Achievement and Happiness the 80/20 Way

If there was ever a principle that was responsible for the most happiness and achievement in the world, it would be the 80/20 Principle.

The 80/20 Principle or Pareto Principle was discovered in 1897 by an Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto while he was searching for patterns of wealth and income in England.

What he found was that 80 percent of the wealth was enjoyed by only 20 percent of the population. Additionally, it was consistent in different countries and in different times.

This has been found in present day as well and in almost any activity that we perform, business or otherwise.

In other words, 80 percent of your results in a given activity, are generated by 20 percent of your input or effort. Just the same, 80 percent of revenue or profits are generated by 20 percent of your efforts or sales.

The 80/20 relationship can also easily be documented in personal achievement and happiness.

Most people have never taken the time to count their achievements or much less figure out what makes them happy. If they did, they would have realized that there are very few things that contribute to most of their happiness. They would also have found that there are very few things that they have done that has resulted in most of their achievements.

A great example of the 80/20 Principle in achievement would be to look at some achievement that you've made in your life, and write down all of the things that you did that "truly" got you there. If you're looking at it honestly you'll see that it took consistent effort on very few things to get you most of your results.

My website http://www.RasheedAli.com is another great example. I could have spent a lot of working hours and even more money to get my traffic up, but in reality it took very little work and money to get my Alexa traffic rank from over 3,000,000 in the world to currently 212,901 and climbing every week! It has taken very few, small but effective steps to achieve this. You will find this time and time again in your life if you take a closer look. What you may have thought of as hard work may have been a few effective actions combined with many ineffective actions. By the way, this was done in less than three months.

Now, although achievement makes us happy, what else does?

A serious "Happiness Analysis" is also something all of us should do at least once in our lives. If you documented the things that contribute to your happiness then number the things that make you the happiest, you will find that there are only a few things that contribute to most of your happiness. In other words 20 percent of the things that make you happy, contribute to 80 percent of your happiness!

With that said, if you were to spend more time doing the things that result in most of your happiness or achievement, you WILL double or even triple your results.

*** Rasheed Ali was once a homeless runaway on the streets of NY and is now changing the lives of thousands of people from all walks of life...Helping them reach their ultimate potential by conquering any and all obstacles through his Conquer Your Adversity Newsletter. He is also co-founder of http://www.SleepYourWayToRiches.com You can subscribe to his newsletter at http://www.RasheedAli.com ***

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Life Management Skills for Greater Happiness

"Circumstances are the rulers of the weak; they are but... Read More

Happiness - Not Something To Pursue

Perhaps the most sought after thing in the world is... Read More

It?s Good to be Goofy

To paraphrase a saying my mother liked to use occasionally,... Read More

Design Psychology: How to Create Happy Homes Using Scents

Our sense of smell elicits strong emotional reactions and trigger... Read More

Creating Happiness

Whatever we want in life, a partner, more money, good... Read More

Growing Up Backwards

It seems like I set out in this life to... Read More

May the Budgie of Happiness Sit on Your Head

My grandmother, Mimi, was a great solitaire player. My family... Read More

Personal Alchemy, Turn Your Suffering into Gold

I am sure it is safe to say that each... Read More

Self Identity: Who Are You?

Self-identity? Who are you really? We identify with many things,... Read More

Happiness is Yours for the Taking

Happiness. The pursuit of so many. In fact, we are... Read More

Create a Balanced Lifestyle and Begin Living a Happier, Healthier and Enriched Life

Are you living a balanced life?Many people are not. Their... Read More

5 Keys to Understanding Why Your Life (probably) Sucks # 4

We are in constant competitionIf we take evolution seriously, then... Read More

The ABCs Of A Great Life: J Is For Joviality

Laughter, humor, a lighthearted sense of being - all of... Read More

Choose To Be Happy - NOW!

The older I get, the more I realize that ninety... Read More

Inevitable Changes and Changeless Connections

Sometimes change is pleasant. A child is born. A new... Read More

How To Focus On The Positive Qualities Of Your Relationship

The quality of your life has a strong connection with... Read More

Joy Is Sexy

Joy is sexy because in embracing our joy, we embrace... Read More

Getting Out Of Dodge

The freeway was relatively clear. It was early in the... Read More

Ode to Chocolate

Chocolate delays reality. When I am eating chocolate, everything is... Read More

How To Be Outrageously Happy

You can be as happy as you want whenever you... Read More

Conversational Negative Self-Talk

Most people don't even know they're doing it. Throughout the... Read More

Can You Really Let Go Of Your Huge Internal Struggle?

When I was in graduate school for psychology, we had... Read More

The Capacity for Happiness and Respectability

Humans are liable to experience a variety of afflictions, but... Read More

Happiness as a Habit

Health and Happiness are the two things that most people... Read More

Happiness Fleeting

"You cannot capture happiness no matter how hard you may... Read More

7 Keys to a Happy Life

1. Do not act in order to receive a payoff.This... Read More

7 Surprising Keys to Happiness

Have you ever had one of those days where you... Read More

Hanging Out

Right off the top: What is the difference between dating... Read More

Tap Into Wellness - the Secret Self Help Tool Your Doctor Doesnt Want You To Know About

Everyone has issues with self esteem. It's no wonder then... Read More

Getting To The Root Of Unhappiness

Many people live in clutter, emotionally eat themselves into overweight,... Read More

How To Live Happily Ever After

In life, many of us simply plunge ahead, only to... Read More

5 Keys to Understanding Why Your Life (probably) Sucks! #2

In Key Reason #1 we looked at how you are... Read More

A Model of Happiness

Everyone I've ever met considers happiness to be desirable. There... Read More