly complicated. For example, Southwest Airlines wanted to save money on operations. One of the ways to do this was to streamline their processes. They needed to purchase a new ticketing system, which would cost two million dollars, to optimize efficiency. However, someone proposed a bold idea: “Do customers really need those formal tickets? Couldn’t they just use an A4 paper?” The board discussed and realized that, indeed, customers didn’t necessarily need the traditional tickets. As a result, they saved the cost of the new system, and no customers complained about using simpler boarding passes. Sometimes, thinking backward from the desired outcome helps simplify processes and cut costs.
Warren Buffett has many famous sayings, one of which is: “Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.” But there’s another less-known saying of his: “I don’t look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.” Buffett’s principle of doing things the easy way reminds us of the benefits of simplicity. In his biography “The Snowball”, we learn that trying to push a boulder uphill like Sisyphus is a futile effort; it’s much harder than letting a snowball roll downhill, gathering momentum. You need to find a long slope and enough snow, then let gravity do the work. Buffett’s success comes from understanding this: keep it simple and efficient.
The second chapter encourages us to enjoy life now and not delay gratification. Many of us grew up with the mentality that “hardships come before success.” We’re often told that enjoyment must be earned through hard work. But it’s entirely possible to work and enjoy life simultaneously. This mindset shift is crucial for achieving ease.
The book shares a case about a British activist named Tewson. In 1981, she went to a refugee camp in Sudan, where she contracted cerebral malaria and viral pneumonia. The doctors had declared her dead, but miraculously, she survived. After returning to the UK, she was deeply moved by the plight of the African people and resolved to raise funds for them. She thought, "Can I make fundraising more enjoyable, light-hearted, lively, touching, and fun? Wouldn't it be great if we could raise money while everyone had a good time?" With this idea in mind, she began to brainstorm creative ways to achieve this.
She eventually came up with the idea of founding a comedy relief fund, combining comedy performances with fundraising. She designated the founding day of this initiative as "Red Nose Day." Why "Red Nose Day"? Because everyone participating—audience members, performers, and supporters—could buy and wear a red clown nose for fun. By purchasing a red nose, they were essentially donating. The idea caught on, and many British celebrities participated, performing on television and encouraging people to donate. In just one day, they raised 15 million pounds. What’s even more impressive is that over the next 30 years, "Red Nose Day" raised one billion pounds for impoverished populations in Africa and economically struggling regions of the UK. This approach allowed people to enjoy comedy while doing good deeds. It demonstrated that work and life don’t have to be filled with suffering but can be full of joy and fulfillment.
One of the essential principles of “Effortless” is that work and play are not opposites. If you can’t find joy in your work or realize that you can be happy even in the workplace, it will be hard to do things effortlessly. You need a sense of fun and should invite happiness into your work.
Take, for instance, the concept of "ritual." We often say life needs rituals, and these rituals can be a way to make work enjoyable. The famous detective novelist Agatha Christie, author of “Death on the Nile” and “Murder on the Orient Express”, came up with her best suspenseful plot ideas while taking baths and eating apples. Beethoven, every morning, would precisely count out 60 coffee beans for his perfect cup of coffee. Rituals like these create a sense of occasion and enjoyment. Even during Caesar's era, the Romans designed rituals for daily activities, such as the "shaving rite" that young men performed at 21, called " the depositio barbae". Even something as simple as shaving had a ritual: Dedication of the Beard to the Gods.
Chinese culture, too, is rich with rituals. From childhood through adulthood, every few years of a person’s life had a milestone ritual. However, as our lives have become faster-paced and more stressful, we’ve started to disregard these traditions, losing out on the joy they bring. Therefore, we need to bring joy into our work through shared creativity, thinking together about how to be happier at work. We should learn to enjoy life without delay. We don’t have to endure hardship before tasting a little sweetness; we should enjoy life now.
The third principle is to replace complain with gratitude. One significant reason we feel stressed or unhappy is the burden of holding onto anger, resentment, and grievances. If we can't let go of these emotions, we’ll be trapped in endless cycles of worry and complaint. So how do we address this? We need to understand that life has two circles.
