The key to success in anything in life is harnessing the power of the Compound Effect, which means the effects of small, everyday choices will compound over time, leading you to success—or disaster, depending on your choices.
As a student of success and a leader in the personal development industry, author Darren Hardy has tested thousands of different philosophies and came to realize that whatever success strategy you employ doesn’t matter—it all comes down to the Compound Effect.
As you may know from finance, compound interest can lead to surprisingly large returns. A penny that doubles in value each day for 31 days ends up being worth over $10 million.
Similarly, in our personal life, small changes maintained consistently over time lead to unexpectedly dramatic results. Eating 100 fewer calories per day for an entire year would cause you to lose 10 pounds. Spending 30 minutes reading each day could, over a year, lead to dramatic self-improvement and new ideas.
Importantly, changes in one area of life can compound with other areas, what Hardy calls “the ripple effect.” For example, eating slightly more healthily might lead to feeling more energetic, which promotes a little more exercise, which improves your mood and personal relationships. One small change can lead to a host of other benefits, which together form a snowball of dramatic personal change.
The Compound Effect also works in reverse - one small bad habit leads to a large problem over time. And that small habit can ripple into other areas, leading to a giant snowball of bad problems. For example, eating a little too much each day could cause surprisingly large weight gain, which leads to loss of self-esteem, which leads to less energy and worsened relationships, and so on.
The idea of small changes compounding over time can be contrasted with big, sudden changes. When people try to start exercising, they often declare a big goal and start with extreme changes like going to the gym daily. But this is often unsustainable - once you miss a few appointments, you get discouraged and end the whole effort. In contrast, small changes build consistency and momentum - they form new habits that you can maintain for decades.
The concept is simple, but simple doesn’t mean easy. Each chapter in this book explores a fundamental tenet of the Compound Effect that will help you generate new behaviors and habits to propel you toward success.
From an early age, Hardy learned the power and importance of positive habits applied consistently. He attributes his success to believing in and living the Compound Effect every day. But people face hurdles becoming a true believer in the Compound Effect because:
The Compound Effect is always working. Whether it’s working to bring you success or failure is up to you. Using the Compound Effect to create a better life is a matter of making simple, positive changes—and sticking with them.
When you’re aware of your choices, you can make a series of small good decisions that lead to the behaviors and habits that support a happy, successful life.
The real problem for most of us isn’t massive mistakes; it’s repeated small, poor choices that seem to be inconsequential. These continued small, poor choices, made mindlessly, help the Compound Effect work against you. Here are tips for making good choices:
When it comes to the Compound Effect, the sooner you make small, positive changes, the better. But don’t use the excuse that it’s too late to start; it’s never too late to use the power of the Compound Effect. Starting now is the key, no matter how old you are.
Habits are acquired behaviors that have become nearly involuntary. At their worst, habits can run you in the wrong direction without you even realizing what’s happening. Good habits, however, take you in a positive direction. The goal is to gain awareness and change the habits that are holding us back. We can prepare ourselves to do this by:
There are five strategies to help get rid of bad habits:
There are six strategies to help craft new, positive habits:
Momentum (Hardy calls it “Big Mo”) is a powerful force for success. Momentum doesn’t come easily, but once it kicks in, your ability to achieve success compounds quickly.
Momentum can work for good or bad. Momentum kicks in to help you when you:
Why Routines and Rhythms Are Important to Momentum
When you have set a goal and created good new habits to support that goal, you must have daily, weekly, and monthly routines in place to reinforce your positive new direction. The greater your challenge, the more stringent your routine should be. Mornings and evenings are great times to implement healthy, positive routines.
When you make your habits a routine, you can get into a rhythm—your routine feels easy and natural. Once you’re in a rhythm, momentum gets a chance to work its magic.
Consistency Is Critical to Success
When you want to change your life for the better, doing too much too soon can set you up for failure. Instead, set up a rhythm for success that you can stick to because this is about improving the rest of your life. Aiming for improvements you can make consistently is critical for success. A lack of consistency is a momentum-killer.
Our choices are influenced by three main types of powerful outside factors:
Because of the Compound Effect, your small actions, habits, decisions, and behaviors, compounded over time, can lead to powerful improvements in your life. But adding just a smidge more effort can speed up and greatly improve your results.
