One in Twenty

[From Peter Thompson TGI Monday, May 4, 2015 (annotated)] 

The 1 in 20 rule wags its finger everywhere in life. 

[NOTE: The Pareto Principle states that 80% of effects come from 20% of causes; thus, 80% of production results from 20% of the producers, etc.  That’s 1 in 5.  However, true leadership and innovation comes from a much smaller pool of “owner” initiators, and the estimate of 1 in 20 may, in fact, be conservative here.  However, the illustration is nonetheless instructive.] 

Conventional wisdom is followed by the 19, and they’re wrong! 

Adventurous/Innovative perception is engineered by the 1 and she’s usually right! 

Let’s examine…

How many people at about retirement age are able to do so in relative comfort as opposed to relative discomfort?  About 1 in 20 

How many people spend less than one hour watching the AIR?

(That’s the Automatic Income Reducer that sits in the corner of most people’s lounges.)

About 1 in 20. The other 19 spend 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 hours -  A DAY – glued. 

Here’s the truth…

If you’re aiming for success – by whatever or whoever’s dictionary description you use – then following the 95%, traipsing after the 19 in 20 will invariably be the wrong course of action. 

Who owns the proliferating Gold/Silver buying shops? The 1 in 20. Who’s selling their gold and silver to those owners? The 19 in 20. 

Who sets goal for their life? The 1 in 20

Who’s a piece in someone else’s goal? The 19 in 20. 

Who starts the day with a Do List or Action Plan? Who doesn’t? 

Is there any area where this does NOT apply? 

If so, I’m struggling to find an example. 

CLARITY POINT:
This is not a criticism of the 19 – just a reminder to you and me, as the 1 in 20 that we need to be, that we need to be uncompromisingly vigilant in maintaining our position. 

“The price of greatness is more than most want to pay.

The world’s most legendary athletes are usually the ones most wildly out of balance.

[But they are also the ones changing the world …

doing what they have to do –

doing what’s IN them –

it’s who they are ... from the ground UP.] ”

Rick Reilly