Essentialism Academy · Productivity · Personal Development · United States
Author of Essentialism and Effortless, speaker and host of The Greg McKeown Podcast. Sells video courses and memberships through the Essentialism Academy, run by McKeown, Inc.
Greg McKeown is a British-born author and speaker who writes and teaches about prioritization, which he calls Essentialism. According to his Wikipedia entry, he was born in London in 1977 and lives in California. He is the author of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less (2014) and Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most (2021), both New York Times bestsellers, and co-authored Multipliers (2010) with Liz Wiseman. Wikipedia lists a BA from Brigham Young University and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business; his own bio also cites a certificate from Harvard Kennedy School and a doctorate from the University of Cambridge. Before writing, he worked in the Global Leadership Practice of executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles, and the World Economic Forum named him a Young Global Leader in 2012.
His company is McKeown, Inc., which the footer of essentialism.com describes as the operator of the Essentialism Academy. His official site links a YouTube channel (@gregorymckeown, about 3,980 subscribers when read on September 14, 2026) and an Instagram account (@gregorymckeown, shown as 64K followers on the same date). He hosts The Greg McKeown Podcast, which launched in 2020 as "What's Essential" / "Essentialism with Greg McKeown" and is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. He also sends a free weekly newsletter, 1-Minute Wednesday, and offers a free 30-day email course, Less, But Better.
The paid offering is the Essentialism Academy at essentialism.com. As listed on its homepage on September 14, 2026: an All-Access membership at $29 per month or $299 per year, with access to all courses (the site mentions over 115 videos), downloads, live streaming events and podcast transcripts; a Live-Access Only plan at $14 per month for his monthly live sessions; and individual video courses at $79 each (21-Day Challenge, Essential Intervention, Essential Leadership, Essentialism at Home and The Way of the Essentialist), plus a $19 guided walkthrough for The Essentialism Planner. The academy FAQ says access lasts 12 months from purchase and that lessons are short, taking a few minutes each. The 21-Day Challenge can also be unlocked with a code printed in the paperback edition of Essentialism. A section of Effortless courses is marked as coming soon. He also gives paid keynotes; his site lists clients such as Apple, Google, Microsoft and Nike, but no official fee is published.
On reputation, what can be checked is mainstream interview coverage rather than investigations: he has been interviewed on The Tim Ferriss Show (January 2024), by the Deseret News (June 2020) and in the Bulletin of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (2026). Web searches run on September 14, 2026 for his name with "course", "price", "reviews" and "interview" returned interviews and book reviews, and no news report on disputes involving his courses or company. A search of the FTC website could not be completed on September 14, 2026, so regulatory records have not been confirmed either way. Claims on his own sites, such as speaking to hundreds of organizations in more than 40 countries, are self-reported and have no independent source.
Objective facts about their offer, taken from public sources. We don't rate the quality of the programs or the results you may get.
4 without a public price
1 free
7 official channels
Medium audience
Facts checked on Sep 14, 2026.
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| Program | Type | Published price | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essentialism Academy All-Access (Monthly) Monthly membership with access to all academy courses, downloads, live streaming events and podcast transcripts; $29 per month. | Community | $29 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| Essentialism Academy All-Access (Yearly) Annual membership with the same access as the monthly plan; $299 per year. | Community | $299 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| Live-Access Only Access to Greg McKeown's monthly live online sessions and past recordings, with live chat; $14 per month, first month free according to the site. | Event | $14 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View · source |
| 21-Day Challenge Course 21 short daily videos with email reminders; free with a code from the Essentialism paperback. | Course | $79 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View · source |
| Essential Intervention 10-video course on the three stages of Essentialism: explore, eliminate and execute. | Course | $79 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View · source |
| Essential Leadership 9-video course on applying Essentialism to leading a team or organization. | Course | $79 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| Essentialism at Home 20-video course in which Greg McKeown and his family discuss applying Essentialism at home. | Course | $79 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| The Way of the Essentialist 24-video course on focusing on the few things that matter most. | Course | $79 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| The Essentialism Planner Guided Walkthrough 7-video walkthrough on using The Essentialism Planner. | Course | $19 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| Less, But Better 30-Day Course Free four-week email course with lessons every three days and a 24-page workbook. | Course | $0 Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less Book published in 2014 on prioritizing the essential and eliminating the rest. | Book | Not published Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most Book published in 2021 on making important work easier to sustain. | Book | Not published Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| The Essentialism Planner 90-day guided planner based on Essentialism. | Book | Not published Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
| Keynote speaking Keynotes for organizations; no official fee is published on his website. | Event | Not published Checked Sep 14, 2026 | View |
Prices are those published by the mentor on the date checked and may change. “Not published” means we couldn't find a public price.
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A British-born author and speaker, best known for the books Essentialism (2014) and Effortless (2021). He runs McKeown, Inc., hosts The Greg McKeown Podcast and sells online courses through the Essentialism Academy. Wikipedia gives 1977 as his birth year and London as his birthplace.
On September 14, 2026, essentialism.com listed All-Access at $29 per month or $299 per year, a Live-Access Only plan at $14 per month, individual courses at $79 each and a planner walkthrough at $19. The academy FAQ says access lasts 12 months from purchase.
Yes. Less, But Better is a free 30-day email course on gregmckeown.com with a 24-page workbook, and signing up also subscribes you to his 1-Minute Wednesday newsletter. The 21-Day Challenge course is free with a code from the paperback edition of Essentialism.
What can be verified: his books reached the New York Times bestseller list, and his courses are sold with public prices on essentialism.com. Web searches on September 14, 2026 for his name with "reviews" and "interview" returned no news report on disputes about his courses. An FTC record search could not be completed, so that point remains unconfirmed.
Independent coverage found consists of interviews, including The Tim Ferriss Show in 2024 and the Deseret News in 2020, rather than evaluations of the Essentialism Academy.
The Greg McKeown Podcast. It started in 2020 with episodes titled "What's Essential" and has also been listed as Essentialism with Greg McKeown on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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