“When you focus on what you lack, you lose what you have.”
If you focus only on what you lack, your sense of deprivation will grow, and you’ll feel increasingly dissatisfied, lamenting, "I have nothing" or "Nobody treats me well." You’ll be blind to what you do have, and it will seem like you have less and less.
When you focus on what you have, you gain what you lack.
But if you focus on what you have and frequently express gratitude, saying, "Look at how wonderful life is—we’re sitting here, discussing books and drinking tea without any worries—how great is that?" Your sense of abundance will grow, and you’ll notice more of the good things in your life. The shift from focusing on lack to focusing on abundance can transform a downward spiral into an upward one. People have a tendency to fulfill their own prophecies: if you believe things are bad or bound to fail, they likely will. But if you see progress and goodness, your life will spiral upward.
There is a story about a girl named Anna. Anna had a coworker who loved to complain and didn’t get along well with anyone. This coworker would complain to everyone about how much she disliked certain people and would vent all day in front of Anna. Eventually, Anna started to feel that her coworker’s negativity was affecting her, making her feel increasingly pessimistic. So, what did she do? Anna began to think of ways to deal with this person, and suddenly she had an idea: Every time her coworker complained to her, she would praise her and highlight her positive traits. This wasn’t to agree with the complaints but rather to try to see the good in her coworker and compliment her. After some time, their relationship improved, and the coworker’s complaints significantly decreased.
This method is called a "habit recipe." The idea of a habit prescription is that the most effective way to build a new habit is to set a trigger. For instance, if you want to develop a habit of reading, you might think, “When should I read, and how can I make it a habit?” A possible trigger could be: Every night when I lie down in bed, I pick up a book. By setting a sequence, where one action follows another, you can establish many good habits. For example, to develop a habit of running, you might decide to run every morning right after washing your face and brushing your teeth. Once the habit forms, you’ll find that it isn’t as hard as you initially thought.
The author suggests that if you want to change the habit of complaining, the most effective trigger is to express gratitude immediately after complaining. He tried this method himself, practicing gratitude right after a complaint. Eventually, he became so aware of the upcoming act of gratitude that he found himself cutting the complaint short because he knew he would have to be grateful afterward. By setting a habit prescription and a clear trigger, your mindset can shift from complaining to being grateful over time.
Clayton Christensen, the author of “The Innovator’s Dilemma” and a Harvard professor, proposed an interesting concept: Customers “hire” your product to do a job. For example, when someone buys a cup of tea from you, they are essentially hiring that tea to quench their thirst. They hire the product because it serves a specific purpose. Similarly, if we harbor resentment, worries, or hatred, or if we find fault with everything and complain a lot about life, we should ask ourselves: What benefit are we getting from hiring complaints? While complaints may provide some short-term relief, such as self-protection or emotional release, in the long run, they don’t serve us well. It’s like hiring an unproductive employee who offers emotional comfort but doesn’t contribute any real work. Letting go of grievances can make life feel lighter, freeing us from unnecessary burdens.
Another way to feel lighter is to take regular breaks and do nothing. The most effective form of rest is to relax completely and let your mind go blank. A successful American baseball coach often told his team not to overtrain before games. He’d advise them to just show up and play, emphasizing that being overly tense or training excessively could drain their energy. Instead, he encouraged purposeful relaxation and doing nothing, knowing that overexertion would deplete his players’ strength.
The author has three suggestions: First, dedicate your mornings to important work, as your energy is at its peak then. Second, break your workday into three segments, each lasting no more than 90 minutes. In training sessions, teachers used to ask us what determines students’ attention span. We thought it depended on how interesting the class was, but the teacher told us it actually depended on how long their bodies could endure sitting still. For most children, that’s about 45 to 50 minutes; adults can sit for longer, but even they shouldn’t exceed 90 minutes without taking a break. So, each work session should be kept under 90 minutes. Third, take short breaks between work sessions to refresh yourself. Have a cup of coffee, drink some tea, or chat with someone to re-energize.
