A secret that transforms lives - Azuka Onwuka Writes

My niece, Chidi, has experienced what it feels like to be lost. As a child, she loved animals with a passion.
Many an orphaned puppy had shared her meals with her. One day, she and another child saw some cattle
passing by their home and decided to follow them. At a point, the other child felt that they had got to the
point where they would no longer know their way back and advised that they went back. But Chidi said no
and went on. The cattle held a special attraction to her.
After another kilometre or two away, it dawned on her that she did not know where she was anymore and
would not be able to find her way back. She wandered for a while, and the reality of her situation dawned
on her. Chidi began to cry. Luckily, she was growing up in a society where people were still their brother's
keepers. Some passersby saw her with tears all over her face and asked her what the problem was. Chidi
told them that she had lost her way. They asked her whose child she was, and she told them. Chidi was
promptly taken to her parents.
Chidi was lucky. And by crying, she was indirectly asking for help. In life, many people don't get as lucky
as Chidi. Given that they do not have any idea whatsoever where they are going, they never really get lost,
or so they assume. Consequently, there is no compelling need to seek help. Such people do not have any
plan to get to anywhere. They coast along with life from year to year. Their only hope is that one day, God
(or whatever they believe in) will shower them with that long-awaited, earth-shaking blessing.
One of the most important aids for those who want to take control of their lives and move faster towards
success is the Pareto Principle (commonly called the 80-20 rule). Ironically, the Pareto Principle was
created by Joseph Juran, but it is credited to Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist – a classical case of
monkey dey work, baboon dey chop. In 1906, Pareto came up with a mathematical formula to describe the
unequal distribution of wealth in Italy, noting that 80 per cent of Italian wealth was in the hands of 20 per
cent people.
Working in the United States in the 1930s and 1940s, Romanian-born Quality Management pioneer, Joseph
M. Juran, recognised a universal principle he called the "vital few and trivial many" and reduced it to
writing, but erroneously called it the Pareto Principle. The import of Juran's assumption is that in most
things, 80 per cent of effects usually come from 20 per cent causes. This means that 20 per cent of the
things you do everyday contribute 80 per cent results to your progress in life; 20 per cent of your staff
make 80 per cent of your total sales; 20 per cent of your staff give you 80 per cent of your staff problems;
20 per cent of your clients give you 80 per cent of your total patronage, etc.
With this in mind, successful people plan their life in such a way that they constantly and continuously
focus on the 20 per cent vital things in their life. They attend to the trivial 80 per cent only when they are
tired or have some time to spare.
But what do the regular guys do? They create a to-do list because they have been told to plan their days
and their lives. What do you find in the to-do list?
1. Collect my new clothes from the tailor.
2. Pay electricity bill.
3. Buy petrol.
4. Call Jane.
5. Check the price of new TV set.
6. Reply my emails.
7. Collect clothes from the drycleaners.
8. Buy some household items at the supermarket.
9. Refill the cooking gas.
10. Watch the new movie.
As each task is completed, it is ticked or crossed out. At the end of the day, our "hard-working" guys look
at the list and discover that they have achieved everything they set out to achieve for the day. With a
feeling of conquest, they stop over at Cool Bar or Mummy T's to reward themselves with some bottles of
beer and pepper soup or isi ewu (goat head delicacy). But the ugly reality is that they have simply done
the trivial 80 per cent that contribute the insignificant 20 per cent results to their progress in life.
In addition to drawing up ridiculous to-do lists, such people spend more time on trivialities and frivolities.
They give two hours to reading the dailies and arguing the political issues of the day; two hours to argue
about sports and which club is superior to the other; half of the day to check their social media updates
and forward the latest jokes and stories; one hour to play computer games, one hour to have their lunch
and have the Part 2 of the political or sports argument; two hours at the pepper soup joint; and two hours
before the TV set. They go to bed and wake up the next morning to continue the same vicious cycle.
One reason most people do not like to include the vital 20 per cent in their list is the fear of failure.
Because the items on the 20 per cent end are usually not easy to accomplish, regular guys prefer to fill
their to-do list with meaningless activities, which they can easily complete and congratulate themselves for
doing well. Having those critical 20 per cent in their list may make it hard to have a 100 per cent record of
achievement at the end of the day.
But what are the vital things in the lives of such people that are silently pushed away or postponed on a
daily basis?
1. Start writing that book.
2. Start a work-out programme.
3. Take a French lesson.
4. Take a lesson in presentation.
5. Start to save 10 per cent of my income.
6. Buy a plot of land to erect my own house.
7. Pass my professional exams.
8. Learn how to analyse balance sheet.
9. Learn how to bake or sew.
10. Start my business.
Since these are the tasks that will take one to one's desired destination, it is imperative that all efforts be
concentrated on them. Once they are written down and specific time limits given for their
accomplishments, one should ask oneself at the end of each day what effort has been made towards their
realisation. It is such little but consistent efforts that add up over the years to become what is called
overnight success.
I never forget a poem I learnt in my primary school. The writer of the poem is unknown. Its name is Little
by Little, and it goes thus:
"Little by little," said a thoughtful boy,
"Moment by moment, I'll well employ,
Learning a little every day,
And not spending all my time in play.
Thus this rule in my mind shall dwell,
Whatever I do, I will do it well.
"Little by little, I'll learn to know
The treasured wisdom of long ago;
And one of these days, perhaps, we'll see
That the world will be the better for me."

An Igbo saying goes thus: He who asks for directions does not lose his way. Seneca, Spanish-born Roman
statesman and philosopher, said: "If a man knows not what harbour he seeks, any wind is the right wind."
What does Napoleon Hill say about the man who knows where he is going? – "The world has a habit of
making room for the man whose words and actions show that he knows where he is going."

Twitter: @BrandAzuka