I use the 80/20 rule frequently in my teaching so I thought it was about time to have a proper introduction to the concept. I believe it’s useful for everyone on the planet – so if you have never heard of this rule, please take a look, it could potentially change your life.
I just knew this 80/20 rule from the book Living The 80/20 Way by Richard Koch about 4 years ago when I rebooted my own life. I found it was suitable in my case while I was seeking my further passion in education after 5 years working hard in an English center. At the time I sometimes accused myself of being lazy “ not working hard” but I realized that what I was doing for a productive living was under an 80/20 lifestyle.
(My small working corner at home)
80/20 Definition
By the numbers it means that 80 percent of your outcomes come from 20 percent of your inputs. You can find more information here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle )
It really doesn’t matter what numbers you apply, the important thing to understand is that the majority (your 80 percent) of your happiness and output is from certain things you do in life (your 20 percent).
80/20 Examples
There are business examples such as 20 percent of employees are responsible for 80 percent of a company’s output or 20 percent of customers are responsible for 80 percent of the revenues. Pareto also noticed that approximately 80 percent of Italy’s land was owned by 20 percent of the population.
At a micro level just by looking at your daily habits you can find plenty of examples where the 80/20 Rule applies. You probably make most of your phone calls to a very small number of the people you have numbers for or spend a large amount of your money on a few things (food , clothes, rental fee...). There is a good chance that you spend most of your time with only a few people from the entire list you have.
In my life I’ve noticed plenty of 80/20 ratios and they relate to my core competencies and passions. I really enjoy analyzing and designing the most suitable personalized English lessons or activities for people -they might be my current clients or their families’ members. In terms of rewards, within two or four hours of working when I’m in the creative zone and my best work comes out almost effortlessly – is my money time. My consulting time works hardest to bring income for me, create business opportunities and allow me to express myself creatively. When I really enjoy myself, my output is at its peak. I am sure that my passion activities probably don’t pay my bills at the moment, but long term competency will help it out. I'm aware of dropping the bad clients and focusing on upselling and improving service to the best clients. Who knows you probably will be on my list soon :).
Follow An 80/20 Lifestyle
The message is quite simple – focus on activities that produce the best outcomes for you. This applies to both your business and your normal life. The problem for most people is how to make a living from what you really enjoy. In fact, most people I know they don’t like and only truly live their passions on weekends and outside of working hours. Only a small sample actually live their passions day in and out, how they want to and when they want to. If you want to become one of the special few so you can live your passions on your terms there are a few things you can do by focusing on Your Passions, Not Possessions
The first thing I often ask my clients is what exactly you have passion for. Some people can answer it quickly – “I wish to become a manager ”, “I’d like to run my own coffee shop” etc. Others may have a general idea like “I want to run a business” but the specifics are not sorted yet. Normally, I suggest testing themself to find the real passion. To foster an 80/20 lifestyle we need to locate activities that are passions for us because we create output for others to enjoy.
It’s okay to love eating out and claiming your passion is food, if your intention is to also create output by starting your own stall, or a food reviewer or becoming a chef. If you enjoy sharing good things for people via articles or your speeches you might also enjoy teaching or consulting for people as a trainer on your own site.
And now, if you are here and reading this article with the unsure direction of using language or you don’t even know what your passions and how to apply the 80/20 Rule , we can help you to produce output. Through our English Personal Growth course, we can maximize what you are good at.
Thanks for spending time reading.
Nhu Vo
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