The 80/20 Rule
There is a common axiom in business called the 80/20 rule. It means that in general, 80% of your X is caused by 20% of your Y. That is 80% of your revenue is generated by 20% of your customers or 80% of the work is performed by 20% of the people. While the numbers may not be accurate, the basic idea that a majority of something is usually caused by a minority of something else is accepted as fact. What is an interesting question to ask is can we apply this to our personal life? Read more »
Posted: June 20th, 2008 under Balance, Time Management.
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No, not the Simon and Garfunkel song. When was the last time you experienced true silence? In today’s world, it seems like silence is something we constantly fight against. iPods, having the TV on but not watching it, white noise makers, inane radio, and even signing in the shower all serve to distract us from silence in our daily lives. Why is that? 
I’m sure most of you are familiar with the song “With Arms Wide Open” by Creed. Around 2000 – 2002 it played very regularly on the radio, many times each day. I know this because this song became my personal nemesis, my albatross if you will. In case you don’t remember the song, it is all about a man who learns that he is going to be a father. The man in the song is thinking about all the things he will teach his child and how his life as a man has now changed. Lyrically, it was well written and conveyed a significant emotional impact. 
For Father’s Day, my family gave me the video game Lego Indiana Jones. It is a funny little game where you play Indy or one of the other characters from and redo different scenes from the first three movies. The catch is that everything is made to look like it is made out of Lego. If you die, your character breaks into little pieces, you build things like cars out of Lego and then drive them, and everyone looks like a little Lego man. It’s a fun and silly little game that I enjoy playing. There is a great sense of humor in the game and I’m often amazed at how much story and dialog they can present in the game when none of the characters can speak. They just make little noises and emote a lot with their faces. 
As a Marketing major in college I studied advertising theory. In one of my textbooks was a picture of some speakers and the quote “Ever notice how you don’t pay attention to speaker ads until you need some speakers?” The point being that if you are not receptive to what’s being advertised then you tend to not pay attention to the ads. I have found that this is true in many things, not just advertisements. If something is not immediately applicable to you, the chances of you processing and retaining it decreases greatly.