One book that's changed my business and my life...

12 replies
Most people have heard about, or know about the 80/20 principle.

If you haven't yet, check out the books written by Richard Koch...
he has written several on the 80/20 principle.

I was first turned on to his books by Ken McCarthy when he
mentioned them in his System Letters (another great read)

I've read and reread "Living the 80/20 Way" several times in the
past year... and must say it's changed my life.

Now, sure... most of my income comes from close to 20% of
my clients... those who I've set up long term deals and relationships
with.

But here's how the 80/20 method has helped me in other ways.

In my businesses... I know that 20% of what I do will give me
80% of my results... so now, I'll spend time really focusing on
those key areas that lead to most of my success.

Before, I'd just spend a ton of time on everything like I normally
would... putting out fires here and there, responding to emails,
etc...

Since following the 80/20 method... I really only focus on those
most important things in my business... those things that will
directly bring in money... and then i just let the rest just
float away.

When I used to spend 10 hour work days focusing on
every single aspect of my businesses... I'm starting to
get it down to 3 to 4 hours or less... simply by focusing
on the top 20% of my activities that lead to 80% of my
income.

Another key area I've used it? My daily life and in my
personal quest for happiness.

The book mentions how 80% of our happiness will come
from 20% of our activities... so once again, I strive to
really "look into" my day to day life and see what makes
me the happiest.

Then, I just do more of those things and drop the rest.

Most people don't really get the power of the 80/20
principle. I mean, they say they "get it" but rarely
do they practice it.

I know.. I was one of them.

But I must say... ever since i've been trying to focus
on the 20% of ANYTHING in my life that produces most
of the results... my income and happiness has definitely
increased.

These days, i find myself doing those few activities
that I truly enjoy.

I find myself focusing on those few activities that
actually bring in money.

And sure enough, even in this short time, i'm getting
a higher payoff in less time spent.

If you haven't done it yet, check out Richard Koch
and his books... I personally found "Living the 80/20
Way" to be an easier read than the "80/20 Principle"
but either one can change your life... if you practice it.
#book #business #changed #life
  • Profile picture of the author max5ty
    Originally Posted by shawnlebrun View Post

    Most people have heard about, or know about the 80/20 principle.

    If you haven't yet, check out the books written by Richard Koch...
    he has written several on the 80/20 principle.

    I was first turned on to his books by Ken McCarthy when he
    mentioned them in his System Letters (another great read)

    I've read and reread "Living the 80/20 Way" several times in the
    past year... and must say it's changed my life.

    Now, sure... most of my income comes from close to 20% of
    my clients... those who I've set up long term deals and relationships
    with.

    But here's how the 80/20 method has helped me in other ways.

    In my businesses... I know that 20% of what I do will give me
    80% of my results... so now, I'll spend time really focusing on
    those key areas that lead to most of my success.

    Before, I'd just spend a ton of time on everything like I normally
    would... putting out fires here and there, responding to emails,
    etc...

    Since following the 80/20 method... I really only focus on those
    most important things in my business... those things that will
    directly bring in money... and then i just let the rest just
    float away.

    When I used to spend 10 hour work days focusing on
    every single aspect of my businesses... I'm starting to
    get it down to 3 to 4 hours or less... simply by focusing
    on the top 20% of my activities that lead to 80% of my
    income.

    Another key area I've used it? My daily life and in my
    personal quest for happiness.

    The book mentions how 80% of our happiness will come
    from 20% of our activities... so once again, I strive to
    really "look into" my day to day life and see what makes
    me the happiest.

    Then, I just do more of those things and drop the rest.

    Most people don't really get the power of the 80/20
    principle. I mean, they say they "get it" but rarely
    do they practice it.

    I know.. I was one of them.

    But I must say... ever since i've been trying to focus
    on the 20% of ANYTHING in my life that produces most
    of the results... my income and happiness has definitely
    increased.

    These days, i find myself doing those few activities
    that I truly enjoy.

