ITS NOTHING UNTILL WE CALL IT NOTHING

In the late 1800s, an Italian sociologist and engineer, Vilfredo Pareto, became known for his controversial theory that alleged the superiority of the "elite" class. That unfortunate (and now discredited) theory was used to shore up the ideology of fascism which brought misery to millions.

But he was also known for applying mathematical principles in the realms of sociology and economics, and while his now-refuted "law" of the "trivial many" and the "significant few" holds no meaning for us in terms of the value of human beings, at least one of Pareto's ideas does still hold water in other areas.

You may know "The Pareto Principle" by its more familiar name, "the 80/20 Rule." Simply put, the 80/20 Rule  as we use it today says that 80% of your return will come from 20% of your effort. For example, in business this can mean that 80% of your income derives from 20% of your customer base. Or that 80% of your revenue can be traced to just 20% of your sales force.

Think about all the ways the 80/20 Rule applies: About 80% of all small businesses fail within their first couple of years, so you could say that 80% of all small business SUCCESS comes from 20% of all new small businesses. (And the subject of WHY so many fail is something we'll cover in the near future. My view is that most fail before they even begin, lacking knowledge and understanding of the principles we've discovered and are now implementing.

How about in your own job or business or in other areas of your life? Can you see that 80% of the results come from 20% of your input? I don't know if Wallace had ever heard of Pareto, but let's take a look at how the 80/20 Rule might be useful in implementing the notion of "Efficient Action." First, though, some more fascinating 80/20 facts.

Back in the 1960s, thousands of insurance salespeople for Metropolitan Life, a big company in the U.S., took part in a study that demonstrated this rule. The study found that, yes, 20% of the agents produced 80% of all sales.

But they took the study a step further and scrutinized that top 20%. And guess what? The rule held there, too. In fact, the top 20% of THAT top 20% of all salespeople were making 32 times as much as the average of the sales reps in the bottom 80%!  And what do you think they found out about the top 20% of that group making 32 times the average?

The people in THAT top 20% were making 54 times more than the people in the bottom 80%!

What was it that made the difference? It wasn't that this cream of the crop was 54 times smarter or worked that much harder. And they obviously didn't have 54 times as much education or experience.

What made the difference was that the people reaping the biggest rewards had learned to pay attention and keep track of WHAT WORKED and made them effective and what didn't. They made it a point to do more of the effective things and get rid of the time-, energy-, and resource-wasters.

They were spending 80% of their time on the 20% of their work that produced the biggest results!

Most of them had probably never heard of Mr. Wattles or his work, but they were, nonetheless, practicing Efficient Action regularly. Daily. All the time.

Here's the thing: If you'd prefer to find yourself in the top 20% (and, yes, you can do that without sinking into competitive mind), take a good, close look at how you spend your time and energy. Without a doubt you'll find that the most productive, effective, profitable activities ARE probably getting only about 20% of your attention. Which means that you're spending 80% of your resources on the things that are unproductive, ineffective, and unprofitable.

And by "time" I mean not only the time you spend actually working at your income-producing activities but the time you spend on thinking and acting in the certain way: holding to your clear vision with faith, purpose, and gratitude. Let's take a quick look at just a couple of the high  points.

•  Are you "more than filling" your present place or are you doing only enough to get by? It's been said that many bosses pay their employees just enough to keep them from quitting and that many employees work just enough to keep from getting fired. If you find yourself in either of those positions, you are NOT ready to rise to a higher level of reward. "Giving more in use value than you take from others in cash value" applies to employees selling their services to their companies as well as to those selling goods or services to customers. 
•  Are you making the mistake of trying to do too much? These days, being way too busy is almost a badge of honor, but Mr. Wattles warns: "You are not to overwork or to rush blindly into your business in the effort to do the greatest possible number of things in the shortest possible time. ... The more things you do, the worse for you, if all your acts are inefficient ones." 
•  Are you plagued by the dream-killer, procrastination? "If there is something that may be done today and you do not do it, you have failed insofar as that thing is concerned. And the consequences may be more disastrous than you imagine.
• Are you neglecting things that may SEEM small and unimportant? "You cannot foresee the results of even the most trivial act. ... Your neglect or failure to do some small thing may cause a long delay in getting you what you want.
• Are your actions strong or weak? When everyone is strong, you are acting in the certain way which will make you rich. Every act can be made strong and efficient by holding your vision while you are doing it and by putting the whole power of your faith and purpose into it."

Over the next 24 hours, why not make it a point to pay attention to where your time goes ... how you spend your energy ... where you focus your thinking, feelings, and action ... and how you notice and respond to the opportunities presented? Make notes throughout the day, keep track, and at the end of the day, see for yourself just how true the 80/20 Rule is at work, at home, everywhere.

Now, my friend, here's to your "Totally TOP Twenty Percent" day today and LOTS more of them to come!

N30,000 may not seem like much , but when it's your whole month's pay and when last month you were getting only N6,000 it takes on some serious significance.

Now imagine yourself back in that way makes it whole lot better, doesn't it?  A young baseball player named Frank Bettger discovered a simple secret that changed his whole life. And while he probably didn't realize it, he also discovered a surefire way to "more than fill [his] present place" and to give everyone he encountered "the impression of increase."

