You can't really know anything if you just remember isolated facts and try and bang 'em back… You've got to have models in your head… You may have noticed students who just try to remember and pound back what is remembered. Well, they fail in school and in life. You've got to hang experience on a latticework [integrated collection] of models in your head.

More specifically, these quotes inspired me to search out the world’s most successful article writers, interview them with the goal of uncovering their top mental models, and apply them to my own writing.

Have You Heard Of The 80/20 Rule?

Vilfredo Pareto, the man who discovered this principle noticed that 80% of the land in his area was owned by 20% of the people. He looked in his garden, and saw that 80% of the peas were in 20% of the peapods.

It Only Takes One Investment 

You’ve probably read that top venture capitalists make most of their big returns on just a few of their investments. It only takes one Google, Facebook or Uber investment to make you a billionaire investor.

This Principle Seemed To Work Everywhere

As I studied the 80/20 Rule, and applied it to my own life, I started to see the places where I could put just a little bit of effort, and get much bigger results. 

80/20 Rule on Relationships 

One big example was how it changed my approach to relationships. Before, I had been going to lots of conferences and networking events, and basically trying to “meet everyone” in the world. I always felt a bit behind, and like I was constantly trying to fit in.  

After I understood the 80/20 Rule, it gave me permission to focus on the few people in my life that really mattered. I focused on a handful of people I resonated with the most, and I concentrated on building deeper, more meaningful relationships. This really changed the game for me. By focusing, I not only learned more and got a lot more happiness, I also was able to develop deeper ties to some very influential and successful people. And again, it took me a lot less time!  

80/20 Rule on Learning 

Nowadays, when I decide to study a new skill or area, I’ll buy maybe 10 or so books on the topic. But my mindset is to look for the ONE book that is the best “explainer” - and then to focus most of my effort on that one book. This gives me mental permission to “abandon” the books that aren’t as good, and dedicate my precious attention to only the higher-quality knowledge.  

And again, this brings me much better results, in a fraction of the time

80/20 Rule on Writing 

In my work as a writer, the 80/20 Rule installed the mindset to focus on only those few key things that really mattered. In the past, I put all of my effort into writing books and articles. After learning about the 80/20 Rule, I started asking other writers what the 80/20 was for them. Very quickly, I saw that everyone mentioned that titles were a key to success. Previously, I viewed the titles as just an afterthought.  

So now I have a system where our team dedicates 5 hours per article creating new innovative words and terms, and also testing the titles of the articles before publishing them. What a big difference this has made!