Playing the Long Game: How to Create Long Term Success in a "Right Now" World

by Sam Kyle

People claim to want to do something that matters, yet they measure themselves against things that don’t, and track their progress not in years but in microseconds. They want to make something timeless, but they focus instead on immediate payoffs and instant gratification. ― Ryan Holiday, Perennial Seller: The Art of Making and Marketing Work that Lasts

all those people and products that promise you rewards without work. These supposed shortcuts are everywhere: ● Book summaries and sped-up audiobooks promise us the same benefits in minutes as hours spent reading a work that someone took years writing. ● Fad diets and exercise “boot camps” offer impressive short-term results with no real behavior changes in the long term. Supplements supposedly make up for an unhealthy diet but can actually do more harm than good. ● Easy-to-access credit and loans invite us to take on debt. ● Crash courses insist we can learn a complex skill in a few days. ● Books proclaim they contain the secrets to lifelong happiness. ● Social networks claim to offer connection without the effort of face to face contact. ● Political candidates look and sound impressive, with policies that won’t provide benefits beyond making their poll numbers go up, or which will have unintended negative consequences. ● Get-rich-quick schemes (or rather, scams) promise to teach you a secret stock market hack or give 200% returns on your money if you just pay $500 now.

People often overestimate what they can accomplish in one year. But they greatly underestimate what they could accomplish in five years. — Peter Drucker

The longer you engage in a bad habit, the more work it will take to break it. The effects really do compound.

Many of the benefits of the long game come from compounding and gradual refinement. Money compounds. Knowledge compounds. Relationships compound. The outcomes of healthier habits compound. Not all results are linear; some are exponential. Save a dollar a day at 4% interest, and in ten years you will have turned the $3650 you put in into $4557.52. Some ways of spending our time and other resources have superior payoffs.

However, doing something unrewarding now for a future payoff is the secret to a successful long game.

For example, the first-order consequences of exercise (pain and time spent) are commonly considered undesirable, while the second-order consequences (better health and more attractive appearance) are desirable.

You need to find a deeper reason that isn’t contingent on outside rewards. These are only effective in the short-term because they continue to reinforce the idea that instant gratification is the priority. So the second skill for playing a successful long game is developing your ability to internally motivate ourselves. Keep a journal to chronicle your journey and the choices you are making. Reflect on your progress. And when you put in some first-order negative work and realize a second-order positive result, take the time to enjoy it. Recognizing your own accomplishments is one of the best ways to grow and maintain your internal motivation.

game if everyone around you is doing so. It’s hard