True growth occurs because of what you do after you’ve hit a wall; pushing through that wall, even when you think you can’t go any further in your endeavor, can multiply your results.
To motivate yourself to do just a little bit more than expected, think of yourself as your own toughest competitor when you hit a wall and fight to go above and beyond your limits. Another great way to multiply your results is to focus on rising above what other people expect of you, surprising them with what you’re truly capable of.
Doing the unexpected and adding extra effort separates you from the pack, makes a bold statement, and multiplies the impact of your efforts. In all areas of your life, find the opportunity to multiply your results—prepare better, push harder, last longer and put more of your time, energy and thoughts into your endeavors.
Marketing claims in the media dupe us into believing there are easy fixes for our lives, offering up the “secrets” to getting rich, looking younger, losing weight, and achieving our goals. But the truth is, there’s no quick fix to success—and there are no secrets.
Success means getting back to the profound, simple fundamentals of achievement; the key is harnessing the power of the Compound Effect, which author Darren Hardy calls the “operating system of your life.” Simply put, the Compound Effect is the principle that the effects of small, everyday choices will compound over time, leading you to great success—or disaster.
Hardy’s personal experience and research gave rise to the Compound Effect. He’s applied the principles in this book to his life and has seen great success. As a student of success and personal achievement and a leader in the personal development industry, he has seen, heard, and read uncountable self-improvement tips and gimmicks. He has tested thousands of different philosophies and trained many entrepreneurs. Ultimately, he realized that all the new ideas boil down to a few important fundamental ideas, comprising the Compound Effect.
We all know what it takes to succeed; the tricky part is creating a plan of action. There’s no quick fix to changing your life. Success will require hard work, discipline and commitment.
Each chapter in this book explores a fundamental tenet of the Compound Effect that will help you generate new behaviors and habits to propel you toward success.
Consistency is the key to success, but doing what you need to do on a consistent basis remains a stumbling block for many people trying to achieve their goals.
From an early age, Hardy learned the power and importance of positive habits applied consistently. He likens himself to the tortoise from the tale of the tortoise and the hare—able to win any race because of positive, consistent progress.
Raised by a single father who stressed hard work, discipline and responsibility, Hardy grew up with a “no excuses” mentality that set him up for achievement. He attributes his success to believing in and living the Compound Effect every day—something his dad made sure of.
But most people face hurdles becoming a true believer in the Compound Effect. They haven’t experienced the payoffs of the Compound Effect principle, don’t understand how much hard work is involved, and expect quick fixes. Let’s examine these hurdles and learn how to get around them to get on board with the Compound Effect.
If you haven’t yet experienced the payoff of the Compound Effect, it’s hard to buy into the idea. The Compound Effect means reaping big rewards from a series of small, good choices. The results are huge but don’t come immediately. Change, at first, feels imperceptible.
Because change doesn’t happen right away, many people give up on self-improvement. They quit exercising after a few days because they’re still overweight, or they stop contributing to their retirement plan because they could use that cash. What people don’t grasp is that these small, smart choices, adhered to consistently over time, create huge changes.
What if you were offered a choice between a $3 million cash payout or a penny that doubles in value each day for 31 days? The $3 million is tempting, but surprisingly, the penny results in more money.
If you took the $3 million and your friend took the penny, by day five you’d have your $3 million and your friend would have 16 cents. By day 10, your friend would have $5.12. After 20 days, the friend would have only $5,243 in comparison to your millions. But then the magic of the Compound Effect happens: by day 31, your friend would have $10,737,418.24.
The principle of consistency over time rewards your friend with three times as much money—but in the beginning, the right choice was so hard to see.
Three friends, Larry, Scott, and Brad, live very similar lives as far as income, marriage, health and body weight (they all have a little flab). Larry says he’s happy and goes about his life not making any changes—but he does complain that “nothing ever changes.”
Scott decides to make small, positive changes. He reads every day and listens to something inspirational during his work commute. He decides to cut 125 calories a day from his diet, and finds it easy to do. He starts walking 2,000 steps more per day, and this change is easily incorporated into his life. He sticks with these simple choices.
