‘THE PARETO PRINCIPLE The Pareto principle is similar. In 1896, Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist published a paper highlighting the fact that eighty percent of the land in Italy was owned by twenty percent of the country’s people. He came to this conclusion by observing that twenty percent of the pea plants in his garden produced eighty percent of the best pea pods. This observation was later termed “The law of the vital few” or the 80/20 rule. The Pareto Principle has become the rule of thumb and the basis for many business guidelines, the most common one being that eighty percent of your business comes from twenty percent of your customers. How bo THESE LAws APPLY TO ME? With your understanding of Sturgeon’s law, you are probably wondering why you should bother putting time and energy into a project if there is such a high chance of it being rubbish. The Pareto Principle is also off-putting because it tells us that our best results will come from only twenty percent of our work—so again, what’s the point in trying? When evaluated in the right way, there are several important lessons about developing self-discipline you can take from these principles. First, they encourage us to accept that it’s the norm to work hard without having an assurance of what’s going to yield the highest results and what won’t. For example, you might be a fiction author who has written a series of books over the course of two years. You put a tremendous amount of effort into each one of them, but three of them hardly sell, whereas one of the books becomes a smash hit and you become an award-winning author. If you had no understanding of the Pareto Principle, you might be disappointed that all of your others books have failed to achieve the same level of success, and it might discourage you from continuing on your writing journey. On the other hand, with knowledge of the Pareto Principle, you are motivated and encouraged to keep writing because you know that success will be inevitable with at least one of your books. Spurgeon’s Law and the Pareto Principle help you keep a broader perspective, which is essential for maintaining your self-discipline and momentum as you work toward your goals. Once you accept the reality that only a small percentage of your work will make a difference, it will give you the push you need not only to work harder but to work smarter. Successful CEOs understand this principle, which is why they are willing to take risks with new products and services and refuse to give up even