Author Login | Popular Articles | RSS Feeds | Sitemap

Home | Business


Does this 80/20 Rule apply to you?

By: Dan Dimit

This "law" is named for an Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto, who noticed that in his country 80% of the wealth was owned by 20% of the population.The Pareto principle (also known as the 80-20 rule, the law of the Vital Few and the Principle of Factor Sparsity) states that, for many events(not just economical or business), 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.

The 80/20 principle has proven in business and economics that the majority of results come from a small minority of causes or effort. So, we really can't say that the exact percentages are 80 and 20. Some situations are 90/5 and others 70/30.

This powerful rule has way more benefits than just in business. Learn to focus your attention on the "vital minority" to live the 80/20 lifestyle and accomplish more with less!

Each of the famous, bestselling self-improvement programs promise a great reward for serious effort major religions do the same thing. The advice usually works for those who follow the directions carefully, but the trouble is that most don't get into the correct habits. The effort is too much. We fall by the wayside. Have you ever had that experience? I have.

Wouldn't it be great if we could discover a way to do less, and yet get more of what we want ? more love, more "toys", more happiness, more success? Wouldn't that be a crazy-good lesson for everyone?

It so happens that there IS a program. I found it after quite a bit of time and studying success. Here it is ...

It is the 80/20 RULE

For example, we send about 80% of our emails to 20% of the people in our address book. In business, 80% of profits come from 20% of customers and 20% of products. We wear 20% of our clothes, our favorite outfits, more than 80% of the time. Police investigations reveal that 80% of accidents are caused by roughly 20% of drivers and that 80% of crime is committed by 20% of criminals. Keep in mind the inexact numbers.

What about this: Businesses have known for a long time that they can improve their position enormously by concentrating on the key 20% of activities.

Why can't people do the same in their everyday lives?

Guess what? THEY CAN. We can make our lives enormously better by doing less... but there is a catch. The secret is not to do less of everything, but to do less of the majority of things we do(the things that don't work very well for us) and to do more of the few things that deliver what we want.

The key to making the 80/20 Rule work for you is focus(this is one of my weaknesses). In every area of your life you can figure out what few things are really important to you and the few methods that give you what you want. You want to separate everything you do into two piles.

First, there is the big pile. This is the 80% pile, that takes a lot of energy but delivers less-than-great results... sometimes these activities may even make things worse. This is the mass of little stuff that surrounds you and normally takes over your life. We'll name this "The Unimportant Majority." Then there is the small but vital 20% pile, which comprises the few things that work so well, it surprises you ? the small, but important pile that brings you real happiness.

Once you know what the separation is ? the things you do, the thoughts you have, the people you meet, the techniques and methods you use ? you can do something simple and extremely effective: You can do less of the "The unimportant majority" things and more of the "vital minority" things.

The result? Much less effort but way more (and better) rewards.

The modern delusion is "more with more." Nearly everyone thinks that to get more out of life and to succeed in achieving what we want, we have to labor harder, devote more time to our work, and make sacrifices and tradeoffs (I've been seduced by this belief for years). The truth is that less is more, as long as it's less in the right areas. We make progress by stripping our activities and concerns back to a small, effective pile.

There are lots of simple, painless ways to start this "shrinking" process so that you can begin applying the 80/20 Rule and getting benefits in your everyday life.

One of the easiest ways to start this process is to find what makes you really happy. Think back to the last time you were really happy, then the times before that. What did these times, or a certain group of them, have in common? Were you in a special place, pursuing a similar sort of activity (with a particular person or group)? What are some common themes?

Now, how can you multiply your time in these happy moments? If you figure that your happy times make up only a fifth of your time, how could you take that to a third or a half... or even more?

There are plenty of activities that give us a poor return on happiness, and they are relatively easy to identify. Surveys of people watching television, for example, show that very few respondents say they are happy after watching two or more hours of TV. Typically, they actually become mildly depressed. I'm not a big fan of T.V. in the first place... but that's very true.

What things do you regularly engage in that have a poor happiness reward? What do you do out of a sense of duty? If there's little pleasure in the duty, how much good are you doing? When you are happy, your happiness overflows into the lives of those around you. Time spent being miserable benefits nobody.


Copyright (c) 2008 Dan Dimit

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

About the Author:
Now that Dan Dimit has it figured this entrepreneur thing out, his passion is shortening the success time for others from years to months. For more info like this visit his blog. http://www.thefreetrafficformula.com/blog If you'd like free training materials, 2 ebooks, minicourse and access to his Q&A conference calls, go to http://www.thefreetrafficformula.com