    I find myself focusing on those few activities that
    actually bring in money.

    And sure enough, even in this short time, i'm getting
    a higher payoff in less time spent.

    If you haven't done it yet, check out Richard Koch
    and his books... I personally found "Living the 80/20
    Way" to be an easier read than the "80/20 Principle"
    but either one can change your life... if you practice it.
    BS

    It's all BS.

    Think about this...you're being programed to believe in the 80/20 thing.

    Sounds good on paper.

    Let's face it Shawn...anything you sell someone with enough hype will be believable.

    It's all a sales ploy...

    It's a hook...

    You fell for it.

    It sold a lot of books. Should be a lot of people bringing home some serious bank after reading this. Not happening.
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    • Profile picture of the author shawnlebrun
      Originally Posted by max5ty View Post

      BS

      It's all BS.

      Think about this...you're being programed to believe in the 80/20 thing.

      Sounds good on paper.

      Let's face it Shawn...anything you sell someone with enough hype will be believable.

      It's all a sales ploy...

      It's a hook...

      You fell for it.

      It sold a lot of books. Should be a lot of people bringing home some serious bank after reading this. Not happening.

      I'm confused as to what I "fell for"

      So, the fact that I'm making more money
      by focusing on fewer things... that's "falling for something"

      Or that I choose to focus on doing those things
      that bring me happiness... that's "falling for something"

      If so, then I'll happily fall for it any day.

      So, if someone bought a weight loss program
      and lost a lot of weight... they "fell for that"?

      Everyone has their own opinion... and that's
      all I'm offering... but to tell someone they "fell"
      for something after getting good results... doesn't
      make sense.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7695667].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author max5ty
        Originally Posted by shawnlebrun View Post

        I'm confused as to what I "fell for"

        So, the fact that I'm making more money
        by focusing on fewer things... that's "falling for something"

        Or that I choose to focus on doing those things
        that bring me happiness... that's "falling for something"

        If so, then I'll happily fall for it any day.

        So, if someone bought a weight loss program
        and lost a lot of weight... they "fell for that"?

        Everyone has their own opinion... and that's
        all I'm offering... but to tell someone they "fell"
        for something after getting good results... doesn't
        make sense.
        20% of this or that comes from 80% of this or that?

        Really?

        Who says?

        All you needed was someone to tell you why you sucked at what you did. You fell for it and now your doing better then what you did. Jeezus dude...you're on your way to something big that's never ever been heard of before.
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        • Profile picture of the author Pusateri
          Originally Posted by max5ty View Post

          20% of this or that comes from 80% of this or that?

          Really?

          Who says?
          Vilfredo Pareto says. Among others.

          The Pareto Principle is a power law that shows up in most areas of human endeavor.

          A small percentage of A is responsible for a large percentage of B.

          It's been empirically proven again and again.

          Of course, it's just as likely to be 70/30 or 90/10.
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  • Profile picture of the author The Marketeer
    I have a confession to make.

    I love...

    Falling for things...

    That make me more money.

    If there's something wrong with that, then please show me the right way.
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  • Max,

    For goodness sake if Shawn liked the book, and as he said, it transformed his life then it was money well spent.

    You and me might think the 80 - 20 thing could have been explained in a paragraph.

    But that wouldn't make the author any money and Shawn and millions of others would probably never have heard about it.

    And the good news is - it's often the simple things that make the biggest difference.


    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author max5ty
      Originally Posted by Steve The Copywriter View Post

      Max,

      For goodness sake if Shawn liked the book, and as he said, it transformed his life then it was money well spent.

      You and me might think the 80 - 20 thing could have been explained in a paragraph.

      But that wouldn't make the author any money and Shawn and millions of others would probably never have heard about it.

      And the good news is - it's often the simple things that make the biggest difference.


      Steve
      That's BS.

      LOL...I'm in one of those moods tonight.

      Frankly, I'm pissed that I spend so much time on this site.

      I've been doing this marketing/sales thing for almost 30 years.