Sleep is also crucial. Globally, sleep deprivation is a major problem. Compared to the 1970s, we now sleep two hours less on average, partly due to the rise of television and modern distractions. Books like “Sleep” and “The Stanford Method for Ultimate Sleep” provide tips for better sleep. One suggestion is to keep your phone away from your bed at night, take a warm bath before bed, and let your body cool down as you fall asleep. If you don’t get enough sleep at night, find time during the day for a 20- or 30-minute nap to boost your energy.
Someone once asked Jin Yong, the famous novelist, how he came up with so many ideas for his books. He said he often dreamed of them. People might wonder how that’s possible, but dreams are a continuation of our thoughts. If you think deeply about something before sleeping, your mind will continue to work on it even as you rest. During sleep, the part of your brain that constrains your imagination is inactive, allowing for more creative and unrestricted ideas. So, don’t underestimate the importance of rest, as it can even spark inspiration.
The fifth tip for staying relaxed is to maintain awareness. In our fast-paced, noisy world, especially with the constant stream of short videos, staying focused can be difficult. Take basketball player Steph Curry as:
“an example of a drill sequence that gets progressively harder: Curry juggles a tennis ball with one hand while dribbling a basketball with the other; then he switches to dribbling the tennis ball; then he tosses the tennis ball against the wall while continuing to dribble the basketball; then he crosses the basketball between his legs; and so on until, finally, he’s juggling two tennis balls.”
This rigorous training helped Curry hone his focus to a level where he could excel under pressure. Called “neurocognitive efficiency,” by his trainer Brandon Payne. Similarly, if we train our attention like a muscle, our lives will become more manageable.
When interacting with others, whether it’s your children, family members, or colleagues, giving your undivided attention can be more effective than distracted multitasking. If you’re constantly checking your phone while spending time with family, it won’t be meaningful, and may even have negative effects. Establishing a “Clearness Committee” for yourself, as the author suggests, means prioritizing focused and attentive interactions. The greatest gift you can offer isn’t your skills, money, or effort but your full attention.
You can try this exercise:
“1: Prepare Your Space (two minutes)
Find a quiet place. Turn off your phone. Let people know you will be taking ten minutes.
Take a moment to clear off your desk. To put things back in their proper place.
2: Rest Your Body (two minutes)
Sit comfortably with your back straight. Close your eyes. Roll your shoulders. Move your head from side to side. Release tension in every part of your body. Breathe normally and naturally.
3: Relax Your Mind (two minutes)
It’s natural for your mind to be full of thoughts. Just acknowledge them. Notice them. Let them come and let them go.
4: Release Your Heart (two minutes)
If thoughts of someone who has wronged you arise, say, “I forgive you,” and imagine you are cutting a chain that tethers you to them.
5: Breathe in Gratitude (two minutes)
Relive a moment in your life that you are really thankful for. Experience it again, using all of your senses. Remember where you were, how you felt, and who you were with. Really breathe the gratitude in. Repeat this step three times.”
This practice creates a focused space for you. To live easily, you must concentrate on what matters most, and when you do, your efficiency will improve. By embracing awareness, you can make life easier.
The next part is about "effortless action." We all know that the cost-benefit ratio follows a curve: once you pass the peak, extra effort yields diminishing returns. For example, have you ever dealt with a client who couldn’t make a decision? A design team might present a logo, and the client likes it but wants a minor adjustment. Then the feedback cycles continue until the client finally says, “Let’s just go with the first version.” All the extra effort ends up wasted.
In fact, if you want to work efficiently, it’s crucial to make decisive actions. Take a moment to focus for just one minute and ask yourself: Is this good enough? Can we proceed? If so, take action immediately. This approach helps you avoid unnecessary overexertion.
The second method is called starting with the simplest and most straightforward first step. Many things don’t require extensive planning. When I first started my book summary business, I told people around me, “I’ll turn the books I’ve read into PPTs for you; would you be willing to pay me?” They agreed, and that’s how my business began. My first payment was 300 yuan, and it all started with a simple email. To get started, you don’t need to make things overly complicated. Use the simplest and most energy-efficient way to begin. Don’t think you need to spend three to five years perfecting a product before launching it. A good product starts getting refined only after it’s on the market. Some might think this approach is irresponsible, but in reality, early users are your partners. That’s why many companies treat early adopters exceptionally well: these people enjoy trying new things and are willing to give feedback. So don’t stress or get overly caught up in the details.
