Photo credit. Ben Harnett. Sailing Shack Photography.
The top 1% of what, you ask. The top 1% often refers to the mega-wealthy—where the top 1% of people own 40 per cent of the world’s riches.
But I’m not talking here about wealth. I’m interested in the 1% of people who are leading their chosen field—who are making a living doing what they love.
This may include sportspeople who make a living from their sport—in the US, it is estimated that 1% of athletes become professional athletes
Writers who sell millions of copies of their books
Golfers who make a living from golf
Competitive sailors who are paid to sail professionally
Gamblers who make a living gambling
Actors who make a living acting
LinkedIn users whose posts on LinkedIn are actually read, liked and shared (I couldn’t find the actual number of LinkedIn users who post – but I’m guessing it’s lower than 1 per cent – there are only 500 LinkedIn Influencers out of 300 million LinkedIn users – that’s 0.000166 if you’re interested)
People who make a living from blogging
People who make a living from YouTube
I could go on…
Do these percentages inspire you or depress you? Do these figures bring out the achiever in you? Do your dreams seem exciting and challenging? Or the doubter in you – do these figures seem impossible and unachievable?
Does your critical, analytical side come out? Let me see those figures! Where did you get that data?
For many of us, when we see these figures, or we hear that 90 per cent of small businesses fail (read my post on that here), we see it as a reason not to try. We hear another reason not to make a living doing the work we love. We hear another reason to stay in our safe, secure jobs.
But what if we could change our thinking?
Dr. Jason Fox suggests using two highlighters when you’re reading something – the ‘Yes! and…’ highlighter and the ‘yeah, but..’ highlighter. What a great way to analyse and capture your thinking!
If you want to make a living doing the work you love, what about trying ‘yes, and’ in response to each of these figures, rather than ‘yeah, but’.
“Only 1 per cent of writers sell millions of copies”. Yes, and … they too were rejected many times before they were published. Yes, and they started writing books whilst working full-time. Yes, and they also have three children.
“Only 1% of sportspeople are making a living as a professional sportsperson.” Yes, and ... other people who are passionate about sports might make a living from commentating, reporting, organising, and coaching sports.
Edward De Bono talks about ‘yes, and’ thinking as a way of extending and generating ideas rather than halting a conversation. ‘Yes, and’ enables you to be creative and see opportunities. ‘Yeah, but’ shuts ideas down before they’ve had a chance to grow.
How can you apply ‘yes, and’ thinking to help you make a living doing what you love?
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