Business Book Review: The Power of One More by Ed Mylett

Mylett teaches you how to develop a mindset that makes anything possible. The habit, goal, business or relationship - give it one more try. 

My Rating: ★★★★
Length: 272 pages
Publisher: Wiley
Released: 2022

Key Takeaways for Personal Branding

Ed Mylett’s The Power of One More is a simple yet significant message. It’s about your willingness to do one more - whatever that is for you. One more meeting, phone call, action or getting up an hour earlier. Developing a ‘one more’ mentality sets you up to be healthily addicted to finding the “one more” in your life. 

RAS 

Mylett highlights the power of your brain’s Reticular Activating System (RAS). Like a gatekeeper, it helps filter what’s important and what’s not. As Mylett describes, it’s the reason why, after deciding you want to buy a blue van, you start seeing blue vans everywhere. The number of blue vans hasn’t changed. They’ve just become part of your RAS. 

The RAS activates your entire cerebral cortex, putting it on high alert. Meaning its power can be harnessed to program things into it, like your ability to see the “one more” thing everywhere. 

As Mylett describes, the “one mores” don’t have to be profound to begin with. Because over time, the small actions and thoughts compound into something profound:

“Compounding takes place when you attempt One More Try, time and time again. When you're successful in implementing a One More Try mentality, you'll create and compound more wins for yourself.”

In a creative shift from the many financial metaphors of his counterparts, Mylett instead uses the example of busting open a piñata to explain compounding. The law of averages works in your favour. 

“Was it that one shot that busted the pinata wide open? Absolutely not. It was the compounded accumulation of all those hits that contributed to achieving the goal of getting the candy.”

Three Days in One

In a fresh perspective for time management formulas, Mylett shares how he gets three days out of one. Using what scientists call ‘mind time’, which is different from ‘clock time’. It relates to the perception of time. It’s why some days feel long and others don’t. It’s why some years fly by and others drag. So, if you can alter how you perceive time, you can use it to your advantage. 

Mylett’s time management system begins by “adding more ‘days’ to your day”. He proposes instead of approaching your day as a single time block, divide your waking hours into equal parts of “mini days”, e.g: 

Day 1: 6 am -12 pm

Day 2: 12 pm -6 pm

Day 3: 6 pm - 12 am

Mylett then focuses on creating a sense of urgency around making the most of each mini-day. 

Inconvenient Things

It takes real smarts to explain things simply. And Mylett's discussion around ‘inconvenient things’ is an eye-opening one. He argues that greatness and convenience can’t co-exist. Perhaps an inconvenient truth for many. Where most avoid inconvenience, develop a mindset that embraces it. And do the most inconvenient thing first:

“Think about the possibilities when you stack up one month, one year, or a decade’s worth of doing inconvenient things.”

Favourite Quotes

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”

“Don't base your worth on social media hearts and likes. Don't beg for compliments. It's a cheap and needy way to live your life.”

“Most people give up. They don't do the work you're willing to do. So, they won't get the results you'll get.”

“When people see you're no longer wasting time, they begin to not waste your time.”

“What's one more way I can be less of a spectator and more of a participant?”

"Convenience and greatness cannot co‐exist. They are diametrically opposed forces.”

Mylett writes with all the gusto of the motivational speaker he is. He brings a unique perspective of religious faith to his writing. One that is either non-existent or neglected by his counterparts. It grounds the serially successful entrepreneur in his humble beliefs. And helps demonstrate how his passion serves a purpose greater than himself.

The motivation behind the book’s premise is revealed when Mylett shares the personal story of his late father, a recovering alcoholic - also his hero. In his journey of sobriety, he lived by the mantra of ‘one more day’. 

The Power of One More by Ed Mylett:  Available on Amazon.