#020 - The 80/20 Rule and Matthew 6:33

Welcome back to the Hit Splits Private podcast. In this episode I want to talk about the 8020 rule. I mentioned it in my prayer at the end of the last episode on Keeping it simple and I thought it would be good to go a little deeper on this topic in its own episodes. So the 8020 rule, what is it? This is something that I have lived by for years in our business and Basically it's that 80% of your results are going to come from 20% of your effort. And so what we need to be doing then is, you know, as we're having our business meetings with God, you know, if you've been following me, you know, I recommend this and we have a free training on it on our website. I'll put the link in the show notes. It's also in the Kingdom Foundations module and Christian Book Academy. But when you're having your business meetings with God, you know, to reflect and look back on where, where have you been spending your time and then what things have been getting you the best results. So when you're writing and publishing a book, your 20% is going to be the time that you sit your butt in that chair and you're writing. That's why people love our two day virtual writing retreats. We, we have, we host them every month now in Christian Book Academy and we have been for a while, but previously we did it maybe quarterly, but now it's just we see people get such great results from the time they put in to those retreats that now we're doing them every month. So we'd love to have you join us. If you're a Christian Book Academy member, put it on your calendar. If you are not a member yet, join us@christianbookacademy.com but just really being able to prioritize that time to set aside to get undistracted writing time. And Even if that's 15 minutes a day, we also host a one week challenge where we encourage you Monday through Friday to just write 15 minutes a day. And it's amazing what people get done in that. And a lot of times it's just you need to get started, right? And then it will continue to flow. And so a lot of people find themselves writing a lot more than 15 minutes a day. But anyways, if you're in the writing phase then, then that's your 20%, right? That's where you find like what is working for you. And in our writing wheel download, you can get that for free@trainingauthors.com Writing Wheel we help teach you to really observe and find out, like, what is. What works best for you when you are writing. So are there certain environments, so certain locations, certain times of the day? You know, when you track your writing for even a week, you can start to see trends. So that's another thing too. You know, if there is a specific place that you write better, then if you can do that, then do it. If you can't, then write anyways. But what is the 20% for you? You know, if you're marketing, what is the 20% that's yielding 80% of your results? For me, I really believe it's our email list. It's podcasting. So that's why I decided to just go all in with this hit splits podcast as well in its collaborative events. So hosting our Kingdom Writers Conference, things like that. And I'm really excited to continue doing the Kingdom writers conference in 2023. I have, from brainstorming and praying and having business meetings with God about how to maybe do it even a little differently, where it's less overwhelming to you, less overwhelming for me, but it's high impact. So that 20%, that yields that 80% results. Right? So stay tuned because I'm still working out the details. But I encourage you, like, take some time and reflect, refresh, reflect back. Even this past week, what did you do that yielded the best results? And, you know, there could be programs you're in, you know, trainings you've signed up for, things that you're consuming online. It's taking up your time, but maybe you're not even implementing it. You're not getting results from it either. Something needs to change with that, like how you're interacting with that. So if you're a Christian Book Academy member, make sure you're. You're posting in our groups, make sure you come to voxer office hours and get my personalized feedback. I will give it to you like this in an audio just for you. Um, make sure you're coming to our events like a virtual writing retreat, so you can have that dedicated time to implement what you're learning. We are here for you, and we just, we want to help you move forward. But, you know, what is that 20% that's giving you the 80% of results? Keep thinking about that as you're going forward. I constantly am prioritizing and reprioritizing. I'm constantly looking back and saying, okay, what was it that really got the results? And yeah, there could be results that you're getting from, say, social media or from something else. And yet it's part of that 20%, right? So you might be spending 80% of your time to get that 20% of that result. And whereas if you would put all of your efforts, let's say into collaborations and then those that 20, you know, that 20% then starts yielding the 80% of the results. It's scary, like to not do all the things you've been doing. But that's what I do. Like I continually re evaluate and then I adjust. And for me, my email list has been the core thing through the years that has really helped us to build our business. And so that is part of my 20% for sure. And when I run the collaborative events like the Kingdom Writers Conference, guess what, it's also building my email list. And so anyways, you know, these are some things to be thinking about. What is your 20%? Ask the Lord, stop right now, pray and ask him, what is my 20%?

Spend some time in silence, listen and then be an observer as you move forward. Keep noticing and keep observing. Now some things just take time. If you're using SEO, search engine optimization optimization, and you're doing blogging or Pinterest or YouTube videos, it's just going to take time to see the results. So also don't give up too quick, but continue to evaluate, like what is getting the best results for me, where can I invest that time? And you know, Matthew 6:33 says, Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and then all these things will be added unto you. So how the 80:20 rule relates to Matthew 6:33 is that the 20% as a kingdom writer really is seeking first the kingdom of God. Those business meetings with him, the, you know, the prayer, you know, seeking him, having a prayer team and having others, you know, intercede on your behalf and for this project that you're working on or you're marketing that the 20% really is seeking first the kingdom. And yet, you know, there are practical ways that God will show you, like what the 20% is, you know, for your writing and your marketing. But let's just really boil it down. If we're not seeking him first, we are going to tend to spin our wheels. And I don't want you to spin your wheels any longer. I want to see you move forward in God's call to write, publish and market your books so that God can use you to impact even more lives in 2023. And maybe that means that you go deeper with a few, right? And just like Jesus, he had his 12 disciples. And maybe it means that you go deeper with a few but ask him ask the Lord make sure you're not skipping the business meetings with God the prayer time emailing your prayer team every week that my friend will get you even greater results than anything else so Lord we just thank you that we can come to you at any time that we can stop we can reflect we can have our business meetings with you we can come to you in prayer and that as we seek you first as we seek your kingdom first everything else will be added unto us. The writing will flow the publishing you will provide what we need for that the marketing ideas and the marketing results Lord and so we just give it all to you and we thank you that this is a marathon it's not a sprint and that you are with us every step of the way we pray this in Jesus powerful name amen Amen friends I hope this encouraged you and I will talk to you in the next hiit splits.