      I don't need another private jet, another Bentley, etc.

      80/20 is a great idea...
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7695835].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author shawnlebrun
        Originally Posted by max5ty View Post

        That's BS.

        LOL...I'm in one of those moods tonight.

        Frankly, I'm pissed that I spend so much time on this site.

        I've been doing this marketing/sales thing for almost 30 years.

        I don't need another private jet, another Bentley, etc.

        80/20 is a great idea...
        Could the book have been summarized in a few pages?

        Of course... it was very redundant.

        But if it made me focus on the few things in my
        life that made me more money and brought me
        more happiness... to me it's worth the read.

        Max, had I seen your book next to it in the
        "Customers who bought this also recommended this"
        section... I probably would have bought yours too.

        Instead of crapping on other books, could you link to
        some of your books or work that have helped you
        increase profits, happiness, etc...

        i'm always looking for good stuff to read.
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        • Profile picture of the author max5ty
          Originally Posted by shawnlebrun View Post


          Instead of crapping on other books, could you link to
          some of your books or work that have helped you
          increase profits, happiness, etc...

          i'm always looking for good stuff to read.
          No, I don't care about selling anything anymore.

          I've never sold anything on this forum, or ever will.
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7695877].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author shawnlebrun
    For some concrete examples...

    I've found that 20% of keywords on adwords account for almost all of
    my traffic and sales.

    Speaking of Google... I've tried every traffic source out there, and
    have found Google adwords and media buys to produce a lot of my
    income.

    So now, instead of tinkering with 20 other traffic sources, I increase
    my spend on those 2.

    For my magazine advertising... Men's Health produced a better
    ROI than 8 other magazines. so I upped my spend for a bigger
    ad in that one mag.

    When I go to the gym, I get bored pretty easy except when
    doing high intensity circuit training, which takes me about
    15 minutes. so the past 2 months, i've been sticking with
    just that and have actually gotten in better shape.

    Tabata training gives you results in a short time because
    it uses the 80/20 rule of doing just those exercises that
    matter... dropping the rest.

    About 10% of my affiliates used to account for 90% of
    my affiliate sales.

    When testing copy, most of my conversion increases
    have come from only changing the headline and nothing
    else.

    Bottom line, no matter if you call it Pareto or 80/20...
    all i'm saying is just focus more on the things that
    make a difference instead of spreading yourself too thin.

    Now, the one area it hasn't worked in...

    100% of what my wife tells me still accounts for
    100% of me not listening to her...
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    • Profile picture of the author max5ty
      Originally Posted by shawnlebrun View Post

      For some concrete examples...

      I've found that 20% of keywords on adwords account for almost all of
      my traffic and sales.

      Speaking of Google... I've tried every traffic source out there, and
      have found Google adwords and media buys to produce a lot of my
      income.

      So now, instead of tinkering with 20 other traffic sources, I increase
      my spend on those 2.

      For my magazine advertising... Men's Health produced a better
      ROI than 8 other magazines. so I upped my spend for a bigger
      ad in that one mag.

      When I go to the gym, I get bored pretty easy except when
      doing high intensity circuit training, which takes me about
      15 minutes. so the past 2 months, i've been sticking with
      just that and have actually gotten in better shape.

      Tabata training gives you results in a short time because
      it uses the 80/20 rule of doing just those exercises that
      matter... dropping the rest.

      About 10% of my affiliates used to account for 90% of
      my affiliate sales.

      When testing copy, most of my conversion increases
      have come from only changing the headline and nothing
      else.

      Bottom line, no matter if you call it Pareto or 80/20...
      all i'm saying is just focus more on the things that
      make a difference instead of spreading yourself too thin.

      Now, the one area it hasn't worked in...

      100% of what my wife tells me still accounts for
      100% of me not listening to her...
      20% of my success came from writing reports for Mens Health.

      I was one of the first ones that wrote a special report for Rodale.

      80% or my responses now come from idiots who have no clue.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7696502].message }}

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