B1. Win Big With The 80/20 Rule
November 05, 2025 • Tristan Palumbo
🧰 My Words
Win Big with the 80/20 Rule
Do you feel busy all day but get little done? Pareto’s Law—also called the 80/20 Rule—shows why this happens, and how to change it.
Pareto’s Law says 80% of results come from just 20% of actions. Once you identify that special 20%, life becomes easier, faster, and more exciting—on every level!
The 80/20 Rule helps your projects and businesses progress quicker.
Where Did the Rule Come From?
Over 100 years ago, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto studied wealth in Italy. He noticed that 20% of the people owned 80 % of the land.
Later, experts found the same pattern almost everywhere—in sales, farming, even sports.
Today, business leaders, teachers, and athletes use the 80/20 rule to focus on what matters most, to achieve better results.
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Real-World Examples
- Warren Buffett: This famous investor puts his money into just a few strong companies. These few choices bring him most of his returns—making him the world's wealthiest investor.
- Starbucks: Cold drinks bring 80% of sales in the US. Starbucks ensures these favorites are high quality, and in every shop.
- Apple’s iPhone: The iPhone earns 80% of the profits in the smartphone market. Apple gives most of its design and marketing energy to this one product.
- Tim Ferriss’s Language Learning: Author Tim Ferriss first learns the most frequent 20% of words in a language. This helps him start speaking quickly and confidently.
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How to Find Your Golden 20%
- List Your Activities. Write down everything you do—study, work, exercise, social media, etc.
- Observe the Results. Ask, “Which tasks give me the biggest return?” For English learning, perhaps short speaking practice and vocabulary reviews help you improve fastest.
- Find the Winners — Circle the few activities that bring the biggest results, joy, or income. They are your golden 20%.
- Reduce the Rest – Cut or limit the low-value tasks (the other 80%). Focus your time and energy on your golden 20%.
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Ways to Apply It:
- Business Sales: A shop sees that 20% of products bring 80% of profits. So they focus more on marketing those.
- Social Media Influencer: A creator finds 20% of their videos get 80% of the views. So they make more content similar to their golden 20%.
- Customer Service: A company learns 20% of problems cause 80% of complaints. So they solve those key problems first.
- Wardrobe: You wear 20% of your clothes 80% of the time. So keep what you wear most and donate the rest.
Your "Aha!" Moment
Realising that not all actions are equal is life-changing.
You don't have to work harder—just smarter.
Find your golden 20% to achieve faster progress and more exciting results.
Grab a notebook tonight. Decide which tasks are high-value and prioritise them.
The 80/20 Rule turns busy days into brilliant victories. Start today!