Why Most People Are Stuck—and What the Top 5% Do Differently

The Goalkeeper Moment, the Pareto Principle, and a bit of Sunday league wisdom

You ever seen this?

It’s a damp Sunday morning.
The pitch is half grass, half bog.
Some poor lad’s been chasing the ball for twenty minutes, red in the face, boots full of mud.

Then he says it:

“Can I go in goal for a bit?”

Translation:
“This is hard. I’m tired. I want out.”

Now—no judgement. We’ve all had our own version of that moment.

But it’s a great metaphor for what I see in business all the time.

Most people are doing what everyone else is doing.

They look around, copy the crowd, and assume that must be the way to do things.

But here’s what’s really going on underneath the surface:

• A tiny percentage rise to the top.

• A few more do okay.

• The majority are stuck—treading mud, trying hard, but going nowhere fast.

This isn’t a personal failing. It’s just the shape of the world.
It’s called the Pareto Principle—or the 80/20 rule.

And in most industries, it’s more like 90/10 or even 95/5.

Football proves the point.

A handful of players make it to the Premier League.
Fewer still become legends.
Most? They’re out on muddy fields every weekend with mismatched kit and dodgy hamstrings, shouting “Leave it!” at nobody in particular.

And business is no different.

Listen, Duck:

If you’re copying what the average business owner is doing—
You’re probably copying someone who isn’t getting results.

Same goes for social media.
Marketing tactics.
Pricing.
Strategy.
Even mindset.

Right, so—

If you want untypical outcomes, you’ve got to use untypical methods.

That doesn’t mean being weird for the sake of it.
It means asking better questions.
Thinking a bit more clearly.
And doing the simple stuff—really well.

Do you want to know something really solid?

Simple stuff—done well—looks amazing.
And it usually works.

In muddy football and in business.

Your reflection for the week:

Are you building a business that belongs in the Premier League?
Or just trying to survive until the final whistle?