5 Steps To Understanding The Life Rule: Success Is 80% Mindset And 20% Mechanics 

5 Steps To Understanding The Life Rule: Success Is 80% Mindset And 20% Mechanics. Ever heard of this saying? Or ‘Less is More’ for that matter. It was one that I have heard many times over the past 10 years or so but it took me a while to understand what it really meant. 

Here are 5 steps to understanding one of life’s most important rules.

5 Steps To Understanding The Life Rule: Success Is 80% Mindset And 20% Mechanics  

Step 1 – The Pareto Principle

This is originally based on The Pareto Principle which states 80% of results will come from 20% of actions.  If you apply the 80/20 principle to your life, 20% of your overall actions will account for 80% of the results you achieve overall. 

By embracing this principle it will give you a better perspective when you are tackling your short term and long term goals as well as your day to day routine. Hence why the 80/20 principle applies to mindset and actions – 80% of the state of your mindset will come from 20% of the actions that you do continuously. 

Step 2 – Goal setting is an art and you are all artists 

So how do I translate that into my own goals?  Some of you may now get the theory, which is like having ingredients for success in front of you but are not sure on what the recipe is i.e. the blueprint, the instructions that guide you on implementing this principle.  

1. Don’t try and change your entire life at once – it’s not realistic and does not produce long-lasting results
2. Goal – Setting – like any art form, skill or new practice takes time to actually master effectively. It’s also important to not interpret goal-setting as a ‘mundane task’ – enjoy the process! 
3. Goals need to be reverse engineered and broken down into yearly, monthly, weekly and daily tasks and practices. 
4. Commitment – You need to commit to achieve what you set out to do. That’s why you need to get those goals and plans right. 
5. Re-Evaluate – Check in with your goals on a regular basis, mindset is key here, if something is not going right, that’s ok, it’s the evaluation and analysis that is important and looking to move forward and improve. Not backwards. 

Step 3 – Focus – Stop Escaping

Focus is something that is always spoken about but why do we all still struggle with focus? The answer = distractions. Distractions are our minds way of escaping from what we are supposed to be doing, and this can be a physical or mental distraction. 

Remember – Success is all down to how you stay focused on the RIGHT things. Be Self-Aware and Mindful of when you are focused and when you are not. Lack of focus is your mind telling you that something is wrong, stop and identify what is contributing to this state of mind. The great thing about our states of mind is that we can control them and can change them from negative to positive. 

Step 4 – Track your progress

Have you ever noticed that the human race has built a measurement or metric system for literally everything, we like to quantify things. Why? – Because we can track and monitor progress. It is used as an indication of what direction any given situation is heading in. 

It is an indication, not a validation of who you are.  Your goals need to have some quantifiable measures so you can monitor the progression of your goals.

Step 5 – Celebrate your Successes and embracing your Failures

Most people have an issue with both celebrating success and embracing failure. The sooner you become used to it the better. Fundamentally most of us have been conditioned to be uncomfortable with both because it somehow makes us less of an acceptable person if we do. As most of us learn eventually, this approach has not worked out well for us, so we need to do the opposite of what is not working. 

Make a point to celebrate each success however big or small, this will strengthen your mindset and allow you to focus on the right things which will produce the greater results. Embracing your failures means you embrace your humanity, and that with each mistake or failure you for sure are stronger, wiser and unstoppable because you saw it through and carried on. 

So those are the 5 basic steps that will help you start to operate the 80/20 principle. 

This is a work in progress and each of you will be at a different stage in each of the processes. Take one step at a time, one day at a time, and it’s ok to fall off the horse occasionally, just get back on and keep moving forward. 

Your perception is your reality, so if you control your perception you control your reality.