The 80/20 rule

You may have heard of the Pareto principle (also known as the 80/20 rule or the law of the vital few). This principle states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.

A business-management consultant suggested the principle and named it after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed in 1906 that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population; he developed the principle by observing that 20% of the pea pods in his garden contained 80% of the peas. It is a common rule of thumb that in business 80% of your sales come from 20% of your customers.

Leadership trainer and author, John Maxwell, has referred to this principle in a few of his books as it relates to business and leadership.

Some other examples of the Pareto Principle are:

• Reading: 20% contains 80% of the content
• Job: 20% of work gives 80% satisfaction
• Products: 20% of products bring 80% of profits
• Picnic: 20% of the people eat 80% of the food! 

It is also found that in most churches about 20% of the congregation does the work while 80% observes.

In life, you may also experience when you achieve a certain goal; graduate high school, college or other institution, get a job, a promotion, start a new venture or acquire any kind of success that the 80/20 rule may apply in this way. You may want to do the math. When you announce something that you are pursuing or have accomplished you will probably get mixed results for various reasons. Most people will offer their kind congratulations, but may not really believe you will ever make it. Yet, there is the faithful, positive 20% who will be with you, cheering you on all the way to the end!  (These people are sometimes called "parents.")

Our family has referred to the "80/20 rule" so often that we now find it to be humorous and have shortened it to just "80/20" whenever someone is negative in response to any of the type of situations listed above. 

The lesson:
-Be encouraging. Don't be in the 80% or the person who always states the reasons why it cannot be done.
-Be encouraged. If you have set a goal, go for it! Forget the naysayers. They will always be there. Opportunities will not. Carpe diem! Stay in the 20%.

"So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you'll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you're already doing this; just keep on doing it."
1 Thessalonians 5:9 MSG

-Paula

Less than or equal to?

Have you ever been in a situation where you thought you were not as good as the people around you? Or were you secretly jealous because someone else was getting all the attention? I guess that happens to everyone on some level. We are human. We all have insecurities. 

Insecurity is just a trick of the mind that has the potential to keep us from doing the things God has called us to do. There will always be people who are more talented, thinner, richer, younger, more beautiful or more entertaining than we are. We can't allow ourselves to be immobilized by knowing this as a constant fact. Being aware of the strong giftings of others, and knowing that our value does not come from our comparisons with others leads us to our actual self-worth.

This is true humility: recognizing our shortcomings but still maintaining a healthy dose of self-confidence. Insecurity is an emotional interpretation, not an objective evaluation, of our abilities. So, in theory, two people with the same abilities and skill levels can have different types and depths of insecurity. Scripture tells us in Jeremiah 17:9 (MSG), "The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out."

Our emotions are not reliable and our perspective is skewed.

Still there is hope! Insecurity can be overcome with time, patience and a gradual realization that our own worth is purely a matter of how God sees each of us. He loves you! He has a specific purpose in mind for you. Kari Jobe sings, "I know that You are for me!" Yes, He is! We can't see behind the scenes, so we have to believe and trust that God is for us. He is really working on our behalf all the time and we are, for the most part, unaware.

My prayer today is for everyone who has been wounded in such a way that may have left them feeling "less than." I pray we allow God the space and time to mend those places. If we can possibly believe that God loves us and will not leave us in our weakness then we might believe that He can also use us to affect others in a very positive way. Don't be intimidated by others. Let God be your support system. He is for you!

"Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others."

Galatians 6:4 (MSG)

-Paula

Mother's Day 2012

What a journey it has been! Often as I reflect on my life as a mother I am moved by the fact that I have a good relationship with my two daughters. How this came to be, I’m not exactly sure. I was far from a Proverbs 31 woman and to be honest, I went into parenting with no planning; basically ill-prepared to take care of any other human being.

I will never forget the day we were packing up to go home from the hospital after having our first-born (who is now a mother as well). I saw her lying on the bed and heard her softly crying. The thought crossed my mind that I didn’t have the faintest idea of how to console her. This was a problem! I was suddenly completely overwhelmed at the huge responsibility I had just signed up for.

Since that day, even to now, I have been amazed at how God can use our weak and ignorant places to teach us so much about Him! I firmly believe He allows us to learn about His love by experiencing first-hand the love of a child. We love and give and forgive because we are motivated by a desire to stay connected to this person who is an extension of us. We see their value. Which must be how God feels! We are an extension of Him, created in his likeness, and He is motivated to know us. He forgives without hesitation and loves us, forgetting all the wrong we have done and the pain we have caused. He sees our value. He is surely an amazing God!

I don’t know how it is that our children can often teach us more than we can teach them, but it's true!  I sometimes feel as though I am looking in a mirror and it allows me to see exactly the areas where I am weak or falling short. Our role as mothers will change over time, but as long as we breathe, we can learn to be more like Him.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers who keep getting up every morning to love, guide and protect their child!

-Paula

New Beginnings...

My name is Paula and I am a dreamer. Many of my days are filled with looking after the youngest members of our little family in the woods and oh, how we love a good adventure! I have been married to my college sweetheart for what has turned out to be the most thrilling roller coaster ride of all. I thank God for His continued faithfulness and grace as He leads me to become even more like Him. I’m convinced that the believer’s journey is more dynamic, more adventurous, and more fulfilling with time.

My hope in initiating this blog is to encourage fellow believers and rally like-minded people. I feel passionately about addressing the issues of family and Christian faith. I also feel strongly that the word of God should be applied very practically in our daily lives if we call ourselves followers of Christ. My intent is to marry the culturally relevant issues and the best possible response as a believer.

I have asked myself why I am even doing a blog and the best possible response is simply this: Can’t we all use a little shared knowledge? Wouldn’t life have been easier if we’d known yesterday, what we know today?

Too many days have passed leaving me feeling like I had many things in my heart still needing to be expressed. I will always hope that my personal revelations and experiences can benefit others, and so I have set out to share my heart infused with the truth of the Gospel as experienced firsthand. I pray that even just a few will lean in to find what they’re looking for here.

-Paula