Go One More: Find the Clarity to Make Intentional Life-Changing Choices
Nick Bare
BenBella Books (June 2025)

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re probably right.” Henry Ford

I agree with Ford as well as with Nick Bare that the term “self-help” should be taken literally, with a heavy emphasis on personal responsibility. However inspiring wisdom — a compelling vision —  may be, it will have little (if any) practical value unless and until you embrace it and then DO SOMETHING. This is what Thomas Edison has in mind when asserting that “vision without execution is hallucination.”

According to Bare, “Go One More is not just an action. It’s an outcome.

“You may hear Go One More and think of it as a verb, but it’s more than that. Go One More is a results-driven mindset. By applying this mindset to everything you do, you will unlock opportunities and growth in life that will set you up for success years from now. It’s more than doing more. It’s doing more of the right things, at the right time, for the right reasons.”

“In order to prove yourself right, you need to stop trying to prove others wrong. And to do that, you need to be what I call [begin italics] self-powered [end italics].” That is, “when you’re self-powered, you are self-driven by an internal belief and a truly unique confidence. It is the most powerful and potent fuel source in the world.”

Intentions often have the greatest influence on the decisions we make. One of Bare’s associates, Jordan Utter, asserted, “Lack of intentionality leads to a repetition of what’s easiest.” That caught Bare’s attention. “‘Wow,’ I thought. ‘That’s powerful.'” [22-24]

These brief excerpts give you a sense of the thrust and flavor of Nick Bare’s invitation to you and others who share his thoughts to “Go One More”…again and again and again.

I agree with Bare that proving others are wrong about us is a fool’s errand. Better, far better to challenge ourselves, test ourselves, strengthen ourselves, improve ourselves…and then, guided and informed by a clarity of purpose, we are much-better prepared to make intentional life-changing choices.

Opportunities seldom pound on the door. They usually tap and then move on. It is your responsibility to recognize and then be well-prepared to take full advantage of them. Start now. Obtain a copy of Go One More and read it, then re-read it. Absorb and digest what each of the chapter titles advocates.

1. Pursue Intentionality.
2. Be Consistently Good Instead of Occasionally Great
3. Endure the Process.
4. Change Is Not a Threat; It’s an Invitation.
5. If It Matters to You, You will Make Time.
6. Be All In, Not All Confused.
7. Doubt Is Only Dangerous When You Start Doubting Yourself.
8. Legacy Can’t Be Bought. It Must Be Built.
9. You Can Go Fast Alone, But You Can Go Much Further Together.
10. Finish Well.

Bare devotes a separate chapter to each admonition, sharing his thoughts about HOW you can derive various benefits.

To repeat a key point: The value of the material will ultimately be determined by you; more specifically, by how carefully you absorb and digest, then apply the material. Meanwhile, keep Pogo the Possum’s insight in mind: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

If you think education is expensive,

* * *

Here are two other suggestions while you are reading Go One More: First, highlight key passages. Also,  perhaps in a notebook kept near-at-hand (e.g. Apica Premium C.D. Notebook A5), record your comments, questions, and action steps (preferably with deadlines). Pay special attention to what Bare characteries as “very personal and very real examples” of efforts to “find the clarity to make intentional, life-changing choices.”

These two simple tactics — highlighting and documenting — will expedite frequent reviews of key material later.