January, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December...

With their 30 or 31 days, they each represent just over eight percent of the calendar year. 

That may not seem like much, but consider:

• for passengers on a flight from Chicago to London, 8% can mean the difference between comfortably landing at Heathrow Airport and ending up somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean
• for runners, 8% can mean the difference between going out for a nice, long jog and completing a marathon
• for students in a traditional classroom, 8% can mean the difference between passing and failing
• for climbers, 8% can mean the difference between hanging out on the side of a mountain and reaching the summit

By fine-tuning our intention and focussing our attention, eight-percent can make a big difference!

The eight percent strong idea came to me some years ago. It was in late November. The year had not gone as well as I had hoped. I was behind on my goals, short on resources, and low on enthusiasm. 

After a bit of rumbling with gremlin-thoughts, a goodly amount of journaling, and some lakefront nature-therapy, I began to recognize a faulty assumption that I had accepted — that the year was already over. It was not over. With December’s 31 days, I still had 8% of the year left to fill with something.

I love questions and find that good questions are among the best tools we have for finding opportunities, unlocking potential, and moving forward.

So, I began puzzling with the question — What have people accomplished in thirty-one days?

That’s all it took to shift my attention and inspire a revitalized intention for the remainder of the year. 

Since then I have celebrated December 1 as a personal holiday: 8%Day. 

Over the years I have shared the power of 8% with friends, family, client-partners, coaching clients, and tobynote readers.

I launched the first month-long program in December of 2020.

In addition to the potential power available in one month, eight percent has come to symbolize the potential power available to us and through us by fine-tuning our intention and focusing our attention — not completely, this is not a 100%Strong program. A 100% investment is rarely possible — heck, for most of us, much of the time, a 50%, 30% or even 10% investment may seem too demanding. 

For Eight Percenters, our philosophy is ... 

We invest enough to make a difference, but not so much that it is unmanageable or overwhelming.

That is why I design each 8%STRONG program as a challenge-by-choice / buffet experience. This means that Eight Percenters engage the resources at their own pace and in their own way.