--- ## Highlights Instead, we must embrace the belief that it’s our duty to seek pleasure and enjoy life. Why? According to Koch, we have a duty to achieve greatness, and we’re much more likely to achieve greatness when we enjoy pursuing it. However, Koch does not endorse a life of total relaxation and luxury. He says pleasure-seeking must go hand-in-hand with extreme ambition—“ambition” in the sense of wanting to contribute value and change things for the better. Koch says we need to apply the 80/20 Principle to focus on the 20% of activities that bring us pleasure. Filling our lives with enjoyable activities will help us cultivate the mindset necessary to achieve greatness. We’ll be happier doing things we actually enjoy and thus become more productive, which will enable us to prosper. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/527bb91e-d9ff-473d-a082-8abfd4b277bc)) time is abundant, and this perspective will revolutionize our lives: According to the 80/20 Principle, we’re most productive during a mere 20% of the time we spend working. If we simply focus our time on the 20% of tasks that deliver the highest return, that leaves 80% of our time open, and we can choose whether to spend this time on pleasurable pursuits or more high-return, productive work ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/b3bf781c-5ec5-414b-b607-07a3b4a34d72)) Many self-made millionaires say absolutely not. In fact, they attribute their success to working long, hard hours. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/dc8b6e61-961f-49ca-8bc9-a75988a71219)) Happy Life Tip Work Less and Find Creative Ways to Use Time ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/ba530f68-99e8-4e8c-a441-03f52aa01831)) Happy Life Tip Do Work That You Love and Can Do Exceptionally Well ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/ea97ff6c-0671-4a43-81e4-599eb25c3458)) Happy Life Tip Choose Valuable Allies and Nurture Important Relationships ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/dc7f4a13-9e6a-44ec-b257-7b4ac56b21fc)) . Build a network of six or seven top performers who you trust and respect, broken down as follows: One or two mentors with more industry experience than you Two or three professional peers with similar work experience One or two mentees who can keep you informed of emerging trends ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/81360e10-8532-4fb9-a2dd-c71cfa50c9e1)) Happy Life Tip Become Self-Employed ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/dbc052a0-a0a8-48c3-8aae-4514704ee555)) become self-employed as early in your career as possible ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/95cbe08d-b308-400f-a426-a67e4f74bd20)) Koch recommends that you schedule and prioritize daily happiness practices. This will help you stay focused on the top 20% of activities that produce 80% of your happiness ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/2985fe16-d5d6-46fd-b8f7-983f65f54dde))