“Give me a lever long enough and a place to stand and I will move the entire earth.” ~Archimedes (c. 287-212 B.C.)
All those childhood moments when I would play on the see-saw (teeter-totter), little did I know that they were teaching moments. What I did learn at the beginning was that the bigger person would always keep the smaller person up in the air. And when he got off… BOOM!! Yes, the smaller person came crashing back down. Once I understood the principle of using a longer lever against a heavier weight, I, being the smaller person, set out to use this principle the next time I would get on the “teeter-totter”.
When the time came for me to get on again with the bigger guy (sort of the neighborhood bully at the time), I had made adjustments and moved the board just enough. He got on it and so did I. We both sat down and up he went! I thought to myself, “I had just moved this big guy”, now what? Well, if I got off and he went crashing, and if he found out, I may be in trouble. So I sat there. And then I remembered moving the weight to adjust the leverage. I did when I moved forward. Slowly he came down. He wanted to know what happened and I taught him about leverage. He was happy to learn about it and we became friends. No longer was he the bully anymore.
The principle of leverage to move a heavier weight is simple. Looking at the pic at top you will see three points. The weight to be moved, the fulcrum and the lever. P = the distance needed to move a given weight (W) and F = the height/size of the fulcrum. Any adjustment on any of these points changes the leverage. Disaster experts use this same principle to move large slabs of concrete or other objects to get to trapped victims. We practiced this as part of the ‘Community Emergency Response Team’ training I went through with the Los Angeles Fire Department.
And yet, the principle of leverage can be applied to other areas of our life.
In various sporting events, we can see how leverage is used to gain an advantage. This is most prominent in the grappling game, whether it’s Judo, Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and so forth. For example, the arm bar uses leverage and so does all Judo throws. I learned this first hand as a child while I trained with my Uncle Keiji (and I probably could have used it against that neighborhood bully too). Football also uses leverage quite a lot. Most sports do.
Let’s move from the physical application of leverage to other forms. And still, it follows the same rules of leverage.
In business, the rule of leverage is applied in a number of different ways. One of the most common ways leverage is used is through its people. The CEO will have Vice Presidents under him that he will use. The VP’s will senor managers and so forth. The ‘Rule of Three’ is a form of a leverage in the management process.
“When you combine ignorance and leverage, you get some pretty interesting results.” ~Warren Buffett
Franchising is a form of leverage used by many businesses to expand its profits. And so is network marketing. Real estate, especially commercial real estate uses leverage to increase revenue (in the way of monthly rents). And speaking of real estate, buyers will use leverage to own a piece of property. They may put only 10% down to leverage the 100%. This is important for those that are expanding in rental properties. Many people became wealthy using this principle.
Authors know that when they write a best-selling book, the power of leverage is in play. In this case it’s known as royalties. Write it once and get paid on it as long as it keeps selling. Better yet, a book series will help leverage all the books. This creates a synergistic effect. Furthermore, the smart author will use a variety of marketing methods to further leverage his or her book (s).
The late Thomas Kinkade, known as ‘The Painter of Light’, used leverage to sell his work to a bigger audience. Part of that leverage was to license his work to others, including greeting card and puzzle making businesses. He even had a membership site in which to further leverage his work to his fans. Top musical artists also leverage their work through musical albums, DVD’s and stage performances.
Information marketers of all types (coaches, seminar leaders, product creator, etc..) know the power of leverage just as authors and famous artists do. Leverage is one of the greatest ways to create wealth. And yet, the great majority of people will never leverage their talents, skills, knowledge and so forth. Leverage takes a good idea and action to make it work.
Think of how you can use the ‘Rule of Leverage’ in your own life.
Bob
Brian Tracy describes more about leverage in wealth-building in his article, The Power of Leverage.