Brad decides he wants a little more fun in his life. He buys a big TV so he can better enjoy his favorite shows. He starts sampling rich recipes and desserts, and he installs a bar in his home, having an extra drink each week.
After five months, the three friends are the same as ever. No one would notice anything different about them. By the 27th month, however, the changes are startling. Brad, who added about 125 calories a day with his drinks and new recipes, has gained 33.5 pounds. He’s not happy at his job, doesn’t feel great, and his marriage is unsteady.
But Scott, who cut 125 calories a day, has lost 33.5 pounds. Brad now weighs 67 pounds more than Scott. Scott also put in 1,000 hours reading and listening to self-improvement material, which he put into practice at work, earning a raise. His marriage is happy. Larry, of course, is exactly the same—except perhaps slightly more bitter.
The Compound Effect works both ways—you can use it to your benefit (like Scott) or let it work against you (like Brad). It may appear to be miraculous, but in reality making big changes comes from small, smart choices, repeated consistently over time.
This example shows how one very small change can have a ripple effect, causing other unexpected changes—for good or bad.
The small choices Brad made created a ripple effect across his life. For example, one of the bad habits Brad developed was eating rich food more often. He learned how to bake delicious muffins; his family loved them and he felt proud. He began to cook and bake more and eat more of his own handiwork. The extra food, however, lowers his energy. He doesn’t sleep as well and is crankier. The crankiness spills over into work, and he receives negative feedback.
With lower energy and more stress, he eats even more comfort food and stops taking walks with his wife. He grows unhappy, dissatisfied with himself and others. His wife misses his company and grows unhappy and distant. Their marriage suffers as Brad refuses to look inward, instead finding fault with his wife.
In contrast, the calorie counting, mental stimulation, and increased exercise Scott engaged in had a positive ripple effect across his life, spilling over into his career and marriage.
It’s also difficult to buy into the Compound Effect because we’re not used to putting in hard work over long periods of time to get the results we want. The Compound Effect is a challenging system because it’s not about instant payoffs—you have to put in the work.
To truly succeed, we have to regain the work ethic of the older generations. Think about your grandparents; they likely worked hard, developed good habits, and practiced discipline over their lifetimes. Today, however, many of us suffer from a complacent, entitled mentality and don’t value such success skills as grit and hard work.
We may reach a certain level of success, but then we get comfortable and slack off—we stop doing what led to our initial success. Hardy likens this to the frog in boiling water who doesn’t jump out because the warming was so slow he never noticed he was getting cooked.
Real success that lasts requires a lot of hard work with maintained consistency, despite the shortcuts you may hear about in the media or from self-help gurus.
Nothing Fails Like Success
A wonderful new beach restaurant opened up in Hardy’s home town. At first it was spotless, offered friendly service, and the food was incredible. People lined up and waited for more than an hour for a table. But success made the restaurant staff complacent; servers looked disheveled and lost their courteous ways; the food quality went down. This restaurant went out of business in a year and a half, done in by their own success—when they stopped doing what made them successful in the first place.
Another reason the Compound Effect is hard to implement is because we’re all used to quick fixes. We believe success should come as quickly as all the other conveniences in our lives, such as fast food, overnight delivery, and instant hot water. You may be entranced by the idea of winning the lottery or hitting the jackpot in Vegas, but these scenarios are more than highly unlikely—you have about a zero percent chance of being the big winner.
The Compound Effect dispels the idea of a quick fix. Success comes from continued effort—daily hard work and discipline compounded over time. You can create the life of your dreams, but it won’t happen overnight.
The Compound Effect is always working. Whether it’s working to bring you success or failure is up to you. Using the Compound Effect to create a better life is a matter of making simple, positive changes—and sticking with them.
Get started using this powerful principle.
Think about poor Brad in the example above. He made what seemed to be small, innocuous changes in his life that led to very negative outcomes. What are some small behaviors in your life that may be steering you down a negative path? What would the negative outcomes be?
Now think about Scott, whose small life changes brought powerful, positive results. What are three small changes you could make every day to steer your life in a more positive direction? What would the positive outcomes be?
Think about an area of your life where you are enjoying some success. Is there anything you are taking for granted in this area, leaving you in danger of becoming complacent? What is one small thing you can do to improve in this area to keep your success fresh and thriving?
