Business Alchemy
The 80/20 Rule and How We Accidentally Talk Ourselves Into Mediocrity
My worst fear: Mediocrity.
It's such a evasive term - what it means to one person, doesn't hold true for the next. Thus the complexity of it, but also the freedom.
The current "lesson" that's up for me right now is being overly accommodating - saying yes, when it's really a no. And I'd say that I'm damn good at saying no. But it was that pesky little 20% that kept tripping me up, pissing me off, and overriding my intuition.
It's that 20% that leads to mediocrity.
What do you do when 80% of you says "yes," but 20% of you says "no?"
Or you can listen here:
Most people say yes to be nice, to be liked, to be flexible, accommodating and responsible. Oh GAWD, the responsible word...
What if you ONLY said yes to the things that really lit you up, like totally were a 100% YES?
Several weeks ago, I was recovering from an intense ear infection. Many lessons evolved from that experience. One of them being the hard-cold truth of everywhere I was saying yes, when it was really a no. It wasn't major stuff, but then again it was major.
That's when a good friend lovingly reminded me of this, "If it's not a hell yes, then it's a no."
My advice to her years back, right back at me - staring me down. What will I choose? Will I choose me? Or the "responsible" thing? Will I choose me, or the need to be perceived as flexible, not "too much," or agreeable?
Sigh.
So I have been doing an inventory and making adjustments. I hired additional support. I turned away some potential clients. I delegated more. I joined a gym that's really fun.
I'm convinced that the 20% that's a no, is the 20% that turns ordinary into spectacular. it's the 20% that feels draining into orgasmic bliss. It's also the 20% that slowly leads to our death of living a life that sucks the life out of us. It leads to death. A slow, ordinary death.
Do you say no, when you mean it? Do you say YES, when you mean it? Are you aligned with what's a yes or no for you? And not just in business, but in life, in your love, in even what you want to eat?
The 20% is so much more than a slight alteration to your truth, it's where you truth resides. It's what fuels the courage to act when you're scared and when you doubt you can make a change. That 20% is the exponential possibility of your greatness. Listen to it. Honor it. Speak it into existence.
And yes, there will be times people won't get it. They'll call you crazy. They'll even misunderstand you and try to make you wrong for your 20%. But that 20% knows your truth.