The Compound Effect is not a quick fix or a magic formula. It’s a principle. The everyday decisions you make can either get you to or derail you from your goals. The repetitive marketing messages we see daily have distorted our senses of what it truly takes to succeed.
Success is a marathon and not a sprint. Those quick rich schemes and other sensational claims are just what they say to be. Short-term gains will always lead to long-term consequences, so be careful what you wish for.
The Compound Effect In Action
The Compound Effect is a set of small steps pointing in the direction towards your goals. You’re not going to be able to change the world in a day, but you can take a step in that direction. Small, Smart Choices + Consistency + Time = RADICAL DIFFERENCE: that’s The Compound Effect In Action.
The Compound Effect can either work for you or against you. It can give you an edge over your peers or leave you hanging behind if practiced incorrectly. With enough time and consistency, the compound effect will be clearly visible.
We live in a world of Instant Gratification and to practice the compound effect in today’s world is going to be no easy task. You have to be consistent and efficient before you see the payoff.
Choices
Life is a collection of experiences, and our choices have a lot to do with those experiences. Every choice we make leads to behavior that ultimately becomes a habit. If you don’t choose at all, you have to deal with what comes your way.
If you choose to own your life and take complete responsibility, then you have control over your destiny. From this point forward: Own your life.
“The day you graduate from childhood to adulthood is the day you take full responsibility for your life.”
Jim rohn
To become more aware of your choices, track everything down. This is one big takeaway from the book. When you write it down, that’s how you’ll know where you’re going wrong.
You cannot manage or improve something unless you measure it, so start tracking. This simple practice can revolutionize your life and your lifestyle.
Eliminate sabotaging habits and instill positive habits and you can take your life in any direction you want to.
Habits
It’s hard to build habits, it’s harder to get rid of them. Our habits and routines allow us to use minimal conscious energy for everyday tasks. A daily routine built on good habits is what separates the successful from the unsuccessful.
Larry Bird was one of the greatest Professional Basketball Players of all time. He wasn’t the most gifted or talented player by any means. It was his habits, his relentless pursuit to better his game that got him in that position.
Growing up, his habit was to practice 500 free throw shots every morning before school. This became his unconscious response during game time. Become a champion of good habits.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. ”
aristotle
In order to summon good habits, summon your Why Power. When the Why is clear, the how becomes easy. When the reason is concrete, you can endure any how.
YOU CHOICE + BEHAVIOR + HABIT + COMPOUNDED = GOALS (Your Decision+Action+Time+Repeated Action = Your Goals). This is what it comes down to.
Momentum
Newton’s first law of motion states an object at rest continues to be at rest and an object at motion continues to be in motion unless and until an external force is applied on it.
In simpler terms, couch potatoes tend to be couch potatoes and successful people continue to succeed.
Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian ever can remember one training session he had with his coach Bob Bowman very vividly.
Bowman allowed him to finish a training session 15 minutes early so he could get ready for a middle-school dance! That’s one time in twelve years! Now that’s harnessing the power of momentum. No wonder others had a tough time beating him in the pool.
It’s also important to mix it up and shake up your routine now and then so you don’t plateau. Once you get into a rhythm, you can generate momentum.
Influences
You alone are responsible for the choices you make and the actions you take. That being said, birds of a feather flock together. Who you associate yourself with determines what kind of person you become.
Try surrounding yourself with good positive people, remember you get in life what you tolerate. You will get in life what you expect and what you’re worthy of.
Acceleration
“A man’s character is not judged after he celebrates a victory, but by what he does when his back is against the wall.” Do you push through the pain or do you crack like a walnut and give up?
Endurance sports like running and cycling reveal your character and asks what you’re made of? What do you when you’re hurting and exhausted? Your mind starts playing tricks on you, asking you to quit. The decisions you make in such situations are very critical.
Success is a matter of holding on when others have let go. There’s opportunity in the obstacle. Muhammad Ali caused one of Boxing’s greatest upsets when he beat George Foreman in The Rumble In The Jungle.
Ali used the infamous technique “Rope-a-Dope” where he let Foreman punch himself out for 7 rounds. Foreman threw hundreds of punches, but most of them were blocked by Ali.
Foreman Hit a Wall and Ali saw an opportunity. Hitting the wall isn’t an obstacle; it’s an opportunity. Ali dropped Foreman in the center of the ring with a combination and became the new Heavyweight Champion of the world.
In order to separate yourself, you need to do that little extra, that little unexpected thing that no-one thought about. That’s where real growth lies and acceleration is multiplied.
The Compound Effect is The Unsung Hero that doesn’t get any props. It’s a tree that just pops out of nowhere. It’s the work behind the scenes.