Bettger made his discovery the way many of us learn our best lessons: He was under the gun and HAD to come up with a solution. He'd been fired by the manager of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, team, and things looked pretty grim. But as we learn, TRUTH is usually difficult to see when "appearances" loom large. 

Was getting sent down to a bush league team that paid peanuts a good thing or a bad thing? Well, let's see ..As the manager sent Frank on his way, he gave him these words of advice: "Whatever you do after you leave here, for heaven's sake, wake yourself up, and put some life and enthusiasm into your work!"

See, Frank had been so nervous, so scared that he'd been holding back on the field, taking it easy and playing it "safe." He thought he was successfully hiding his fear from everyone, but he was only holding himself back, holding himself down. (Ever been THERE? I sure have!)

Fortunately, Frank took his manager's words to heart. On his first day with his new team in Connecticut he determined that from then on, no one would ever be able to accuse him of being lazy. He said, "I made up my mind to establish the reputation of being the most enthusiastic ball player they'd ever seen in the New England League.

"I thought if I could establish such a reputation, then I'd have to live up to it." My friend, that last line right there is brilliant strategy! And Frank implemented his strategy right away. That first day, with the temperature nearing 100 degrees, he became a wild man on the field, running, throwing and hitting with force and feeling and leaving players, coaches, and spectators all shaking their heads and wondering what on earth was going on.

For example, he slid into third so energetically that the third baseman fumbled the ball and Frank was able to go on and score just when the team really needed a run. And here's the zinger: It was all a show, just an act, just pretend. Frank was practicing what I call "Fake it 'til you make it." He didn't feel enthusiastic at all. He just CHOSE to act "as if" he did.

Did it work? Well, listen up to Frank's own words ...It worked like magic. Three things happened:

1. My enthusiasm almost entirely overcame my fear. In fact my nervousness began to work FOR me, and I played far better than I ever thought I was capable of playing. (If you are nervous be thankful. Don't hold it back. Turn it on. Let your nerves work FOR you.)
2. My enthusiasm affected the other players on the team, and they too became enthusiastic.
3.  Instead of dropping with the heat, I felt better during the game and after it was over than I had ever felt before.

The next morning the newspapers were all over Frank, calling him an inspiration. Better yet, within ten days his $25 a month shot up to $185, and Frank notes, "Let me repeat nothing but the determination to ACT ENTHUSIASTIC increased my income 700% in ten days! I got this stupendous increase in salary not because I could throw a ball better or catch or hit better, not because I had any more ability as a ball player. I didn't know any more about baseball than I did before." And two years later Frank's income had multiplied an incredible 30 times over all because of enthusiasm.

Now some of us scoff and approach this subject in a way my great-grandma would have called    "awkward." We think things have to be really good and THEN we'll be enthusiastic. But that's sort of like telling your car that if it'll only get you across town right now, you'll fill up the gas tank later!

One of the questions I get asked most has to do with the concept of being bigger than your present place so that you are ready to evolve upward into a larger place (with larger rewards). The other most frequent question is, how do I give the impression of increase to others?  Well, my friend, Frank has shown us one EXCELLENT way to do both! In fact, enthusiasm is probably the most important and most effective way. And you CAN do it, and you can begin doing it right this very moment. (In fact, Mr. Wattles would surely say that THIS is an appropriate use of the will, don't you agree?)

Don't feel enthusiastic? So what? Be like Frank! Anthony Robbins has people stand up, lift their chins and look upward, hold their arms out wide, put big smiles on their faces, then vigorously swing their arms together in a big handclap while shouting "Yes!" And then again, and again, and so on. See, one part of the enthusiasm formula as Frank discovered on that sweltering baseball field is that if you make a change in your physical state, you get a corresponding change in your emotional one. Try it.

 Don't like your present job? What if you temporarily pretend you do and attack it with fresh enthusiasm yeah, even fake enthusiasm today? All day. Just play the part. You might get an immediate change in the situation or you might have to keep on pumping enthusiasm in for a while. 

What have you got to lose?

And if you DO like what you're doing, you can still load in a fresh supply of enthusiasm and see what happens. It worked for Frank! And it's worked for countless others through the years. It works as well or better today as it ever did. I know this from my own experience and you probably know it, too even if you've forgotten.(Not to worry. Frank forgot it himself and had to rediscover it years later when he became a salesman a sorry, sorry salesman 'til he rediscovered the power of enthusiasm.)

The founder of the Methodist church, John Wesley, once advised, 

"Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn."

My friend, if you're in that place where nothing seems to be going right, or perhaps it's more that nothing's really WRONG, but you're just feeling restless or dissatisfied, it's time to light your own fire and to be the great, blazing torch of a person you were born to be! 

You can and you ARE! If you need to do this, please start right now, this very moment. You'll see (and feel!) great results in every area of your life. And our world needs the light. YOUR light.

Note: Read more of Frank's entertaining and useful experiences and insights in his 1947 book, How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling. (You do NOT need to be a "salesperson" to mine the gold in this delightful book!) It's available in most major bookstores and many public libraries, or get more information and order online;

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