Every decision you make impacts the Compound Effect. Your life is the sum total of your choices. Choices, no matter how tiny, alter the course of your life because they lead to behaviors; behaviors lead to habits. Your choices are your best friend or your worst enemy.
Most people don’t make bad decisions on purpose. No one strives to be overweight, divorced or bankrupt. The problem is that many of our choices are ingrained in our routines and habits; we aren’t consciously making them. When multiple small, poor choices proliferate, we end up in a bad place. We sabotage ourselves without even knowing it.
The goal is to become aware of the choices you’re making rather than existing on autopilot. With awareness, you can make a series of small good choices that lead to the behaviors and habits that support a happy, successful life.
Sometimes you can make a single big, catastrophic choice that damages your career or relationships. Think of celebrity mishaps, like the comedian who was caught on tape hurling racial slurs, or the anti-gay politician caught soliciting gay sex. These mistakes are doozies and they have swift, severe repercussions.
The real problem for most of us, however, isn’t such massive mistakes; it’s the repeated, small choices that seem to be inconsequential. Because you’re not mindful of them, they can throw your life off course. For example, say you grab a snack and watch TV; suddenly it’s two hours later and you’ve eaten an entire jumbo bag of potato chips and several cans of soda—and didn’t finish an important project. You made these choices without thinking. When this kind of choice is made repeatedly, your live veers off course.
The Compound Effect is always working, but continued small, poor choices—made mindlessly— have it working against you.
One such small negative choice is focusing on the negative qualities of other people or situations. It’s a bad habit that leads to a cycle of negativity—compounded negativity.
Focusing on what you are thankful for, however, creates a compound effect of positivity.
To illustrate this, Hardy shares the story of a friend whose marriage was on the verge of collapse. This man complained about his wife constantly and saw her as the source of his unhappiness. Hardy shared with his friend an experience that strengthened his own marriage.
One Thanksgiving, Hardy decided to keep a yearlong journal of gratitude about his wife to present to her the following Thanksgiving. Every day that year, he wrote down something about his wife he appreciated, whether it was a meal, something she said, how she related with her friends or cared for her dogs, how she looked, and more.
While his wife was elated about the gift, Hardy was the one most affected by this experience. He had spent a year focusing on the positive, often subtle, qualities of his wife and gained a greater appreciation for her. His gratitude and positive feelings changed his behavior toward her; she responded with even more wonderful qualities and behaviors toward him.
Hardy’s friend gave this gratitude exercise a try and was able to turn around his marriage. By viewing his wife through a lens of positively, he changed his behavior toward her; she then chose to respond to him differently, leading to a new, compounded cycle of positivity.
You are always 100 percent in control of yourself. When you take full responsibility for yourself, you hold unlimited power to control your destiny. Taking 100 percent responsibility for your life means you are completely responsible for what you do and don’t do, as well as your response to what happens to you. You don’t blame bad luck or outside circumstances.
Example: 100/0
At a seminar when he was just 18 years old, Hardy’s instructor asked the participants how much responsibility one person holds in a relationship. Hardy said 50/50, while others threw out 51/49 and 80/20. The instructor wrote out “100/0,” saying that for a relationship to work, you have to be willing to give 100 percent without expecting anything in return. It’s entirely up to you.
This resonated with Hardy; he understood that if he always took 100 percent responsibility in all areas of life, he held the power.
People think they take responsibility for their lives, but many point to outside factors when things don’t go their way. Victimhood lets you off the hook when problems occur. For example, say you’re late to work. If you’re not taking 100 percent responsibility for your life, you blame the traffic or something that delayed you. But if you take 100 percent responsibility, you’d understand you should have left sooner or been more prepared before you left the house.
Example: It’s All Your Fault—and That’s a Good Thing
Hardy once was asked to become a partner in a startup venture; he invested a great deal of money and worked hard for two years, only to find out his partner had lost the entire investment through mismanagement—more than $330,000.
Hardy didn’t sue the partner or even hold a grudge. He took full responsibility for the loss, acknowledging that he didn’t research the partner fully and didn’t watch the finances closely. Through a series of small choices, he ignored red flags and, ultimately, took responsibility for the results. He learned his lesson and moved on from the experience.
