The 80:20 Rule of Life

Some forwarded e-mails are worth keeping somewhere just as a reminder when one starts wondering (or wandering?).  Here's one of them...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interesting quote from the movie 'Why did I get married?' In most cases, especially in relationships, you will only get 80% of what you NEED and you will hardly get the other 20% that you WANT in your relationship. There is always another person (man or woman) that you will meet and that will offer you the other 20% which is lacking in your relationship that you WANT And believe me, 20% looks really good when you are not getting it at all in your current relationship. But the problem is that you will always be tempted to leave that good 80% that you know you have, thinking that you will get something better with the other 20% that you WANT But as reality has proven, in most cases, you will always end up with having the 20% that you WANT and loosing the 80% that you really NEED and that you already have. Be careful in deciding between what you WANT and NEED in your life.   Adultery happens when you start looking for what you don't have. 'Wow, this girl in my office is a real looker. But it's not her Wynona Rider features that got me. I'm crazy about her because she's also understanding, intelligent, tender - so many things that my spouse is not' Somewhere along the way, you'll find a woman or a man who will be more charming or sensitive. More alluring. More thoughtful. Richer. Have greater sex appeal. And you will find a woman or man who will need you and pursue you and go loco over you more than your spouse ever did. Because no wife or husband is perfect. Because a spouse will only have 80% of what you're looking for. So adultery takes place when a husband or wife looks for the missing 20%. Let's say your wife is melancholic by nature . You may find yourself drawn to the pretty clerk who has a cherry laugh no matter what she says: 'I broke my arm yesterday, Hahahaha . . ..' Or because your wife is a homebody in slippers and pajamas, smelling of garlic and fish oil, you may fall for a fresh-smelling young sales representative that visits your office in a sharp black blazer, high heels, and a red pencil-cut skirt Or because your husband is the quiet type, your heart may skip a beat when you meet an old college flame who has the makings of a talk show host. But wait! That's only 20% of what you don't have. Don't throw away the 80% that you already have! That's not all. Add to your spouse's 80% the 100% that represents all the years that you have been with each other. The storms you have weathered together. The unforgettable moments of sadness and joy as a couple. The many adjustments you have made to love the other. The wealth of memories that you've accumulated as lovers. Adultery happens when you start looking for what you don't have. But faithfulness happens when you start thanking God for what you already have. But I'm not just talking about marriage. I'm talking about life! About your jobs. About your friends. About your children. About your lifestyles. Are you like the economy airline passenger that perennially peeks through the door of the first class cabin, obsessed with what he's missing? 'They have got more leg room! Oh my, their food is served in porcelain! Wow, their seats recline at an 80% angle and they've got personal videos!' I guarantee you'll be miserable for the entire trip! Don't live your life like that. Forget about what the world says is first class. Do you know that there are many first class passengers who are miserable in first class -- because they are not riding in a private Lear Jet? The main message If you start appreciating what you have right now, wherever you are, you are first class!

How to defeat a giant

How would you go about defeating an incumbent adversary multiple times bigger than yourself without creating a mess or suffering any collateral damage?  Here’s a lesson taken from a page out of the past.



My dad used to scout around in the old rubber plantation on the other side of a ravine opposite our farm.  He was searching for dead or termite-infested rubber trees to cut down for firewood.  He was actually doing the plantation owner a favor in return for the free firewood.  Those old pre-war trees were seed-grown and rose to enormous heights and some measured more than a meter in diameter at the base of the trunk.  Left to rot on their own, these monstrosities would pose a danger to workers or other good latex-producing trees.



Dad was no lumberjack, but he'd probably picked up a trick or two during his younger days when he worked with loggers in the mainland opening up jungles for planting rubber.  Taking down rubber trees in a plantation required skilful maneuvering as there were other trees in close proximity.  You have to ensure the tree falls precisely where you want it to, to prevent or minimize damage to the good trees.



Dad would pick on a day when there was no wind.  Then he'd walk all round the tree of his choice, making an estimate of which direction the tree would most likely go in an uninfluenced fall.  Then he'd use an axe to cut a V-shape about 1/3 deep in the side of the trunk facing the direction he wanted the tree to go down.  After this we'd use a manual long-saw to cut into trunk from the other side opposite of the V-cut.  After the saw has gone in about 1/3 deep, steel wedges would be punched into the gap made by the saw.  Then we'd continue
sawing and punching on the wedges until the tree started falling in the preferred direction.  Timberrrrrrr!!!!



It used to be a thrill watching the huge thing beginning to go down in slow motion and then gather speed and finally... whoooosh!!! Crash!!!  After this, our real back-breaking work of cutting the thing into short pieces and transporting them back to our farm began.