> One of my favorite...if not the favorite
> business author is Richard Koch, who wrote
> the powerful book, "The 80/20
> Principle"

Yes, I picked up the book and began reading. Now leverage and efficiency and time are super important to me. The 80/20 rule is my best friend. I try to make him my business partner, but sometimes he refuses to go along.

I began reading Koch's book and really got into it. But about halfway through I started skimming. I considered the 80/20 principle and as I began to take it more seriously, I read less and less of the book.

Stupid? Maybe.

But I was only interested in what applied to me personally. The foundations Richard talked about were the most important, like simply being aware of the 80/20 principle at work. These revelations/reminders were good stuff, but a lot of the corporate stuff I nearly fell asleep while even skimming. That's just not where my personal interests lie I suppose (even though if I was smart I'd see it applied to small biz too)

I looked into the corner of my bedroom and saw a box full of books that were beckoning. I sped through the rest of Richard's book. I owe him for etching the 80/20 rule in my head though.

> Why do we even try? But time after time we
> hold off doing everything until the 'time is
> right' and (we think) we control ALL the
> VARIABLES, which usually means 'we are
> guaranteed of success'. That might happen in
> a linear world but not where I live. There
> are too many things lurking behind corners,
> some good, some bad, that I can't see and
> neither can you. But the only remedy is
> action. Any action.

Great post, BTW. And yes, I completely agree (although I found parts of the book regarding personal time offensive and selfish - yes, even though I like good Ayn Rand stuff, I think it was just the wording) with this part. Every time I start a project I want it to be perfect. And unless I can overcome this wish to control all the variables, the project is doomed.

I really like how you and he focused on just taking action. Doing something. Anything :)

I should stick post it notes that say that all over my house.

Success,

Erik Lukas