We’re all lucky to some extent. If you’re alive, healthy, and know where your next meal is coming from, you’re very lucky. Beyond the basics, the kind of luck we associate with success and good fortune is actually the result of a series of choices. Richard Branson, for example, felt he was no more lucky or unlucky than anyone else. The difference was he took advantage of good luck when it came his way.
An old adage says, “Luck is when opportunity meets preparation.” Hardy says there’s more to it: luck is a combination of the following:
Luck doesn’t play favorites; it’s distributed equally to all of us. Instead of blaming bad luck when you find yourself in unfortunate circumstances, understand that other people have it worse than you. It’s up to you to take advantage when “lady luck” makes an appearance.
When you track your behavior, you can take control of the choices you make throughout the day; your habits begin working for you and positive results fall into place.
Say you want to lose weight. First, get a good understanding of where you are now and picture where you want to be. Do you have a smaller waistline? Are you wearing a bathing suit? The next step is to become aware of the choices that are leading you away from this picture. Are you snacking late at night? Drinking soda? Awareness is important because it allows you to make smarter choices going forward.
Next, track your choices throughout the day, writing them down in a notebook you carry with you. Tracking is the way to get a derailed life back on track. It brings complete awareness to the actions you are taking in an area of life you seek to improve. When you are aware of and responsible for your actions, you can make the most of yourself.
For the losing weight example, you’d write down everything that goes in your mouth throughout the day. No excuses. If your goal is to get out of debt, you’d write down every penny you spend. If your goal is to get fit, you’d track every exercise and workout.
Hardy attributes much of his success to tracking; tracking forced him to be very conscious of his choices. And when you’re making good choices repeatedly, the magic of the Compound Effect springs into action—reaping big rewards from small, seemingly inconsequential actions.
When you think of a success story, know that tracking is involved. Think about the casinos in Las Vegas; they track hourly every gaming table and winner. Professional athletic trainers track their athletes’ every workout and nutrient. Baseball pitchers know every statistic involved with their game. Golfers collect diverse metrics on their swings. Professional athletes keep meticulous stats—they know that when their stats improve, they win more and earn more.
Tracking brings awareness to your actions, and you’ll view life very differently when you’re consciously making better choices.
Hardy urges readers to try out tracking for one week, focusing on the area you most want to change. If you’re trying to lose weight, as mentioned above, you’d track everything you eat and drink for one week. If you are trying to get out of debt, you’d track every penny you spend. Write everything down in an organized way, with a new page each day on which you write the date. After one week, you’ll likely be astonished at all the calories or money that you previously had no awareness of.
Next, continue tracking for three weeks. The three-week timetable is a good measure, because 21 days is a good amount of time for a new habit to develop. Carry around a notebook and write down everything in the category you’re focusing on. During this 21-day tracking period you’ll find yourself going from being conscious of your actions to actually shaping your actions. You’ll ask yourself, “Do I really want that donut?” or “Do I really need to buy a $5 coffee at Starbucks?” After two weeks of saying no to that 200-calorie donut, you’ll have lost a pound. Two weeks of saying no to coffee will save you $70. When the Compound Effect goes into action over long periods of time, you’ll have lost significant weight and saved thousands!
The Compound Effect of Money
Tracking spending, in particular, illustrates the power of the Compound Effect. When you look at the potential value of money that you spend instead of invest, you realize you lose a great deal more than the amount on the price tag. If an item costs $50, the potential value of that $50 is actually $250—that’s the true cost because that’s what you’d have if you invested the money. So if the item is worth $250 to you—not $50—then go ahead and buy it. But if not, move on and keep your money.
When you start tracking, you become aware of the tiny things you’re doing that don’t serve you well. This awareness lets you make small course corrections that, over time, will yield incredible results. There won’t be immediate applause or trophies, but eventually, your course corrections work and the Compound Effect will reward you with huge payoffs.
Think about a horse race. A horse can win by a fraction of an inch, but the prize money won is 10 times more than what the runner up wins. The horse isn’t 10 times faster, but many small actions—more training, better nutrition—made it just a little better—better enough to win.
