TOP 20'S IDEAS TO BECOME SUCCESSFUL

 

                                

                               JOIN TOP 20 PERCENT

                     IN OUR SOCIETY, THE TOP 20 PERCENT OF PEOPLE EARN 80 PERCENT OF THE MONEY AND ENJOY 80 PERCENT OF THE RICHES AND REWARDS. THIS "PARETO PRINCIPLE" HAS BEEN PROVEN OVER AND OVER AGAIN SINCE IT WAS FIRST FORMULATED IN 1895 BY VILFREDO PARETO. YOUR FIRST GOAL IN YOUR CAREER SHOULD BE TO GET INTO THE TOP 20 PERCENT IN YOUR CHOSEN FIELD.

                   IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY, THERE IS A PREMIUM ON KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL. THE MORE KNOWLEDGE YOU ACQUIRE AND THE GREATEST SKILL THAT YOU APPLY, THE MORE COMPETENT AND VALUABLE YOU BECOME. AS YOU GET BETTER AT WHAT YOU DO, YOUR INCOME-EARNING ABILITY INCREASES - LIKE COMPOUND INTEREST.

                 UNFORTUNATELY, THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE - THE BOTTOM 80 PERCENT - MAKE LITTLE OR NO EFFORT TO UPGRADE THEIR SKILLS, MOST PEOPLE, ACCORDING TO GEOFFREY COLVIN'S 2009 BOOK TALENT IS OVERATED, LEARN THEIR JOBS IN THE FIRST YEAR OF THEIR EMPLOYMENT, AND THEN THEY NEVER GET ANY BETTER. IT IS ONLY THE TOP PEOPLE IN EVERY FIELD WHO ARE COMMITTED TO CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.

                      BECAUSE OF THIS INCREASING DISPARITY OF PRODUCTIVE ABILITY, BASED ON KNOWLEDGE, SKILL, AND HARD WORK, THE TOP 1 PERCENT OF PEOPLE IN AMERICAN TODAY CONTROL AS MUCH AS 33 PERCENT OF THE FINANCIAL ASSETS.

                                                STARTING WITH NOTHING

                             INTERESTINGLY, ALMOST EVERYONE STARTS OUT THE SAME IN LIFE - WITH LITTLE OR NOTHING. ALMOST ALL FORTUNES IN AMERICA (AND WORLDWIDE) ARE FIRST GENERATION. THIS MEANS THAT MOST INDIVIDUALS STARTED WITH LITTLE OR NOTHING AND EARNED EVERYTHING THEY OWN IN THEIR CURRENT LIFETIME.

                      THE WEALTHIEST PEOPLE IN AMERICA ARE ALMOST ALL FIRST GENERATION MULTIBILLIONAIRES. THIS IS THE CASE WITH WEALTHY AMERICANS SUCH AS BILL GATES, WARREN BAFFERT, LARRY ELLISON, MICHAEL DELL, AND PAUL ALLEN. FULLY 80 PERCENT OF MILLIONARIES AND MULTIMILLIONARIES STARTED WITH LITTLE MONEY, OFTEN PENNILESS, AND SOMETIMES DEEPLY IN DEBT AND WITH FEW ADVANTAGES, SUCH AS SAM WALTON, WHO DIED WORTH MORE THAN $100 BILLION. WHY HAVE THESE PEOPLE BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE SO MUCH WHEN SO MANY HAVE ACHIEVED SO LITTLE?

                   IN THEIR BOOK, THE MILLIONAIRE NEXT DOOR, THOMAS STANLEY AND WILLIAM DANKO INTERVIEWED MORE THAN 500 MILLIONAIRES AND SURVEYED 11000 MORE OVER A TWENTY-FIVE-YEAR PERIOD. THEY ASKED THEM WHY THEY FELT THEY HAD BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE WHEN MOST OF THE PEOPLE AROUND THEM, WHO STARTED AT THE SAME PLACE, WERE STILL STRUGGLING. FULLY 85 PERCENT OF THIS NEW GENERATION OF MILLIONAIRES REPLIED BY SAYING SOMETHING LIKE "I DIDN'T HAVE BETTER EDUCATION OR MORE INTELLIGENCE, BUT I WAS WILLING TO WORK HARDEN THAN ANYONE ELSE".

                                            HARD WORK IS THE KEY

                       THE INDISPENSABLE REQUIREMENT FOR HARD WORK IS SELF-DISCIPLINE. SUCCESS IS POSSIBLE ONLY WHEN YOU CAN OVERCOME THE NATURAL TENDENCY TO CUT CORNERS AND TAKE THE EASY WAY. LASTING SUCCESS IS POSSIBLE ONLY WHEN YOU CAN DISCIPLINE YOURSELF TO WORK HARD FOR A LONG, LONG TIME.

                  AS I MENTIONED IN THE INTRODUCTION, I STARTED MY OWN LIFE WITH NO MONEY OR ADVANTAGES.  FOR YEARS, I WORKED AT LABORING JOBS, AT WHICH I EARNED JUST ENOUGH TO GET FROM PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK. I STUMBLED INTO SALES WHEN I COULD NO LONGER FIND A LABORING JOB, WHERE I SPUN MY WHEELS FOR MANY MONTHS BEFORE I BEGAN ASKING THAT QUESTION. "WHY IS IT THAT SOME PEOPLE ARE MORE SUCCESSFUL IN SELLING THAN OTHERS"?.

                   ONE DAY, A TOP SALESMAN THEN TOLD ME THAT THE TOP 20 PERCENT OF SALESPEOPLE EARN 80 PERCENT OF THE MONEY. I HAD  NEVER HEARD THAT BEFORE. THIS MEANT THAT THE BOTTOM 80 PERCENT OF SALESPEOPLE HAD TO BE SATISFIED WITH THE REMAINING 20 PERCENT, WITH WHAT WAS LEFT OVER AFTER THE TOP PEOPLE HAD TAKEN THE LION'S SHARE. I DECIDED THEN AND THERE THAT I WAS GOING TO BE IN THE TOP 20 PERCENT. THIS DECISION CHANGED MY LIFE.