The 80 20 Rule Explained
The 80 20 Rule is also called the “Pareto Principle.” It was named after it’s founder, the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, back in 1895. He noticed that people in society seemed to divide naturally into what he called the “vital few” or the top 20 percent in terms of money and influence
How Does it Work?
If you have a list of ten items to accomplish, two of those items will turn out to be worth more than the other eight items put together
- The sad fact is that most people procrastinate on the top 10 or 20% of items that are the most valuable and important, the “vital few,” and busy themselves instead with the least important 80%
- This contributes very little to their success
The 80 20 Rule in Action
A friend of mine is one of the highest-paid commission professionals in the United States
- 20% of clients contribute 80% of his profits
- He found that the amount of time he spent on a high-profit client was the same amount he would spend on a low-profit one
- So he drew a line on his list of clients under those who represented the top 20% and called in other professionals in his industry and carefully, politely, and strategically handed off the clients that only represented 20%
- Instead of doubling his income in three years, he doubled it in the first year
Clarity of Your Desires, Goals, and Vision
You are absolutely clear about who you are, what you want, and where you’re going.
- Set very careful priorities and do something every day to move you toward your goals. The more progress you make toward accomplishing things that are important to you, the greater self-confidence and self-belief you will have.
Concentration
Having the self-discipline to force yourself to concentrate single-mindedly on one thing, the most important thing, and stay with it until it’s complete
- Focus is knowing exactly what you want to be, have, and do
- Persevering, without diversion or distraction, in a straight line toward accomplishing things
Always Work Towards Your Main Goal
The starting point for great success and achievement has always been the same – dreaming big dreams.
- When you begin to dream big dreams, your levels of self-esteem and self-confidence will go up immediately. You will feel more powerful about yourself and your ability to deal with what happens to you.
Motivational Quotes About the 80 20 Rule
About Brian Tracy
- Author of more than 60 books and has produced more than 500 audio and video learning programs on sales, management, business success, and personal development
- His goal is to help you achieve your personal and business goals faster and easier than you ever imagined
Theory of Constraints
In every process, in accomplishing any goal, there is a bottleneck or choke cord that serves as a constraint on the process.
- If you focus all of your creative energies and attention on alleviating this constraint, you can speed up the process faster than by doing any other single thing.
Identify Your Constraints
What’s holding you back?
- Set a standard and compare everything you do against it
- Whatever you have learned, you can unlearn
- You can probably get yourself out of whatever situation you are in
- Your goal is to dream big dreams and live without limits
How to Apply the 80 20 Rule to Goal Setting
Take a piece of paper and write down ten goals
- If you could only accomplish one of the goals on that list today, which one goal would have the greatest positive impact on your life?
- Pick the second most important goal
- After completing this exercise, you will have determined the most important 20 percent of your goals that will help you more than anything else.
- Continue to work at those goals that you’ve chosen as the most valuable all the time
Eat the Biggest Frog First
The most valuable tasks you can do each day are often the hardest and most complex, but the payoff and rewards for completing them can be tremendous.
- Before you begin work, always ask yourself, “Is this task in the top 20 percent of my activities or in the bottom 80 percent?”
Competence in Your Key Areas
Competence means that you become very good in the key result areas of your chosen field