There’s a term in meteorology called “microburst.” Most people are unfamiliar with it, but it describes a sudden, powerful downdraft that creates intense winds and storms lasting 10 to 15 minutes, with speeds up to about 97 km/h, strong enough to knock down mature trees. The author suggests that when working, aim for a focused and intense “microburst” of about 10 minutes. Give your full attention to the task at hand. If you’re launching a product, the obvious first step is to open a document and jot down your ideas. The “microburst” could be brainstorming product features. If you need to complete an important report, start by getting paper and pen and sketching an outline. Begin with this simple step, then attack it vigorously and produce something concrete. So, get started right away.
The next method is simplification: do only what is necessary. When Jeff Bezos was starting Amazon, he had a conversation with a man named Perry Hartman. Bezos asked him, “Can you streamline the checkout process so that a customer can complete a purchase with a single click?” Hartman made it happen, and Amazon even patented the “one-click purchase.” Sometimes, when I look at our own app, I notice there are too many steps involved. Experienced users are fine because they know the workflow, but new users often get frustrated and give up halfway. They may want to pay but can’t find the payment interface, and they end up closing the app in frustration.
Simplification is challenging. Why does a product become increasingly complex? It’s because internal demands insist that no feature can be removed: this part must comply with regulations, that part must meet a need, and so on. Developers keep adding features, but then customers complain that the process is too complicated. This message is for our product developers: if it can be omitted, omit it. Minimize everything as much as possible. Simplifying beats adding unnecessary elements.
There’s a manifesto created by software developers called the “Agile Manifesto for Agile Software Development.” Which contains 12 principles. One principle states, “Simplicity—the art of maximizing the amount of work not done—is essential.”
If you can create value for customers with less code and fewer configurations, do it that way. This principle applies beyond software development: “Simplicity—the art of maximizing the steps not taken – is essential.” Whatever your ultimate goal is, focus only on the steps that add value. Every unnecessary step carries an opportunity cost. Removing even one unnecessary step gives you more time, energy, and brainpower for important matters.
When I read this, I was inspired to share it with parents and managers. Sometimes, children feel exhausted because parents are overinvolved, giving too many instructions and making too many demands. Similarly, employees may struggle because their boss micromanages, making too many requests and being overly concerned. Our overactivity often makes things harder.
Andy Benoit observes, most geniuses “prosper not by deconstructing intricate complexities but by exploiting unrecognized simplicities.”
Simplicity is the core of complex systems. Our genetic structure is simple yet iterates to create intricate organisms.
The next method is to “start with rubbish”. Reid Hoffman once said, “If you’re not embarrassed by the first product release, you released it too late.” Even if the first version is unattractive, release it to the market and gather customer feedback.
There’s something called the Kremer Challenge. In 1959, British industrialist Henry Kremer established the Kremer Prize to encourage designers to build a human-powered flying machine. The challenge was to fly a figure-eight pattern between two towers 800 meters apart for £50,000, and another £100,000 for crossing the English Channel. Many thought it wouldn’t be difficult, but no one succeeded for a long time.
Then a competitor named MacCready and his son took on the challenge. Instead of building a perfect aircraft first, they anticipated that it would crash frequently, so they made it extremely light and easy to repair. They started flying, and sure enough, it crashed. But because it was low to the ground, it didn’t matter. They repaired it quickly with duct tape and kept flying. They flew more often than those who painstakingly built perfect machines because theirs was easy to fix. Over a few months, they flew 222 times, and on the 223rd attempt, they completed the figure-eight challenge and won £50,000. Two years later, they crossed the English Channel and won the second Kremer Prize. Their success was based on iterations and speed, not perfection. Rapid repairs were the key.
