The “Three-Dimension PR70 Rule” is a skill-allocation strategy Raymond Hou presented in his The Super Individual’s Way of Working course. Its argument is that instead of pursuing the top level (PR99) in a single field, a person can reach about PR70 (better than 70 percent of people) in three different fields and then amplify that combination with digital tools. This is Raymond’s practical answer to “How can an ordinary person become a Super Individual (Super Individual)?” and an actionable version of his idea of combining multiple skills.
The Core Proposition: Bet on a Combination, Not One Skill
The rule starts with a probability judgment. Raymond believes that outperforming 99 percent of people in one field is a path for a rare few geniuses; “a genius in one isolated field is genuinely too rare” for most people to replicate. By comparison, it is much easier to clear the threshold in three fields and outperform roughly 70 percent of people in each. Raymond puts it this way: “You don’t have to reach PR99 in every area. Becoming a top expert in one field is simply too hard; but reaching PR70 in three fields is relatively less difficult.”
The tradeoff rests on the idea that skills multiply rather than add. Each of three PR70 skills may seem unremarkable on its own, but few people occupy their intersection. Scarcity therefore shifts from “ranking in one skill” to “a combination that is hard to replicate.” Raymond summarizes it as: “A single skill may be replaced, but a distinctive combination is hard to copy.”
Why 70, Not 100?
The choice of 70 has two considerations. First, it is attainable: for many people, PR70 is within reach after a period of effort and does not require exceptional talent or decades of accumulation, which fits Raymond’s focus on ordinary workers. Second, there are diminishing returns: the effort it takes to move from 70 to 99 in one field could bring another skill from zero to 70, contributing more to the distinctiveness of the combination. The rule reallocates resources from “polishing one skill to perfection” to “building three useful dimensions.”
Raymond also sets a condition: the three fields should be things a person “truly loves,” rather than skills selected solely for market demand. This reflects his consistent position that love sustains long-term effort and helps individuals keep improving without someone else monitoring their progress (see Growth Mindset (growth mindset)).
The Fourth Dimension: Digital Tools as a Multiplier
The PR70 Rule is not only about three skills. Raymond treats effective use of AI and digital tools as a separate amplification layer on top of the three-dimensional combination. As he puts it, “Get above the passing mark in three dimensions, then learn to coexist and collaborate effectively with AI and digital tools,” and one has learned how to increase one’s value. He summarizes this layer as “Knowledge is power; technology is productivity,” and calls tool proficiency “the most powerful add-on of this era.”
This design echoes Raymond’s view of Business Thinking (business thinking): a person’s value depends on how much value they can exchange, and tools are leverage for turning the same expertise into greater output. Three passing-level skills amplified by tools can outperform one top-level skill held by someone who cannot use tools.
Raymond’s Own Example
Raymond uses the beginning of his career to support this rule. In 2016, while studying chemical engineering at National Cheng Kung University, he developed three abilities that were not yet exceptional in order to cover tuition and living expenses: research productivity and digital tools, presentation design, and writing (publishing learning notes on a small platform; see Six Years at National Cheng Kung University: Changing Majors Twice and Extending Graduation (Six Years at NCKU)). These three skills, each around PR70, came together at an opportunity: a company needed someone who could use digital tools, write concrete use cases, and create visual illustrations. His combination was a match, leading to his first remote job, which lasted two years (see The Self-Employed Era (2020–) (The Self-Employed Era)).
Raymond also cites writer Hao Jingfang as corroboration: her diverse background spanning physics, economics, and writing came together in the right environment and led to Folding Beijing. His conclusion: “Skills that look unrelated can spark a chemical reaction in the right environment.”
Implied Advice for Taking Action
For people who have not yet found an opportunity, the rule suggests a common explanation: they have not yet met enough people or tried enough actions. In other words, PR70 across three dimensions prepares one’s abilities, but the combination still needs enough encounters and experiments to create value. Raymond therefore treats side projects and freelance work as places to validate a combination and increase the number of collisions, not merely as ways to earn money (see The Super Individual: A Definition for Today’s Professionals and Career Development (career development)).
How It Fits the Super Individual Framework
The Three-Dimension PR70 Rule is the skill-allocation layer of Raymond’s Super Individual proposition. It builds on the definition of “portable capabilities that do not require quitting one’s job to start a business,” and leads to the practice of “running oneself like a micro-company.” It condenses the abstract idea of a diverse skill combination into a memorable, self-assessable standard—three dimensions, 70 in each, amplified by tools—turning a concept into a practical strategy (see Super Individual).