Why The Pareto Principle Isn't That Magical

About 10 years ago, a kind of famous author marketed this idea that people only need to work a few hours a week and they can enjoy all the freedom they want.

He pictured this fantasy of travelling around the world all year long while working on your laptop. He sparked imagination about the nice idea of doing what you love and earning a living. He painted this wonderful image that everyone can become a millionaire easily.

Without getting into any arguments, he did make the 80/20 Rule (The Pareto Principle) famous when he talked about getting things done.

You probably have heard of such rule right? It is still being rehashed million times by those self-help teachers around the world as if it's a magic bullet to personal productivity.

In short, the Pareto Principle says that 20% of what we do is responsible for 80% of the results we produce.

So all the other 80% of your "to-dos" are merely low-leverage, low-value, low-dollar activities that are yielding you a meagre 20% of total results. Therefore, we should always focus on completing the major 20% important tasks first before we consider investing energy in the unproductive 80% minor things.

What are low-leverage tasks? Well, things like:

• Checking and replying emails first thing when you start working
• Doing your household work like cooking, cleaning, washing clothes if you were a stay-at-home laptop entrepreneur
• Allowing Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram notifications to distract you
• Reading negativity-filled newspaper or watching IQ-lowering television programs
• Letting your phones reside besides you while you're working so they it can buzz you anytime
• Arranging unimportant staff meetings to kill everyone's productivity in the morning
• And a lot more...

These low leverage activities shall never be touched until the high leverage tasks have been completed such as:

• Creating amazing contents (articles, audio recordings, video tutorials) for your audience
• Completing your morning success ritual so you put yourself in the peak energy state to crush your day
• Nurturing your mind with inspirational books, Ted talks or educational audio books
• Producing great quality products and services for your loyal customers
• Crafting marketing messages so you reach out to more people who are in need of your help

Your job as a high achiever is to always get rid of the 80% stuff that aren't important at all, and commit yourself to NOT do them at all (delegate or delete or outsource), OR do them only after you've accomplished the important 20% ones at the end of the day.

The Pareto Principle is actually super simple, uncluttered and non-mythical. As long as you follow through the process and always do the high-leverage work first, you'll easily double or even triple your productivity.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-The-Pareto-Principle-Isnt-That-Magical&id=9536860

Success Is Not a Goal. It's a Way of Life.

When you meet a successful executive or business leader – I mean the real deal, not a shyster CEO of a one-person company playing make-believe – there’s a real tendency to assume he’s led a charmed life and everything just sort of fell into place. For the vast majority, nothing could be further from the truth.

Many grew up with nothing and overcame significant adversity just to get to adulthood in one piece. Most started at the bottom and worked their way up one day at a time to make it to the upper echelons of the business world. Even then, the challenges never stop … and there’s so much more on the line.

I’m not saying that success is never easy or that it’s way harder than it looks. Both are true, but what I’m saying is that success is also a never-ending process. Success it not a goal; it’s a way of life.

The funny thing about real executives and business leaders is that they don’t just wake up one day and say, “Wow, I made it,” and then kick back and live a life of luxury. They usually never stop working their tails off and tackling the next big challenge because that’s who they are. That’s simply what they do.

I’m not just telling you this to inspire you. I’m telling you this because I know it to be true. I can tell you from personal experience – through my own career and those of hundreds of senior executives I’ve known and worked with over the years – that it’s true.

I’ve written quite a bit about what life was like growing up with adversity and beating the odds to make it big for great entrepreneurs like Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, Oracle chairman Larry Ellison, Softbank founder Masayoshi Son, Alibaba chairman Jack Ma, former Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg, and the late Steve Jobs.

Trust me when I tell you, it’s not what you think.

It’s not the way most who write about entrepreneurship and leadership make it out to be. Those who make it sound easy and flaunt their self-proclaimed successes are all BS artists. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t write the sort of nonsensical fluff we see plastered all over social media and popular websites these days.

Becoming successful is not about popular notions like personal productivity, habits, inspiration, emotional intelligence or positive thinking. It’s not about thinking like an entrepreneur or being a leader. And it’s certainly not about faking it ‘til you make it. For those who spend their lives doing what everyone else dreams or writes about, this is what being successful is really all about:

Experiencing adversity.

The reason why those who grow up under difficult circumstances often turn out to be successful executives and business leaders is because they develop the sort of competitive spirit and tenacity needed to overcome the constant challenges of their jobs. There’s no better training for being a CEO than growing up with adversity.

Having something to prove.

Most top executives I’ve known seemed to have a chip on their shoulder, as if they had something to prove, although I’ve never been able to figure out to whom they had to prove it. I’m not even sure if they knew. But that’s usually why they’re never satisfied with their own performance and accomplishments. That’s why they never stop growing, innovating, and achieving.

Being obsessed with your work.

I think everyone sort of knows by now that true entrepreneurs are passionate about solving some sort of problem in a way that's never been done before. But the big success stories – Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page – aren’t just passionate about their work; they’re obsessed with it. That’s why they’re so disciplined and focused.

Believing you’re special.

One thing I’ve noticed all the greats have in common is they really think they’re special. I don’t mean that in an “I’m better than you” sort of way; they just play by their own rules. And they really couldn’t care less about how things are done or should be done. That’s why they often accomplish what others say can’t be done. Thinking you're special can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.  

Being smart and trusting your instincts.

You can think what you want, but all the successful business leaders I’ve known are smart and savvy. More important, they always trust their instincts when making big decisions. Sure, they hire the best talent and listen to what they have to say, but in the end, they go with their gut. And that usually works.

If you see success as a single goal, I doubt if you’ll ever achieve it. But if doing great work is simply what you love to do, then I’m sure you’ll be successful. 

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/253549