Meet Jay Papasan
Author. CEO. Coach.
I'm Jay Papasan. And because everyone asks, here's how you say my name: [Pap-uh-zan]. I'm a bestselling author, CEO of Produktive, and executive coach who helps business owners navigate the pivots, setbacks, and ceilings that effort alone can’t solve.
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If you’ve found your way here, you’re probably not looking for a productivity tip. You’re a business owner or senior leader who’s already built something real. You’ve got the revenue, the team, and the track record. But right now, you’re facing something that hard work alone won’t solve:
Something broke.
You’re facing a setback — in your business, your health, your partnership, your life — and the playbook that built everything isn’t the one that gets you through this.
You hit a ceiling.
You’re successful and working hard, but you can’t break through to the next level. More effort isn’t the answer and you know it.
You need to become someone new.
The role is shifting — from operator to CEO, from builder to leader, from the person who does everything to the person who does the right thing. You can sense the next version of yourself, but you can’t see it clearly.
The answer to all three is the same: You need a partner to help you identify who you need to become to break through.
You don’t need a coach who read about transformation in a textbook.
You’re looking for someone who can find clarity in the chaos.
- I’ve founded companies and run them.
- I’ve navigated turnarounds.
- I’ve had to fundamentally rethink my identity as a leader — who I was, what I was building, and whether the path I was on was actually taking me where I wanted to go.
- I know what it’s like to juggle too many roles and confuse busyness with progress.
- I know what it feels like when the thing that defined you stops being the thing that moves you forward.
That’s what I bring to the table. Not theory. Scars, frameworks, and the ability to see what you can’t see when you’re inside it.
Why people trust me to help.
I’ve co-authored 12 books, including The ONE Thing — a #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller with over 4 million copies sold in 40+ languages. My books have sold nearly 7 million copies worldwide. That body of work is the foundation everything else rests on.
I’m CEO of Produktive, the training and coaching company behind The ONE Thing methodology. I helped scale Keller Williams from 27 employees to the #1 real estate brand in the world.
I’ve co-founded multiple companies. I host The ONE Thing podcast and write The TwentyPercenter, a weekly newsletter for business owners who want to do more of what actually matters.
But the credential that matters most is simpler: I’ve been where my clients are. I’ve faced the wall, done the work to get through it, and built a methodology for helping others do the same.
My Core Values
Impact.
I choose to work on things that matter to me and to others. I’d rather do one thing that changes someone’s trajectory than ten things that look impressive on a résumé. Exponential over incremental. Always.
Family.
I don’t invest time in strangers at the expense of my family, friends, and partners. Family rituals are sacred. Milestone moments are not to be missed. Relationships don’t fit around my work. They’re the reason for the work.
Abundance.
I believe money is good for the good it can do. I choose work that creates opportunities and wealth for others — not just for me. The leaders I admire most build tables with more chairs.
The Short Version
Wendy and I still live in Austin with our sons, Gus and Edward. We co-own Papasan Properties Group. I still read constantly — about 48 books a year. I’ve visited all 50 states and five of the seven continents. I once had an ostrich for a pet. I pick locks as a hobby. And I ran my first and only marathon dressed in an Elvis getup.
I learned how I wanted to lead by watching my dad. He rose from engineer to CEO, but what I remember most is that he handwrote holiday cards to all 2,000 of his employees every year — and seemed to know every one of them. At his memorial, people who hadn’t worked with him in 25 years still showed up. That’s the kind of impact I’m working toward.
THE ONE THING
What's your ONE thing?
The results you get are directly influenced by your approach to your work and the choices you make. You’ll learn how to identify the lies that block your success and the thieves that steal time form your day. By focusing on your ONE Thing, you can accomplish more by doing less.
Let's Connect
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