This is the most essential component of entrepreneurship

By Merry Riana

"If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we aren't really living."
- Gail Sheehy

I once read a very meaningful book, “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill, from where I learnt that everything starts with an idea. It all begins in the mind, and only when it is conceivable in the mind, can it and will it be realized in the physical world.

So, I would like to start sharing my ideas and philosophies of entrepreneurship with you by addressing the most important and essential component first.

The mindset.

Pareto’s Principle - The 80/20 Rule

In 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto created a mathematical formula to describe the unequal distribution of wealth in his country, observing that twenty percent of the people owned eighty percent of the wealth.

Now, if I were to ask you a question, “Do you want to belong to the minority 20% that owns 80% of this world’s wealth or do you want to belong to the majority 80% that owns only 20% of this world’s wealth?”, what would your answer be?
My guess is that you would want to belong to the minority 20% that owns most of this world’s wealth, right?

Then my next question to you is: “If you want to belong to the top 20% of this world’s population, what have you done today that puts you on the right track to be part of the top 20%?”

Look at yourself and the environment around you. Are you doing things that most people are doing? Or are you doing things differently in your efforts to go up to the top 20% population?

If you associate yourself mostly with the 80% group, if you are still doing things similar to those being done by the 80% group, how do you expect yourself to be part of the top 20% group?

In order to gain a foothold in the top 20% of this world’s population that owns majority of this world’s wealth, you must do things that are different from what the majority are doing.

You must find out how the people from the top 20% group think, how they talk to one another, what actions they take, and so on.

In short, you’ve got to associate yourself with people who are already in the top 20% group.

Even better if you can find a mentor who is already in the top 20% group and who is willing to spend her time in guiding you to find a way for you to raise yourself from the 80% group up to the top 20% group.

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