Tags: , , , , , ,
| Print | Ezine Ready | |

Recent Business Articles

  • How to Increase Productivity with Employee Evaluations By: Jim Sirbasku - Would you like to understand how employees can be understood, motivated and managed so that you can effectively coach, motivate and retain top talent? This article will provide you with information that can help you increase productivity and maximize your bottom line with employee evaluations. Whether you're an owner, an executive or a manager, the following information will be beneficial to you. Understanding your employees and being able to evaluate their performance is a key to successful management.
  • Employee Motivation Techniques for the People in Your Workplace By: Jim Sirbasku - Motivating employees can be one of your biggest challenges as an employer, but learning how to inspire each individual is the key to a successful organization. This article will provide you employee motivation techniques to engage different people in your workplace. Whether you're an executive, a manager or a team leader, the following information will be beneficial to you. If your workforce resembles that of most organizations, many different kinds of people are toiling under one roof.
  • Tips for Motivating Employees By: Jim Sirbasku - Motivating employees can be one of your biggest challenges as an employer, but learning how to inspire your workforce is the key to a successful organization. This article will provide you tips for motivating employees that will help your organization unlock human potential. Whether you're an executive, a manager or a team leader, the following information will be beneficial to you. Constant pressure to increase productivity, profitability and revenue growth can often overshadow the importance of how an unengaged workforce can negatively affect corporate performance.
  • What to Do When Your Assessments Aren't Working By: Jim Sirbasku - Is your assessment program working? Are you utilizing it in the correct manner? This article will provide you with an assessment program checklist that will help you determine its true effects on your business. Whether you're an executive, a manager or a team leader, the following information will be beneficial to you. Is your assessment program working? Are you utilizing it in the correct manner? This article will provide you with an assessment program checklist that will help you determine its true effects on your business.
  • The Forex Software System Trading Which Will Help me Improve my Trading Decisions and Cash Flow By: William R Alheim, Jr. - There are a multitude of exceptional Forex software system trading on the market today that the new investors in the currency markets when they were first deregulated in 1997 only wished they had access to. These currency trading system can significantly improve your decision making process if you know what your are looking at and doing. Unfortunately, far too many people think the software is a means to an end in itself and that is simply not the case.
  • Expand Recruiting for Better Hiring By: Jim Sirbasku - Attract and retain the most talented employees with employee recruitment and staffing strategies. This article will provide you with information that will save your organization time and resources in your hiring process. Whether you're an executive, a manager or a team leader, the following information will be beneficial to you. While it's possible my Grandpa's memory is playing tricks on him, employers are confirming that some of the things Grandpa says about "the way things were" are true - and important.
  • Find Employee Motivation Ideas That Will Inspire Your Workforce By: Jim Sirbasku - You can inspire your workforce by identifying the key factors that motivate individual employees. This article will provide you with ways to find employee motivation ideas that will help your organization understand how to unlock human potential. Whether you're an executive, a manager or a team leader, the following information will be beneficial to you. All of your employees are motivated, but not necessarily in the areas you want them to be motivated. Employees are individuals, meaning that you can have a motivation problem throughout your organization, but the reasons for that lack of motivation will vary with each person.
  • You Should Face Common Membership Site Challenges By: Poonam Rani - Membership Sites -Way to face Common Membership Site Challenges is one of the most lucrative business models on the internet? Some of the benefits include earning continual income, incurring less advertising expenses, earning the trust and respect of members, building your reputation, and being able to make various offers to members. Membership sites can be very profitable indeed; but maintaining them is no walk in the park, especially if you don't have the proper knowledge or experience. Here are the most common challenges encountered by membership site owners, and the steps you can take to resolve these issues.
  • Blog: Powerful Marketing Medium By: Vaseem M Yasin - Ever wonder what a blog is, and why it is so phenomenal on the internet? Ever felt like flogging’s just a waste of time? Find out more... the reasons why millions are blogging on the internet, and why they are so engrossed in it. You'll be amazed at what blogging can do for you. Don't lose out, join in the fun. It's such a thrill! Yes or Yes? Say YES to Blogging! Blogging is the in-thing on the web. It is phenomenal and overwhelming in effect. What makes blogging so powerful?
  • Online Forex Trading is the New Hot Wave and its Time to Jump On and Enjoy the Ride to Prosperity By: William R Alheim, Jr. - Where, when and what is the question we are all asking ourselves in this new financial environment now encompassing the world. As droves of investors lost there life savings in the global stock market crashes the currency traders step in and made record profits due to the predictability of currency movements during this unforeseen economic disaster. For those who have taken the time to learn currency trading from the main theories to the complex procedures times have never been better for accumulating vast amounts of wealth quickly.

Comments

Search Ebay

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!


Add to Google
ArticleSnatch Authors:
Member Login Sign Up Submit Articles FAQ Submission Guidelines Top Authors
For Publishers:
Most Popular Articles Ezine Notifications Article RSS Feeds Terms of Service
For Everyone:
Blog About Us Link to Us Contact Us New Stuff Link Directory Privacy Policy Sitemap Resources
Our Sites:
Free Magazines Book Your Hotel Stay Free MySpace Tools Massive Video Collection Broadband Speed Test
Click here to submit your free, permanent ads to TheFreeAdForum.com!

Submit Your link to the Open Link Directory Project

Copyright 2005-2008 MJE Sales, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Proud member of the ArticleCkr Search Network Search Network!
ArticleSnatch.com is free for both publishers and authors to use and is supported entirely from advertising revenue.
Use of our service is protected by our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.