The ugly truth about the 80/20 rule

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What’s on the agenda:

• Verse: the right place at the right time

• Lesson: the fatal flaw of the 80/20 principle

A verse I’m thinking about

Why am I here?

When we built our house in Maryland, we planned to live there for a long time, and because we had the opportunity to look behind the walls as it was built, we decided to write Bible verses throughout the framing of our house.

Among others, we had verses

• In the would-be nursery, we wrote out Psalms 127:4, “Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.” (reason I want my first kids middle name to be Arrow)

• Above the entry of our bedroom, we wrote a portion of Song of Solomon 5, where he “leaves myrrh on door handles” to signify the desire to always leave an opening for the other to return for reconciliation.

• At the entry to our home, we wrote the verse above, Acts 17; 26-27 “ He made of one every nation of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he is not far from each one of us”

Why are we where we are?

“Why am I going through this” or “Why can’t I make it into the next season of life”. I feel like we are always eager to move on and be somewhere else.

But God has promised us that we are here, today, in season, in this particular place, because it is the ideal opportunity for us to experience Him and know Him.

We wrote this verse from Acts 17 on our entryway because we believe in miracles and that God would use our home as a catalyst for change in our lives and the lives of those we brought into our home.

Today, I want to encourage you to believe that you are where you are supposed to be. You aren’t supposed to be more accomplished, further along, or in a different season of life just yet.

You are right where God wants you to be.

The place where you are most likely to seek him, find him, and know his love for you.

A lesson I’ve learned:
The ugly truth about the 80/20 rule

The origin of the 80/20 principle:

The 80/20 principle was identified by a guy named Vilfredo Pareto in the 1890s.

He was an economist and gardener living and working in Italy. One day, Vilfredo noticed that 80% of Italy’s land was owned by 20% of the population. He started to look at other countries and began to notice the same general principle: 20% owned 80% of the land.

Some time passed and he realized something else, 80% of his peas came from 20% of his pea pods.

This discovery was the beginning of the 80/20 rule.

The evolution of the 80/20 principle

Nearly 50 years later, a guy named Joseph Juran, took the learnings from Vilfredo and applied them to business. He theorized that the 80/20 split we saw naturally would exist in the systems we create.

He was right.

He noticed that 80% of problems in production could form 20% of the causes and officially named this phenomenon the “Pareto Principle”

Today, we know that this applies to almost everything. At least to some degree.

• Business: 80% of revenue comes from 20% of customers.

• Productivity: 80% of results come from 20% of efforts.

• Health: 80% of results come from 20% of exercises or habits.

It’s not a strict mathematical law, but it’s a useful framework to help us identify leverage points and prioritize important tasks first.

For example…

With health and fitness, 80% of the results will come from eating a balanced diet and working out a few times a week. It makes sense to focus on these habits before trying to do something like cut seed oils or eat only organic meats and veggies.

The 80/20 trap:

The Pareto principle, or the 80/20 rule, is a simple and easy-to-implement framework.

Boiled down, it’s essentially “work smarter, not harder”.

No matter where you are in life, or what you try and take on, this makes sense and is easy to implement, but there is a big problem:

Nobody built anything wonderful using the 80/20 principle.

• Nobody built a life-changing business or product with the 80/20 principle.

• Nobody built the physique of their dreams with the 80/20 principle.

• Nobody built a fulfilling marriage with the 80/20 principle.

Things that truly succeed and flourish take 100%. They require the 20% that does 80% of the work, and the 80% to refine the edges and create something special.

So many people go about living their lives, pursuing their dreams, and never give the things of worth the time, effort, and work they deserve. They sit back and grind, hoping for more to come out of 20% of the work.

The reality: 20% gives you 80% fulfillment.

The trap and how to avoid it.

I think many people get caught in the rat race. They spread themselves so thin all they can give is 20%.

The trap is this feels like hard work. It feels like we’re giving it our all, but 20% only leads to 80% fulfillment, and we miss out on a truly meaningful life.

You can’t give 100% towards everything, but I can make you a promise: while 20% leads to 80% of the results, 100% effort leads to 1000% of the results.

Your relationships deserve 100% effort, not 20%.

Your health deserves 100% effort.

Your business or your side hustle. It’s not inconsequential. It deserves 100% effort.

Your passions deserve 100%. We live in a world that belittles passion - especially when it’s just for fun. We don’t like to have fun, or at least we don’t like when other people have it when we don’t so we minimize its value. But it’s important.

Life is to be lived and enjoyed to the fullest, and when you give the the important things your full attention and effort, the results will blow your mind.

What next?

As a next step, I’d encourage you to take an inventory of your life and your dreams and ask “What in my life am I unhappy with, and am I giving it all I have?”

Maybe it’s your marriage and you’ve been coasting.

Maybe it’s your job, and you’ve mentally checked out.

Maybe it’s your health or a hobby, things that bring you joy and fulfillment you haven’t made time for lately.

Whatever it is, it’s likely an obvious answer.

The harder part is deciding what to do with that information.

My encouragement to you: Don’t keep trying to get 100% out of 20% of the work. It will never happen. Instead, choose to devote yourself fully to the things that matter. 

I promise the additional 80% has far more value than the 20% you think it gives.