It is all in the Pyramid: who wins, who survives and who loses

It is all in the pyramid: who wins, who survives and who loses.



I believe human beings fall into different categories. Let’s call them 3 percenters, 7 percenters, 60 percenters and 30 percenters.

Imagine a pyramid divided into four segments, where right at the top you have the three’s, then the seven’s, the sixty’s and right at the base of the pyramid, the thirty’s.

First, let’s analyze the 3 percenters. These are the leaders in society, the inventors, creators, the paradigm breakers. They are the pioneers and they take more risks than normal people. Because of this, they make more mistakes. They are not afraid to fail and when they do, they “fail forward” which means that they use the failure as a learning experience and continue trying.

Thomas Edison failed over 1,000 times before he invented the light bulb. The Wright brothers had many failures before they finally flew 400 meters or so. Most, maybe all successful people, fail many times before they make it.
These people give permission to the rest of society to do new things and they break paradigms. They are also called pioneers.

In the fast food industry, Ray Kroc revolutionized that industry when he convinced the Mc Donald brothers to allow him to franchise their amazing prototype. He was doing something that hadn’t been done before. How many fast food chains do we have now all over the world? I have seen a McDonald’s in practically every country that I have visited and I am around 60 as of today. In November I will go to India, so that will be number 61. I am sure I will see a McDonalds there.

The second category are the seven percenters. They are also successful people but they don’t like to be first. They will never innovate or create anything. They are very good at imitating winners. They say “I will wait to see if the concept works and if it does, I will build a better mouse trap”.

They don’t like to make mistakes, and they will make less mistakes than the 3 percenters because they take less risks. They will not stick their neck out too much, although some risk they must also take.

They are more cautious. In terms of companies, for example, Burger King followed McDonalds and then came Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Chili’s, Pollo Tropical and dozens more.

They are all successful franchises but one of them led the way.
How about Starbucks? Isn’t it incredible how someone had the idea to sell coffee at very high prices and yet be very successful? They are marketing geniuses. They are 3 percenters all right because they started it but there are now many 7 percenters getting into the business.

The 3 percenters and the 7 percenters, are winners in society. They belong to the top 10% of companies that are going to be very successful. Going back to people instead of companies, this top 10% represent a segment of society that will retire when they get to 62, 65 or even earlier and they will have enough money to maintain the same standard of living they had before retirement.

They won’t depend on social security or charity to make ends meet because they are financially independent. The other 90 percent of society, will need to continue working because they simply can’t afford to retire. (Yes, I realize that some people will continue working past retirement because they love what they do. I in fact hope that will be my case when the time comes)

Now let’s look at the next category. The Sixty percenters. Who are they?

They are the majority of the people. They work eight hours a day and when that clock hits 5.00pm, they run for the exit. They give credibility to the word “reincarnation” because dead bodies suddenly come to life at exactly 5.00pm.
They simply exist. They haven’t followed their passion for one reason or another and they exist just to make it through. Day in and day out. They also are the ones that try to take away the faith from the 3 or 7 percenters.

They tell them, “you won’t be able to do it, don’t even try, it is too difficult, nobody makes it in that field, are you crazy? Who will buy chicken from a restaurant that only sells chicken? That Colonel Sanders must be out of his mind”.

Another problem with the sixty percenters is that they don’t know they are sixty percenters. They don’t know that they are the ones that specialize in chipping away your self-confidence. They always want a guarantee and they won’t take risks. Their goal in life is: make it through. You can find them in front of the TV at 5.30 pm, most of them with a beer in their hand maybe watching a soap opera, a novela or a basketball game.

They won’t go to night school or study anything to raise to another level in their careers. Remember, they are pessimists and they don’t want to be taken out of their comfort zone.

With them, not everything is lost since t something or someone could inspire them, to find their passion in life or reach a higher goal.

If they don’t, they will remain in the mediocrity of their lives and when they die, they will leave no legacy whatsoever.

Finally, we have the 30 percenters. They are the problems in society. They want something for nothing. They don’t want to pay the price for anything. They want a free ride. The free lunch. They will never plant a seed, someone else has to plant it, fertilize it, water it etc. so that the seed will grow into a beautiful tree with wonderful fruit. The 30 percenters, will want the fruit even if they have to steal it. These people are the takers of society.
Many of them are in politics or work for the government.

They always have a excuse for everything and they will blame their misfortune on someone or something. They don’t assume responsibility and don’t want to be accountable.

It is very difficult to change them although I suppose nothing is impossible. You might have to study the situation, maybe follow your intuition and give it a try to help one of these individuals but don’t spend much time. They could bring you down with them if you are not careful. Extreme cases will end up as guests in a penal institution or in drug rehabilitation program and fortunately we have dedicated servants of society dealing with them and trying to help them as part of their job.

Are you a 3 percenter, 7 percenter, 60 percenter or a 30 percenter?

Think about it.

At least you live in a free society and you can decide where in the pyramid will you spend the rest of your life.