Growing up in rural Alabama, people liked to talk a lot about “the odds” of success.
You want to be a professional musician? Do you know how many people try to do that and never figure it out? You want to be a brain surgeon? You know that takes like 12 years of school. Do you know how many fail out before they ever make any money?
So on and so forth for every career that isn’t a standard, safe job.
The older I’ve gotten and the more time I’ve had to observe others attempt to do hard things and either succeed or fail, the more I’ve come to believe it’s impossible to fail at basically everything if you (1) actually try and (2) don’t quit, for at least the following three reasons.
TIWIKE #1: The 80/20 Principle
I first learned about the Pareto Distribution (AKA the 80/20 principle) from this episode of Tim Ferriss’s podcast, which is an interview with Richard Koch, the author of the best-selling book, The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Achieving More with Less.
It blew my mind by putting into perspective all the “failure” I was seeing everywhere. Turns out, what I thought was failure was really just quitting, since quitting is the only permanent kind of failure. Stated simply, the 80/20 principle says that 20% of the inputs in a system will account for 80% of the outputs, which sounds complicated but it isn’t:
- 20% of actions account for 80% of results (we call the 20% habits)
- 20% of purchases account for 80% of a budget
- 20% of choices lead to 80% of health outcomes
But the principle doesn’t only apply to personal life.
You would be stunned to realize all of the situations governed by this principle. Here are few:
- 20% of artists sell 80% of art
- 20% of quarterbacks through 80% of the touchdowns
- 20% of businesses generate 80% of the revenue
The first reason I have come to believe that failure is impossible for those who don’t quit is because 20% of the people doing what you want to do account for 80% of the results.
This means a key feature of the journey toward success is the fortitude to continue working until you earn the right to be part of that top-20%.
If you’re interested in learning more about this 80/20 principle, you might like this 6-minute YouTube video with animations.
TIWIKE #2: Most People Don’t Do Basic, Common Sense Stuff
The 80/20 principle governs real estate sales businesses just like it governs all businesses.
In the early months of building my sales business, I was overwhelmed by how much I needed to learn. I was afraid I would never learn it all. I thought I basically had to become superhuman to figure out how to be successful as an agent.
Eventually I realized that it actually didn’t take that much to separate myself from the average agent.
If I just told people the truth, called people back, and earnestly gave my best effort, that would put me ahead of the majority.
In other words, if I just did the common sense stuff, I could be successful.
I guarantee that same thing holds true for you and your pursuits.
TIWIKE #3: Most People Quit in the Face of Adversity
Everything worth doing is hard.
That means you are going to face adversity in whatever you choose to do, and therein lies your advantage. Most people wilt under the heat of adversity. They stumble when things get hard. They usually don’t get up.
The third reason why failure is impossible is because the only way it is permanent is if you quit, if you stay down, if you don’t continue trying.
If you want to guarantee success, keep getting back up.