The Compound Effect

by Darren Hardy

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.

Story of the British team.

fooled by the latest gambit or self-proclaimed prophet with the newest “scientific breakthrough.” Nobody can sell me on gimmicks.

It’s the best of what we bring you every month in SUCCESS magazine,

companies want to sell the new thing.. always.

Upon returning from school, there was always a list of instructions to greet me: pull weeds, rake leaves, sweep the garage, dust, vacuum, do the dishes—you name it.

If your competitor is smarter, more talented, or experienced, you just need to work three or four times as hard.

He was all about taking personal responsibility.

The Compound Effect is the principle of reaping huge rewards from a series of small, smart choices.

even though the results are massive, the steps, in the moment, don’t feel significant.

Most people get tripped up by the simplicity of the Compound Effect. For instance, they quit after the eighth day of running because they’re still overweight. Or, they stop practicing the piano after six months because they haven’t mastered anything

you were given a choice between taking $3 million in cash this very instant and a single penny that doubles in value every day for 31 days, which would you choose?

compounded penny worth $10,737,418.24 on Day Thirty-one, more than three times your $3 million.

The Compound Effect is predictable and measurable—that’s great news! Isn’t it comforting to know you only need to take a series of tiny steps, consistently, over time, to radically improve your life?

The most challenging aspect of the Compound Effect is that we have to keep working away for a while, consistently and efficiently, before we can begin to see the payoff.

the secret was hard work, discipline, and good habits.

People get to a certain level of success and get too comfortable. Having experienced extended periods of prosperity, health, and wealth, we become complacent. We stop doing what we did to get us there. We become like the frog in the boiling water that doesn’t jump to his freedom because the warming is so incremental and insidious that he doesn’t notice he’s getting cooked!

Don’t buy into the genie in a lamp idea. You can sit on your couch waiting to attract checks in your mailbox,

Write out a few excuses you might be clinging to (e.g., not smart enough, no experience, wrong upbringing, don’t have the education, etc.). Decide to make up in hard work and personal development to outcompete anyone—including your old self. Be Scott—Write out the half-dozen small, seemingly inconsequential steps you can take every day

your results downward. List a few areas, skills, or outcomes where you have you been most successful in the past.

Your biggest challenge isn’t that you’ve intentionally been making bad choices. Heck, that would be easy to fix. Your biggest challenge is that you’ve been sleepwalking through your choices. Half the time, you’re not even aware you’re making them!

frequent, small, and seemingly inconsequential choices that are of grave concern. I’m talking about the decisions you think don’t make any difference at all.

I licked my wounds, learned my lesson,

Tracking is my go-to transformation model for everything that ails me.

Over the years I’ve tracked what I eat and drink, how much I exercise, how much time I spend improving a skill, my number of sales calls, even the improvement of my relationships with family, friends, or my spouse. The results have been no less profound than my money-tracking wake-up call.

insist you track your behaviors for at least one whole week.

Do you know how the casinos make so much money in Vegas? Because they track every table, every winner, every hour. Why do Olympic trainers get paid top dollar? Because they track every workout, every calorie, and every micronutrient for their athletes. All winners are trackers. Right now I want you to track your life with the same intention: to bring your goals within sight.

Tracking is a simple exercise.

Just track one habit for one week. Pick the habit that has the greatest control over you; that’s where you’ll start. Once you begin reaping the rewards of the Compound Effect,