Chinese wisdom has a saying, “A small boat turns quickly.” Or consider language learning: We’re fluent in Mandarin, but what about Spanish or French? As adults, learning a new language is hard, not because our brains can’t handle it but because we fear making mistakes. As children, we learned without fear, and that’s why we mastered our first language quickly. An adult language teacher once told his students, “To learn a language, imagine a bag with 1,000 beads. Every time you make a mistake, throw away a bead. Once you’ve discarded all 1,000, you’ll have mastered the language.” Don’t fear mistakes; they’re valuable.
“Even rubbish words are more powerful than a blank page,” author said. Many aspiring authors, including myself, know how difficult it is to become one. The key is to write. Even when uninspired, just write. At first, it might be terrible, but the act of writing generates ideas, and inspiration will follow. This is why professional writers write thousands of words daily. So embrace crude drafts and follow the principle of zero drafts: start writing without worrying about perfection.
Another trick is to hold back some energy. I read a book called “STELLAR MOMENTS OF HUMANKIND: Previously published in English as ‘The Tide of Fortune’ (1940),” which includes the story of Scott’s expedition to the South Pole. In 1911, two teams raced to be the first to reach the South Pole: one led by Captain Scott and the other by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. Scott’s strategy was to march as far as possible on good days, then rest on bad days. He wrote in his journal, “I don’t believe any team could march in such terrible weather.” His approach was to exert maximum effort and rest during storms.
Amundsen, however, maintained a strict routine: “We faced blizzards, drifted off course, and suffered frostbite, but we still covered 21 kilometers.” He stuck to 21 kilometers daily, regardless of conditions. If the weather was good, they’d walk 21 kilometers and rest. If it was bad, they’d still walk 21 kilometers and rest. He never overexerted his team.
Amundsen’s consistency paid off. On December 14, 1911, he and his team were the first to reach the South Pole, safely returning afterward. In contrast, Scott’s team arrived 34 days later and, tragically, perished on the return journey. Scott’s approach emphasized extreme effort, while Amundsen’s method was steady and disciplined. So, to work efficiently, pace yourself and conserve energy.
This is similar to running a marathon. I’ve run a half-marathon, and it was intimidating. A friend advised me to run the first 3 kilometers slowly, at a pace slower than my usual training. Even though it felt embarrassing, he assured me it would help my heart rate stabilize. Once I followed his advice, I was able to maintain my pace and complete the run. When the starting gun fired, everyone sprinted, but I jogged slowly. Later, I passed many who had exhausted themselves. The key is pacing, not pushing too hard from the start.
Find your rhythm and set a cap on your efforts. A writer once said, “Adjust your pace. If you write too much too fast, you lose direction. But if you don’t write regularly, you lose momentum. Writing 1,000 words a day is a good goal.” Some Chinese authors write thousands of characters daily without feeling overwhelmed, but the point is to write consistently.
A former Ironman triathlete named Ben Bergeron, possibly one of the world’s fittest athletes, has a habit that helps him stay in peak condition and complete the Ironman. Every day, he leaves the office at exactly 5:25 PM. Of course, he has already achieved great success and is a champion, so when he decides to leave, he leaves. Everyone knows that no matter what happens, you can’t stop him—at 5:25 PM, he goes home to train and rest. He manages his time very well.
There is a saying: “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.” I’ve been giving book talks for 11 years without ever missing a session, and some people are surprised, asking, “How did you do it? How come you never missed a session in 11 years?” It’s because I consistently review at least four books a month and at most six. Even before I read this book, I had always done it this way. I never pushed myself to say, “Let’s review 20 books this month in a big push.” That wouldn’t work; I’d get burned out and lose interest. So, I maintain a pace of four to six books per month, and it’s been easy to sustain. It’s not a complicated process—stay relaxed, find your rhythm.
Once you’ve learned how to maintain a relaxed state and take relaxed actions, it’s time to reap the rewards. This brings us to the final part of the book: effortless outcomes. Why do some people lead easy, successful lives while others are always exhausted? The difference lies in their thinking patterns: linear thinking versus exponential thinking. Exponential thinking refers to the power of compounding. Take Warren Buffett, who makes “only” 19% annually but has done so consistently for 50 years. Starting from a modest amount, he has compounded his wealth to become one of the world’s richest people. This is a marathon—earning a steady return for 50 years accumulates tremendous wealth.
