I have been having a lot of conversations lately about the intersection of occupation and fulfillment.

• What is an appropriate expectation to have about the amount of satisfaction derived from going to work?
• If we were all created with special skill sets and unique desires, wouldn’t it make sense that the job we have related to those things?
• How much of my thoughts have to do with the self-entitled generation I live in?
• What is the appropriate place for play in work?

Interestingly enough, a few of these questions were addressed at the last Creative Mornings in Los Angeles. Sharon Ann Lee from Culture Brain shared her hypothesis on the path to fulfilling work. She claimed that 80% of revenue comes from 20% of the work we do. If this is true, then 80% of our work produces the remaining 20%. This is her application of the Pareto Principle, a theory named after an Italian economist that observed that 20% of the pods in the garden produced 80% of the peas.

Do you find this to be true in your business?

Her call to action is to consider how you can recalibrate your efforts to make time for play and work that you are passionate about.

What are some things/clients you can say, “No” to in order to free you up to do work that you love?

Here's the video.

Sidenote: Creative mornings is monthly breakfast lecture series hosted in cities all over the globe. We happen to be organizing one of these inspiring events this coming Friday morning. Stay tuned for ticket information via twitter.