1: The 80/20 Rule or Pareto Principle tells us that 80 percent of our results come from 20 percent of our effort.
“Bluntly, 20 percent of our focus is producing 80 percent of our best and most desired results,” Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy write in 10x Is Easier Than 2x.
And, “80 percent of our focus is producing a mere 20 percent or less of our best results, meaning we’re investing lots of time and energy into stuff that’s literally holding us back, greatly,” the authors write.
Ouch. So, how do we identify the 20 percent that matters and the 80 percent that does not?
Dan and Ben tell us there are two things we must do.
Most people stop after the first. Which means they fail to separate the 20 from the 80.
Step one is specifying our goal.
In the classic children’s book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice comes to a fork in the road. She asks the Cheshire Cat which way she should go.
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” the Cat responds.
“I don’t much care where–” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
We must have a clear goal to help us identify the 20 percent that will get us there and the 80 percent that’s leading us in a different direction.
Which brings us to step two. If our goal isn’t challenging enough, we don’t need to change much to get there.
“When the destination or transformation is minor, then very little needs to change about what we’re now doing,” Dan and Ben write. “This makes it difficult to pin-point where to focus our efforts and stops us from identifying the 80 percent we’re still maintaining that isn’t serving us.”
The answer? Set much bigger goals.
“Only when we make the goal big enough—10x bigger—does it become absurdly and even comically obvious which strategies, relationships, or behaviors won’t work,” the authors write.
That’s the 80 percent we must eliminate.
2: Which brings us to the 10x vs. 2x framework conceptualized by Dan Sullivan.
If we are going for 2x growth, we can keep or maintain 80 percent of what we’re currently doing. Not much change is required.
“2x is operating from the past, primarily continuing the path we’ve already been on,” they write. “2x is linear. We’re not doing anything radically different. We’re mostly just trying to do more of what we’re now doing with as few changes as possible.”
10x is different. 10x goals require us to let go or leave behind 80 percent of our current life so we can dedicate ourselves to the crucial 20 percent that will make all the difference.
“In order to achieve 10x, we cannot rely on our past self’s thinking,” Dan and Ben observe. “What got us here won’t get us there.”
When we become clear on our 10x vision, it becomes readily apparent the 80 percent that is holding us back.
“10x is fundamentally and qualitatively different from what our lives look like now,” the authors note. “It’s a complete transformation, not simply re-arranging the furniture. Everything in our worlds, including ourselves, will look different at 10x.”
As part of the Strategic Coach program, Dan asks his entrepreneurial clients to identify the top 20 percent of their current clients—those providing 80 percent of the revenue and excitement. He then has them draw a line to separate the top 20 percent from the bottom 80 percent.
“What would happen if you immediately eliminated the bottom 80 percent?” he asks. “How long would it take you to get back to your current level of revenue?”
A typical answer from Dan’s entrepreneurs: “Between two to three years.”
“That’s not very long,” the authors reflect. “It’s actually crazy how short that is, considering many of these entrepreneurs spent decades building their companies.”
3: Another powerful insight is captured by the popular meme outlining why putting our efforts into the top 20 percent is easier than maintaining the 80 percent.
The $500 client says: “I just feel as though with this investment I am about to make in you, we should understand how our lives are about to change, and I need the results, and you need to bring them; I am entrusting you with our livelihood and our lives.
The $50,000 client says: “Money sent, thanks.”
10x people are easier than 2x people.
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Reflection: Are my goals big enough? How much will I need to change to achieve them?
Action: Journal about my answers to the questions above.
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