Resist the Urge of Small Stuff and Win Big

Published: Mon, 04/23/18

I never lose. Either I win or I learn.

— Anonymous

I've always been interested in what it takes to be a winner. As impressive as Usain Bolt is, destroying the field with consummate ease, the difference in the times between the winner and the runner up is measured in mere seconds. But in rewards it can be huge. What if you knew a way to look at these little advantages that you have in your day to day life. A principle that allows you to look at everything you do in a new light.

Small differences in performance that translates into large differences in reward.

This is what they call The Winner Take All Effect.

The book that opened my eyes to this principle and allowed me indirectly to begin to understand how small differences can have an inordinate impact on your results was The 80/20 principle by Richard Koch. The rule was discovered in the 19th Century by an Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. To my surprise the principle can be applied to every aspect of our life in one form or another. The first thing was knowing the rule in none mathematical terms - Pareto was a mathematician after all and then striving to apply what I’ve learned to my writing and life. The principle in a nutshell:

In any situation, 20 percent of the inputs or activities are responsible for 80 percent of the outcomes or results.

Finding an advantage that will give you the winning edge over your competition - whether you’re competing against yourself or others, It's difficult identifying that one thing that can make the difference. There are no shortcuts. It takes experience and hard work but it’s worth every moment.

Discovering the 20%, 10%, 5% or 1% of things that you need to do that will give you 80%, 90%, 95% or 99% of the results you are looking for.

And that's where the Winner-Take-All Effect comes in.

The margin between good and great is narrower than it seems. What begins as a slight edge over the competition compounds with every effort you make. And if you are focused on your essential 20% you will be turbo charged. Writing one great book improves your odds of writing the next bestseller.

Each additional book further cements your position.

Over time, those that are slightly better end up with the majority of the rewards. Those that are slightly worse end up with next to nothing. This idea is sometimes referred to as The Matthew Effect, which references a passage in The Bible that says, “For all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”

Harsh but true.

But it doesn't have to be that way. Apply the 80/20 Principle.

Hope this Helps

Begin on the road of discovery with The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch. It's a great introduction.