Never Give Options. Here’s Why.

One important lesson I’d love to leave you with is the Rule of One.

When pitching an idea—whether to business partners or friends—focus on one central concept. Not three. Not five. Just one.

Don’t present multiple options upfront. Start with one clear recommendation. If they push back, then offer a second.

The same applies to marketing. If you want a post to go viral, make the core message easy to digest. Let the visual focus on one idea, one strong hook—not five scattered thoughts or distracting elements.

When building your pitch deck, don’t cram five ideas onto one slide. One slide = one idea.

Less is more. Lead with clarity. Lead with a single idea and vision—not with a buffet of choices.

Your job is to make it easy for others to say yes.

This rule applies everywhere—from raising funds to convincing your family to hit the coolest beach on your next vacation.

Study: When Choice is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a Good Thing?

Source: Iyengar & Lepper, Stanford & Columbia University, 2000

Setup:

Shoppers were offered two different tasting setups for jam:

One group saw 24 jam options.

The other saw only 6 options.

Results:

60% of people stopped at the 24-jam display (attracted by variety), but only 3% bought.

Only 40% stopped at the 6-jam display — but 30% bought.

Insight: Fewer options = higher conversion.

This study is the gold standard for proving that more choices reduce action.

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”

— Hans Hofmann

Best wishes,

Maxi | The Warrior’s Newsletter