CHAPTER 1
One Less Thing

There are lots of memorable quotes from the movie Forrest Gump.1 “Life is like a box of chocolates.” “You never know what you’re gonna get.” “Stupid is as stupid does.”

One that may not be quite as memorable to many is actually one of the more important principles behind the concept of Quantifiably Better. It involves a scene where Forrest is sitting at the bus stop sharing his story:

“Lieutenant Dan got me to invest in some kind of fruit company [referring to Apple]. So, then I got a call from him, saying we don’t have to worry about money no more. And I said, that’s good! One less thing.” - Forrest Gump

One less thing. Such a simple principle. It is one that most of us are living by unknowingly every day. We don’t have to think too hard about how to bathe, drive a car, ride a bike, walk, read, write, or count things. Once we have these skills, we don’t have...