Paul F. Tompkins Quotes

Learn to say 'no' to the good so you can say 'yes' to the best.

I just work hard and do things as they come along. But it has been a challenge to learn that I have to say 'no' to things and to know how and what to prioritize.

Prioritization sounds like such a simple thing, but true prioritization starts with a very difficult question to answer, especially at a company with a portfolio approach: If you could only do one thing, what would it be? And you can't rationalize the answer, and you can't attach the one thing to some other things. It's just the one thing.

I don't waste my time doing my head in about stupid things that don't really matter and don't waste time worrying over nothing.

There is great power in focusing on what you want..... The person who tries to do everything accomplishes nothing. Most people try to be all things to everyone. And so they end up being nothing to anyone. Confucius nailed the point: "Person who chases two rabbits catches neither."

One of the things Mr. Kennedy taught me was that in laying out a new project, you shouldn't try to cope with every little problem.

You have to establish in your life some sense of prioritizing things, of giving emphasis to the important things and of laying aside the unimportant things that will lead to nothing.

As all entrepreneurs know, you live and die by your ability to prioritize. You must focus on the most important, mission-critical tasks each day and night, and then share, delegate, delay or skip the rest.

One skill of a great entrepreneur is to get a whole complicated discussion and then say, 'We're going to do this one and we're only going to do this one'. Managers are good at prioritizing. Entrepreneurs know what is the one thing.

I wanted to dedicate myself completely to the things that matter to me and let everything else go, and I think that's a really rewarding thing.

And it comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don't get on the wrong track or try to do too much. We're always thinking about new markets we could enter, but it's only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.

If I was a little bit younger I would worry more. I'd want to do one thing at a time but now I try to do a bunch of different things at a time if I can.

When I quit all these things and said I didn't have any time, I meant I didn't have any time.

I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.

To help you focus, to help you really understand what you're doing, you have to say no a lot. When you say yes to everything, you get distracted. When you say no, you have to get the one thing you're doing really right.

If you want to make good use of your time, you've got to know what's most important and then give it all you've got.

And I figured out that the reason I couldn't get through the day as well as I can now is because I had too many things on my mind, on my plate, you know, for one person to have. So I started to eliminate some of the things that were too heavy to carry and unnecessary.

You don't have to get things done all the time to be productive.

First things first, second things never.

My message to the ladies would be, you can do all of the things, but not all of them at the same time.

I try to keep the number of projects I'm involved in down to one per year.

The only way to have time is to shut down and then do what you want to do.

For me, it's all about balancing your priorities.

Sometimes you have to park things you're not happy with, because there are more important things to be done.

I make a habit of asking myself, 'Is there purpose to this meeting or conversation? Do I want to build a relationship with this person or company? Is there purpose behind this meeting that aligns with my life and business strategy?' If the answer is 'No,' then I pass every time.