Habits, Cal Ripken Jr., and the 80% Rule

I grew up in Baltimore and as such, for better or for worse, I’m a lifelong Baltimore Orioles fan. And while my childhood idol was the great Brooks Robinson, my favorite Oriole of all time is Cal Ripken, Jr.

Even non-baseball fans probably know the name. Cal famously broke Lou Gehrig’s streak of 2,130 consecutive games played in 1995 and went on to play 2,632 games, surpassing Gehrig’s previous record by 502 games.

Years ago, I read an interview with Cal where he said something to the effect of, and I’m paraphrasing here, when you play 162 games in a season, you can’t go 100% all the time. It’s a marathon and you’ve got to learn how to pace yourself. You’ve got to know when to step it up, and when not to.

Cal also talked about pushing through the rough times. At one point in his career, during the streak, he played 52 consecutive games with an excruciating disc herniation in his back. In that span, he hit .292, which for non-baseball fans is to say, he played very, very well.

“People sometimes said I was ‘selfish’ not to break The Streak.” Cal said. “Whatever my critics said, ‘selfish’ is not the right word. Selfish is protecting yourself. That’s the opposite of pushing through when your team needs you to play.”

Cal’s legacy is showing up. Every day. Putting in the work. Never missing a practice. Being there for his teammates.

Cal’s a big inspiration for me in my life and voice-over career. I have a tendency to work too hard and too much and Cal’s

words about a marathon and pacing yourself keep me in check. My life teammates are my son and the people I love and while I do love my work, I try to show up every day for them and often that means not going at 100% capacity every day at work.

Cal also talked about habits quite a bit. I’m a big fan of James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits. I’ve learned over the years and through my business that goals are great, but habits – behaviors performed regularly and consistently over time – are the lynchpin to success. Nothing happens without action and one sit-up won’t make you fit.

The first thing I do every day is not the most enjoyable part of my business. It’s prospecting: looking for and reaching out to targeted, high likelihood leads. It’s the first thing I do because it’s the most impactful behavior on my business. If I don’t get anything else done today, at least I get the most impactful thing done today.

The Pareto Principle says that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes. Other names for this principle are the 80/20 rule and the law of the vital few. For me, prospecting is one of the vital few. In fact, I’d say in my case prospecting has more of a 90/10 effect. It’s 10% of my time that leads to 90% of my success.

Whether you’re full or part time in your voice over career, you have the same 24 hours in a day that Peter Coyote does, or JK Simmons, Morgan Freeman, or Cree Summer. 

I believe we’re not here to be voice actors. Our real purpose is to be impactful people. To have a positive impact on our families, friends, and communities. We’re here to help each other. As Ram Dass famously quoted the Sufi poet Rumi, “We’re all just walking each other home.” 

Being successful in what we do means showing up every day, never missing a practice, putting in the work, getting proper sleep, having a healthy diet so you can take care of your instrument, and pacing yourself. These are the keys to making your 24 hours count for yourself and your teammates.

Here’s to showing up.