How Billionaires Set Goals: A Step-by-Step Guide to Achieve Your Goals Using the 4-1-1

The ONE Thing

NOVA Media

Entrepreneurship, Business, Careers

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 6 April 2026

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If you want to achieve real and sustainable success, you don’t need another productivity system - try this instead. In this episode, Jay Papasan sits down with Director of Training Chris Dixon to unpack one of the most requested teachings in The ONE Thing community: the 411. They explain why to-do lists, project management tools, and reactive planning often leave people busy but not truly productive. Then they walk through how the 411 creates a simple, one-page view of your most important goals by connecting the year, the month, and the week. Jay and Chris also break down the rhythm that makes the 411 work: daily review, weekly reflection, monthly adjustment, and time blocking the actions that matter most. Along the way, they share common mistakes people make, how to avoid turning the 411 into another to-do list, and why simplicity is the key to making this tool stick. If you’ve ever felt clear on your goals but unsure what to do next, this episode gives you a practical way to close that gap. Challenge of the Week: Go download the 411 tool from the1thing.com/resources, then time block 30 minutes at the end of this week to build your first 411. Keep it simple. Start with just one goal for the year, one milestone for the month, and one action for the week. *** To learn more, and for the complete show notes, visit: the1thing.com/pods. We talk about: [00:00] This is How Billionaires Set Goals [01:25] Why To-Do Lists DON’T WORK. [10:21] How to Make a 411 [16:09] What Real 411 Progress Looks Like in Practice [22:58] How To Build Rhythms [32:19] How to Update the 411 Month to Month and Year to Year [37:08] Common Mistakes [39:59] The ONE Thing Weekly Links & Tools from This Episode: The ONE Thing Operating System Free Resources (Including the 411) Want to be a guest or share feedback? Email podcast@the1thing.com Produced by NOVA

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, gang. Welcome to a different kind of episode. This is kind of a life coaching session.
0:04.7	We're going to walk you through how to build a great 4-1-1. It's the most requested training we have.
0:10.1	In fact, we used to call this how billionaire set goals. My writing partner, co-author, and partner
0:16.0	in this business, Gary Keller, he became a billionaire and built the largest company in our industry under one
0:21.6	brand around the world using tools like this. So I've brought in our director of training
0:26.5	who's taught the 401 more than anyone else. He is the most requested coach or trainer around
0:31.4	this to bring it to your business or yourself. And we're going to break it down. So that if you
0:36.1	haven't ever used the 401 or you're
0:38.1	using it and you want some coaching, you can be building a first 401 or a really great
0:44.1	411 by the end of this episode. If you're not at your desk, I predict that you'll listen to
0:48.9	this, go back to your desk, download the free resource and start building it. It's that important,
0:53.5	folks. It's about clarity on one page so that you can say no to the distractions and do your one thing.
1:00.1	Let's dive in to the 411 and how you can accelerate your success.
1:04.8	Music I'm Jay Pappazan, and this is the one thing, your weekly guide to the simple steps that lead to extraordinary results.
1:24.2	All right, so before we dive into this, I'm going to introduce Chris Dixon. He is our
1:28.7	director of training for the last five years. Four-one-one-one comes up an awful lot, doesn't it,
1:33.2	gross? It does. Most often. And you get picked because you've got the longest line of experience
1:38.8	helping people build and understand the four-one-one. And you've worked with a mix of corporate
1:43.9	customers, like huge companies around the11, and you've worked with a mix of corporate customers,
1:44.7	like huge companies around the world, and also individual business owners.
1:49.6	And I do. I love it because I love the 411. It's had a huge impact on me personally,
1:54.7	and I've got to use that tool in so many different audiences, like you describe and see the
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