Choices - Behavior - Habits

This is the first of several blogs where I’m reflecting over my own life and seeing where I can make a change.  There is so much in this book, The Compound Effect, which is why I’m revisiting and reviewing my highlights about every two months.

Have you ever been asked the question, “If I offered you three million dollars in cash right now or a single penny that doubles in value every day for 31 days, which would you choose?”  It’s back to instant gratification.  Many people see $3 million in cash and that’s all they can see.  They don’t think any further.  If you haven’t already guessed…the penny is the right answer. 

Imagine you’re the one who chose the $3 million and a friend takes the penny.  Watch this:

Day 10             You:      $3 million                   Friend:  $5.12

Day 20             You:     $3 million                    Friend:  $5,243

Day 29             You:     $3 million                    Friend:   $2.7 million

Day 30             You:     $3 million                    Friend:    $5.3 million

Day 31             You:     $3 million                    Friend:  $10,737,418.24  ( 3 times more)

 “Very few things are as impressive as the ‘magic’ of compounding pennies.  Amazingly, this ‘force’ is equally powerful in every area of your life.”  The Compound Effect.

I find it fascinating how the key to having success in any area of our lives even with our  relationships, is the lack of consistency and that instant gratification expectation.  Haven’t we all made New Years Resolutions only to realize two, three, or four weeks later, we’re back into our old ways once again?  We aren't seeing the weight lost, avoiding junk food or fast foods, we’re back to listening to the nightly news at the end of the day and the list goes on and on.  The excuses and the blaming (Jim Britt’s nonresourceful concepts) begin so we can justify why we aren't doing something.  However, I agree with Darren Hardy when he states, “with enough time and consistency, the outcomes become visible.  Better yet, they become predictable.”  Just like the penny analogy.  It wasn't until day 30 of the 31 where your friend made more money and the very next day it was THREE TIMES the amount of the $3 million. 

The time for the penny was only 31 days.  What about your health?  Your financial freedom?  Your relationships?   How long are you willing to make the small, smart choices consistently, over time to have a radical difference?  “The beauty of the Compound Effect is that we have to keep working away for awhile, consistently and efficiently, before we can begin to see the payoff. 

Then there’s complacency.  We may get to a certain level of success and we become too comfortable. “We can experience extended periods of prosperity, health, wealth, our marriage is doing great…  We stop doing the things that got us to that point.”  It’s gradual and can go unnoticed until there’s a problem.  We notice the scales show an additional 5 or 10 pounds, we have credit card debt, there’s more conflict with our spouse. The excuses and blame creep in once again.  We’re back to our microwave mentality. 

Small Smart Choices...

With a focus on my health and well being, for me, it means both physically and mentally.  I've been fascinated to learn more about how our past plays a part in our decision making as well as the influence our subconscious mind has on our actions or lack there of.

Have you ever read Success magazine?  If so, you’re familiar with the name Darren Hardy who is the publisher and founding editor of Success. (Great reading, by the way.) I recently reread his book, The Compound Effect, which I highly recommend.  What he discusses in his book correlates with everything else I’m reading from Jim Britt, to Jim Rohn, to many others.  Here’s the first paragraph of his introduction:

“This book is about success and what it really takes to earn it.  It’s time someone told it to you straight.  You've been bamboozled for too long.  There is no magic bullet, secret formula, or quick fix.  You don’t make $200,000 a year spending two hours a day on the Internet, lose 30 pounds in a week, rub 20 years off your face with a cream, fix your love life with a pill, or find lasting success with any other scheme that is too good to be true.  It would be great if you could buy your success, fame, self-esteem, good relationships, and health and well-being in a nicely clam-shelled package at the local Walmart.  But that’s not how it works.

We are constantly bombarded with increasingly sensational claims to get rich, get fit, get younger, get sexier…all overnight with little effort for only three easy payments of $39.95.  These repetitive marketing messages have distorted our sense of what it really takes to succeed.”

As Vince Poscente discusses in his Ants and the Elephant book, our conscious mind (the ant) reacts to those infomercials so we instantly buy.  How many of those purchases end up on the shelf never opened, or we don’t use the product for very long or we don’t get the results quick enough so we give up etc. etc.?  It’s also a piece of this instant gratification environment we seem to live in today.   Meanwhile, our subconscious mind (the elephant) is reminding us that those diets work for everyone else, only the rich can make money, the wrinkle cream works for everyone else just not me etc.

So what exactly is the Compound Effect and why should I care?  The definition is “it’s the principle of reaping huge rewards from a series of small, smart choices…..These small changes offer little or no immediate results, no big win, no obvious I-told-you-so payoff.  So why bother?  Most people get tripped up by the simplicity of the Compound Effect.  For example, they quit after a couple weeks in the gym because they’re still overweight.  Or they stop practicing the piano after six months because they haven’t mastered anything other than ‘Chopsticks.’  Or they stop making contributions to their IRA after a few years because they need the cash – it’s not adding up to much anyway. What they don’t realize is that these small, seemingly insignificant steps completed consistently over time will create a radical difference.”

Small smart choices + Consistency + Time = Radical Difference