There’s a Lot Between All and Nothing (2 Min Read) | Vol. 188

January 30, 2026

“The most important step a man can take. It’s not the first one, is it? It’s the next one. Always the next step.” – Brandon Sanderson.

There’s a Lot Between All and Nothing

When I was a grad student at NYU, I was struggling to see where my thesis was going. I had a good start, but no destination. I stopped writing and commenced ruminating. My professor, novelist E.L. Doctorow, gave me some invaluable life advice. “Driving at night, you can go the whole way and never see further than your headlights. You can make the whole trip that way.”* It was just what I needed to hear. I stopped worrying and let the story lead me where it needed to go. 

I’ve repeated that advice a thousand times. To my kids, friends, students, and clients. 

Many accomplished people fall prey to “all or nothing” thinking. You can’t start a project unless you can complete it. And by “complete it,” I mean: organizing your closet goes from sending some old clothes to Goodwill to designing and installing custom shelving. You can’t do anything until you know everything. You can do almost everything perfectly, but fixate on the iota you did poorly.

All or nothing thinking is a mental trap. You start to see the world in binary. Everything is a 1 or a 0. Life isn’t code. It’s seldom black and white. Life runs from 100 to 0 and everything in between. That in between is where most of your best life lives. 

My friend Brandon Turner shared a good tip for breaking out of this. He calls it “MINS.” Just focus on the “most important next step.” You don’t have to know or do everything. You just have to take the best next step. 

One question to ponder in your thinking time: Where do I fall prey to all-or-nothing thinking? 

Make an Impact!
Jay Papasan
Co-author of The ONE Thing, The Millionaire Real Estate Agent & author of The Rookie Real Estate Agent

*This week, I learned that Doctorow’s advice is actually quite famous. He shared it originally in a 1986 interview with The Paris Review.I guess he repeated that advice a thousand times, too.