Last week, I wrote about 3 simple ways to write better blog posts. For those who didn’t catch that post, you can read it here.
In the time since writing that post, I have listened to an interview with Brian Tracy conducted by Success Magazine’s founder Darren Hardy. One of the many gems Mr. Tracy shares in this interview is how to change your life in today’s noisy world.
“You want to change your life?” Brian Tracy said. “Change your ratio.”
The ratio he is referring to here is what he calls the “e vs. e” ratio, which stands for “entertainment vs. education.”
This ratio intrigued me because like the “3 e” formula for writing better blog posts I shared, so too does Brian Tracy use e’s. They even stand for the same words.
He explains that people in today’s culture, which is filled with entertainment everywhere you turn, are experiencing a ratio of 50:1 using his formula.
“For every fifty minutes of entertainment people absorb, they are getting one minute of education.”
Ouch.
And here I was promoting entertainment as one of the three ways to write better blog posts! Turns out, that advice is contributing to the problem. (I’m still going to do it, though, because I believe you can educate through certain kinds of entertainment. But that’s for another blog post.) 🙂
I don’t know about you, but that statistic caught my attention. I started thinking about how I spend my time each day, and how close to that ratio my own behaviors come.
Turns out I am definitely part of the statistic.
Definitely not 50:1, but definitely not in the range Mr. Tracy believes is best for success. Now to be fair, he is not saying that entertainment is BAD; what he is suggesting is that the trend toward massive entertainment consumption is one of the reasons many people’s lives are not going anywhere.
“Think about it,” he says. “You wake up in the morning to songs on the radio. Entertainment. You check your phone for messages and texts. Entertainment. You socialize around the water cooler, shoot the breeze with colleagues all day, go to ball games on the weekends, play Farmville and Farkle on Facebook, retweet funny YouTube videos, watch TV at night…entertainment, entertainment, entertainment.
“I have met thousands of people in their 20’s and 30’s who tell me they haven’t read a book in 10 or 15 years because they know it all. Yet these same people are not living the life they say they want to live. Coincidence? I don’t think so.”
Take a few minutes and think about your own “e vs. e” ratio. How much time are you truly devoting to educational activities that are moving your life forward and getting results — real, measurable results? Frankly, I was pretty shocked when I did this because I am a huge advocate of education and love to read and develop my skills. But if I am being totally transparent, my “e vs. e” is too high on the entertainment side for achieving the kind of goals I have set for myself.
Do you think we need to be less entertained and more educated as a society? Are we, in fact, entertaining ourselves out of prosperity? Is Brian Tracy on to something? Please share your thoughts!
Mary, My wife suggested that we cancel our cable subscription to get better in contact with ourselves and do more reading. I always have been a reader just not the Personal Development stuff. I am into history Bio”s and who done it’s. I’ll survive the missing cable but not looking forward to my wife’s withdrawal symptoms from Dr Oz.
Mary Lou,
Great points here! Continuing education is a biggy for me! There are so many resources available to utilize my personal growth, it’s sometimes mind boggling! My only complaint is not enough time to delve into a really good book for hours at a time. 🙂
Val 🙂
hy mary,
this post is the truth for a lot of people! most people have difficulties in getting out of everything that makes fun. its so darn easy doing things like watching tv, listening to music, socialish, going out or whatever… but REALLY ACHIEVING SOMETHING IN YOUR LIFE REEQUIRED COMMITMENT, EFFORT AND GOAL ORIENTED ACTING!
only true winners know there benefits of their daily actions!
thanks a ton for sharing! this is a great reminder that we should decrease our amount of activities that only make fun!
have a wonderful day!!
gerald
Hi Mary Lou,
Very nice thought-provoking post! Brian Tracy is an amazing leader and I’m a huge fan of his work. There’s a time and place for everything in life and balance is good. Entertainment can be good if it serves as a bonding experience i.e. a family movie night, watching, bonding, and sharing. That’s quality time.
Janette
Hey Mary Lou,
I really like the way you have us thinking here. I’m a workaholic with a bit of OCD. So, I don’t go to the entertainment world so much. The only times I participate in silly entertainment is playing mind games on the computer when I notice it is 2 a.m. and I’m still working.
I guess it weens me off. Tee Hee.
Young people today do not read books as much as they do electronic games, tv, etc.
What gets me is that they are at the point where they cannot even write!
Schools accept the texting lingo. Hmmm more to think about!
Hugs,
Donna
Hi Donna, Yes, things really are shifting on a massive scale when it comes to what kind of education our children are getting. At the end of the day, those who go beyond the entertainment and constant electronic stimulation will discover how magical the rest of the world really is…without a mouse to click or button to push!
I love Brian Tracy’s work and learn something new everytime I listen to him. Glad to know you are a fan as well, Janette!
Hi Gerald, Thanks for sharing your comments with me and my readers. The universal law of cause and effect is at play no matter what we do: hard work (cause) eventually yields results (effect). Along the way, those words you mentioned — commitment, effort, and action — must be part of the equation for the results to be aligned with the goals we set. Glad you stopped by!
I agree with you, Val. There is never enough time in the day to attack all the books I want to read!
Get your wife a subscription to Oprah magazine, Nelson, and she can enjoy Dr. Oz all she wants while reading alongside you and your who done its! 🙂
Very thought provoking post. It had me thinking. I have been spending a lot of time educating myself for the last two years and I’m even watching fewer movies. One of our favorite things to do in our off time.
However when you think about watching funny youtube videos, and the assorted distractions that come across my our desks each day it makes one wonder.
I will say for the last year Larry and I watch Ted Talks for both entertainment and education. Some of the greatest minds on the planet who are addresses some of our greatest challenges and our opportunities for innovation.
I will start watching my entertainment time and discovering my own ratio. It is so easy to do certain things during our day unconsciously and find ourselves not moving forward towards our goals and dreams.
I do believe entertainment can also inspire and stimulate creative ideas. It is the eyes that we watch our entertainment with and the awareness we bring to the table.
I did have to stop watching ‘Lost’ because I found it so additive and it was starting to become a big time zap.
Thank you for this post, it has me thinking.
Faith
Hi Faith, I have gotten a lot out of the Ted’s Talks videos as well, and see them as educational rather than pure entertainment. The challenge I have working online as much as I do is exactly what you said: the little distractions that can tempt me and pull me away from my focus. I have watched a few videos that were solely to make me laugh! (Which isn’t a bad thing.)
I think Brian’s point overall was to make listeners aware of their “e vs. e” ratio so that if it is too heavy in the entertainment column, we can take strides towards putting more education into our daily lives. I agree that entertainment can be inspirational and spark our creativity. The key is to watch our daily input, the way we watch what we eat.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment. You got me thinking, too! 🙂