Diminishing returns can be applied to even more than that. My friend and I apply what we call the 80/20 rule to our whole lives. The idea is that you can get 80% of the return for 20% of the effort (this is a generalization).
The other side of the equation is the last 20% of the returns take 80% of the effort due to 'diminishing returns' - we call this perfectionism - where you spend 5 times the effort to get to that 100% return.
It's similar to your example with the headphones where your 20% might be a really nice $2000 pair which would provide you that 80% return. However, in order to get to your 100% return, you'd have to spend $10000 (again, generalization).
Just my two cents on the phrase. I am a fan of it too, and it can have great implications for your life if you apply it well.
Diminishing returns can be applied to even more than that. My friend and I apply what we call the 80/20 rule to our whole lives. The idea is that you can get 80% of the return for 20% of the effort (this is a generalization).
The other side of the equation is the last 20% of the returns take 80% of the effort due to 'diminishing returns' - we call this perfectionism - where you spend 5 times the effort to get to that 100% return.
It's similar to your example with the headphones where your 20% might be a really nice $2000 pair which would provide you that 80% return. However, in order to get to your 100% return, you'd have to spend $10000 (again, generalization).
Just my two cents on the phrase. I am a fan of it too, and it can have great implications for your life if you apply it well.