Tools for a Perfect Life

When you build something you generally require tools to
get the job done. Its no different when you are trying to build the perfect life. This project is going to require special tools, ones that are very seldom used but become blindingly obvious once you know how to use them. Following is a stocktake of the tools I wll be using to build my perfect life.

The 80/20 Rule (Pareto's Law)
In business as in life, the Italian economist Pareto learned that 80% of results come from 20% of sources. Most businesses will find that 80%+ of their income is generated by 20% of customers. In a sales team 80% of sales will come from 20% of sales people. 80% of a company's profit usually comes from 20% of the products or services it offers. 80% of the profits in stock portfolios generally come from 20% of the stocks. I believe that the 80/20 rule can be applied to most aspects in life for greater effect. Knowing which 20% to concentrate on is a huge advantage.

Parkinson's Law
Give somebody a a long time to complete a task and you generally find that how long it takes them to do it. Give them a short timeframe for the same task and thats how long it will take them to do it. Parkinson's Law states that "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." A more succinct phrasing also commonly used is "work expands to fill the time available." In know its true because I am living proof. I do my best work when the deadline is looming, in the meantime I am just busy.

Elimination
We exist with a lot of clutter in our lives...possessions, information, background noise, daily tasks and actions, interruptions. Most of them aren't essential or necessary to improving our lives (probably 80%). Let's begin eliminating non-essentials.

Unconventional Wisdom
Our lives are dictated by Conventional Wisdom (CW). Conventional Wisdom is used to describe certain ideas or explanations that are generally accepted as true by the public. According to Wikipedia:

"Conventional wisdom is also often seen as an obstacle to introducing new theories, explanations, and so as an obstacle that must be overcome by such revisionism. This is to say, that despite new information to the contrary, Conventional Wisdom has a property analogous to inertia, a momentum, that opposes the introduction of contrary belief; sometimes to the point of absurd denial of the new information set by persons strongly holding an outdated (conventional wisdom) view. This inertia is due to conventional wisdom being made of ideas that are convenient, appealing and deeply assumed by the public, who hangs on to them even as they grow outdated. The unavoidable outcome is these ideas will eventually not match reality at all, so conventional wisdom will be violently shaken until it doesn't conflict reality so blatantly."

Conventional Wisdom is the friend of the average and represents a lazy approach to life. It is one of the most repressive aspects of our society. Do the same as everyone else and you will just like everyone else. We must begin challenging Conventional Wisdom in order to enjoy a more dynamic and meaningful existence. I will be employing Unconventional Wisdom to begin living my perfect (and unconventional) life. Think different!!!

Why Not?
This is simple and a logical follow-on from Unconventional Wisdom. Most people will tell you why you can't do something. I say "Why Not?". Next time you are told you can't or shouldn't so something, ask "Why not?". Next time you begin to talk yourself out of doing what you really want to do, say "Why not?". Then repeat.

These are the tools in my kit to build a perfect life. I will most likely add a few more along the way, but I believe that these will be very effective if used correctly.