The risk of having a regular job is that your income is linear. Your earnings form a flat line: $10,000 a month, month after month. Even if your salary doubles to $20,000, it’s still the same every month. In contrast, exponential returns grow rapidly. While income is linear, life’s expenses are not. Your spending might go from $50,000 a year to $100,000 or even $1 million when unforeseen events arise, like a child studying abroad, a parent getting sick, or you being hospitalized. Life’s expenses are exponential, but income from a job is linear. To achieve effortless outcomes, you need to leverage compounding effects, and to do so, you need to apply leverage to your life.
What is leverage in life? The first form of leverage is Seek Principles. For example, when I do live broadcasts, many people ask practical questions like, “How do I get my child to do homework?” or “How do I make them stop playing and eat?” These questions are all about specific tools. But the answers vary, and different families use different strategies, which is fine. However, you must understand the underlying principles. When you grasp fundamental concepts in neuroscience, developmental psychology, and social psychology, you’ll see how these principles apply everywhere. This knowledge serves as powerful leverage.
Few people are willing to patiently learn these principles because they prefer quick answers. They ask questions like, “Which major should my child choose?” But if you pay for each piece of advice, you may end up spending more than you earn. That’s why I encourage people to learn principles, which serve as the trunk of a tree, allowing you to apply them across different fields. Mastering principles is the first form of leverage.
After understanding principles, you need to create. Once you acquire knowledge, you must internalize it and then create new knowledge. If what you create is useful to others, they will pay for it, and this knowledge becomes your asset. Mastering, gaining, creating, and sharing knowledge can generate significant income because to share knowledge effectively, you must be better at it than others.
I once worked with a 4A advertising company that insisted on hiring a top photographer for a food ad. This photographer, an expert in food photography, transformed simple setups into stunning shots. His rates were extremely high—just one photo could cost 500,000 yuan. He specialized only in food photography, and his expertise made him highly sought-after. This is leverage: excelling in one area where others can’t compete. The first lever is mastering principles, acquiring knowledge, sharing it, and building your reputation.
The second lever is sharing to achieve exponential influence. If you share your stories, ideas, and experiences widely, you’ll gain followers and disciples, multiplying your impact. We are currently training family education instructors, hosts, and counselors to empower more people. As they serve their communities, our reach expands. Sharing your knowledge and experiences can grow your influence exponentially.
Making important things easy is another key. For example, we’re planning to create a comic book explaining why smoking is harmful. It’s a crucial message, but if presented simply, its impact spreads further. The book also mentions the “Sesame Street Rule”: your message shouldn’t just be easy to understand but hard to misunderstand. Procter & Gamble’s former CEO, A.G. Lafley, emphasized simplifying communication. Use straightforward, memorable messages to ensure widespread understanding. This is another form of leverage: sharing effectively.
The third lever is automation, making actions effortless. “The Checklist Manifesto” highlights this principle: people make mistakes when overwhelmed by cognitive load. Experienced pilots don’t rely on memory alone but follow checklists to ensure accuracy. Automating processes reduces mental burden and enables efficient action. Technology can further simplify tasks, like automating bill payments to avoid missed deadlines. Automating savings, as suggested in “The Latte Factor”, ensures money is set aside without effort.
The fourth lever is trust. In our lives, trust is an extremely important lever. We discussed a book about Warren Buffett called “Berkshire Beyond Buffett”. You’ll notice that Buffett has handled many acquisition deals worth tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars, and some of these deals were finalized in just over twenty days. Why is it so easy for him to acquire a big company? It’s because of trust. He places great importance on a person’s character, reputation, and the social standing they have built over the years. This makes judgment much simpler. “Trust can serve as a lever, transforming moderate effort into compounding results.”
