Quote
“If it isn't a clear yes, then it's a clear no.”— Greg McKeown, in Essentialism (2014) · Essentialism →
Why it was said
Greg McKeown's most quoted line comes from the chapter on selecting by extreme criteria, the ninety-percent rule: score an option, and anything below ninety is treated as zero.
What it actually means
Most commitments are made at a six or a seven out of ten, and a life full of sevens has no room for the nines. McKeown's rule turns a graded judgement into a binary one on purpose, because the grade is where the drift lives. The sentence is a filter for the trade-off that essentialism is built on: fewer things, done properly, chosen by a standard that hurts.
How to use it
- 1Score the next request out of ten before answering; below nine, decline.
- 2Apply the rule to what is already on your plate and notice how much of it was a seven.