This book also provides a tool that I shared with our company’s CEO, which I found very useful. It’s called the “High-Trust Agreement.” How is this trust established? It involves a contract between two parties, comprising three main elements: Party A, Party B, and the structure that governs their relationship. This structure is crucial, yet many people often overlook it.
For instance, I have a friend who was learning golf and found his progress slow because he kept practicing his swing endlessly. Then he realized something: the coach was being paid by the hour. The longer he took to learn, the more the coach earned. This created a misaligned incentive structure. So my friend told the coach, “Let’s change things. Forget hourly rates. I’ll pay you 50,000 yuan if you teach me to play under 80 strokes, regardless of how long it takes. What do you think?” The coach agreed, and within two weeks, my friend was playing under 80 strokes. The change in structure aligned their goals, drastically lowering costs and increasing efficiency. Structure matters.
What does this “High-Trust Agreement” structure look like? It has several components: First, the outcome. Clearly define the results you want to achieve, ensuring both parties share the same understanding. It can’t be that I delegate a task to you, only for your goal to be earning a fee while my goal is company growth, resulting in a misalignment where only you benefit. Second, roles. Clearly define the responsibilities of Party A, Party B, and any others involved, specifying who is responsible for what. Third, rules. Establish the non-negotiable guidelines that must be followed. Fourth, resources. Identify the available and needed resources, such as manpower, finances, and equipment. Specify the budget and the people you can allocate. Fifth, rewards. Determine how to evaluate and reward progress. By aligning these elements in a High-Trust Agreement, we create a structure that enables cooperation and minimizes conflicts. That’s the fourth lever: the lever of trust.
The fifth lever is prevent. What is prevention? It’s exerting effort before a problem arises rather than after. This is a significant dividing line between people. I’ve put a lot of effort into persuading people to quit smoking. Why? Because a book explained that persuading someone to quit smoking has the same impact as a doctor performing surgery to cure cancer. The outcomes are equivalent, yet people rarely admire someone who helps others quit smoking; they are more likely to admire a doctor who cures cancer. That’s because most people only pay attention to issues once they occur, not beforehand.
Many parents don’t address issues until their children are depressed, unwilling to study, or ready to drop out of school. Only then do they start thinking, “Should I learn something about parenting?” In reality, you should start learning when your child is three years old, and it will save you a lot of trouble later on. Taking preventative action lacks motivation for most people, but once problems arise, they become eager to make changes. This is the difference between having leverage and not having leverage.
If you’re about to do something irreversible, be extremely cautious beforehand. What is something irreversible? It’s a decision that, once made, cannot be undone. I often advise young people not to start a business impulsively or casually partner with someone without careful consideration. You can try things on your own first, but before partnering with others, you should at least get to know them well.
You can proceed with reversible decisions, like developing a product, because you can always try again if it doesn’t work out the first time. But for irreversible decisions, measure twice before acting. This is similar to the rule schoolchildren follow when making crafts: measure twice before cutting paper, because once you make a cut, you can’t restore the paper. As long as we take preventative measures before issues arise, we’ll reduce future costs significantly.
Does this book sound simple? “Effortless” really does seem easy. I particularly enjoy living effortlessly. I don’t like putting pressure on myself or on others. Whether raising children or managing a team, if you can handle things effortlessly, it’s a sign that your cognitive abilities have improved. Effortlessness is not something to be ashamed of. Don’t think that only enduring hardship is honorable; in fact, living effortlessly is honorable.
Life won’t always go as planned. We will face aging, illness, and loss, but during these painful times, we can maintain a light-hearted attitude and pursue joy, even if fleeting. Even when illness strikes, we can still find happiness in between bouts of suffering. This is the ultimate reward of “Effortless”. The author concludes: “No matter what hardships or challenges you face, you always have the choice of how to act now. Before dealing with any problem, you must first make this crucial choice.”
Life doesn’t have to be difficult and complex. As four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer Robert Frost once said, we must “promises to keep, / And miles to go before I sleep”. Regardless of the challenges, obstacles, or difficulties you encounter, there is always an easier, lighter path to take.
I hope this book will make things easier and more manageable for you all. Thank you, and see you next time for our next book discussion.