Example 1: The CEO Turnaround
Hardy once mentored a CEO of a large organization that was doing well, but suffered from a lack of employee enthusiasm and engagement. Hardy had the CEO track one simple change: three times a week he was to go out into the company and talk to an employee who was doing something right or who he’d heard good things about. He was to share his appreciation and have a conversation with these employees.
This change in the CEO’s behavior took only minutes a week, but over time it had an extraordinary effect on the employees’ attitudes and work ethic. Feeling appreciated, they worked even harder; results trickled down to customer interactions and engagement, which resulted in increased referrals and business. After 18 months, the company’s profits grew by 30%—all because the CEO committed to a small action he performed consistently over time.
Example 2: Creating Wealth With the Compound Effect
Hardy once had an assistant, Kathleen, who earned $40,000 a year and wanted a raise because she had too many expenses and couldn’t save the 10% of her income that Hardy recommended. He didn’t give her a raise, but rather showed her how to become wealthy.
First, he had her track every penny she spent. He told her to open a savings account with $33, which was 1 percent of her monthly income. The next step was to live on $33 less the next month, which she was able to do by bringing a lunch from home one day a week. The next month she was to save 2 percent ($67), saving another $33 by cancelling her cable subscription. The following month she saved 3% by cutting a magazine subscription and making coffee in the office instead of going to Starbucks. By the end of the year she was able to save 10 percent of her earnings without a huge impact on her life.
This behavior trickled down into other areas of her life. Instead of spending money on mindless entertainment, she invested in personal growth material. Her creativity soared, and she came to Hardy with a plan: she’d implement new revenue and money-saving strategies for the organization and receive a percentage of the profits and cost-savings. By the end of the year she was earning more than $100,000 a year.
When it comes to the Compound Effect, the sooner you make small, positive changes, the better. For example, if you started putting $250 a month into an IRA at the age of 23, you wouldn’t have to invest anything more by age 40—you’d have more than $1 million by age 67. But if you didn’t start until the age of 40, you’d have to continue investing until the age of 67, when you’d end up with less than $300,000.
But don’t use the excuse that it’s too late to start; it’s never too late to use the power of the Compound Effect. Starting now is the key, no matter how old you are. If you’ve always wanted to play the piano but think it’s too late because you're 40, understand that if you start now, by the time you retire you’ll have been playing the piano for 25 years!
Example: Choosing to Succeed
Hardy met a woman named Beverly who was overweight and convinced she could never do anything like run a half-marathon. Hardy assured her she could and found her motivation: an upcoming high school reunion where she longed to look fabulous.
This motivating goal led her to follow a simple plan. First Hardy had her map out a mile loop near her home and told her to walk that loop three times a week for two weeks. Next, he had her slowly jog, but switch to walking if she felt winded. Seven weeks from starting the process, she could jog the full mile.
Beverly’s choice to get fit for her reunion fueled her new healthy habits, and the Compound Effect was set in motion. She upped her exercise slowly, and within 9 months she could run 13.5 miles and had lost weight, but the ripple effect was even greater. Feeling more energy and self-esteem, her interaction with her husband and children improved and became more loving, and her career benefitted from her newfound energy.
Your life is the result of your moment-to-moment choices.
This chapter talked about weight loss, fitness, and improved finances as common areas of life where people want to make improvements. What is one area of your life where you’d like to make a change?
What are three positive new behaviors you could introduce into your life that would create small changes in this area?
Tracking brings awareness to our actions and behaviors. How specifically will you track one of your new habits for a week?
Habits are acquired behaviors that have become nearly involuntary; they put us on “autopilot” in many aspects of our day-to-day lives. Think about how little thought you put into brushing your teeth, strapping on a seatbelt, or driving to work. Because habits require little conscious energy, they can free us to focus our mental energy on more creative endeavors.
Habits can be good or bad. At their worst, habits can run you in the wrong direction without you even realizing what’s happening. It’s like the story of a man on a horse rapidly galloping by. Someone asks him where he’s going, and he says he doesn’t know—ask the horse. Your habits are like the horse, steering the direction of your life.
Good habits, however, take you in a positive direction—and you control the ride. If you are a healthy eater, you probably have very healthy food-choice habits. If you’re fit, you likely have good exercise habits. In fact, successful people all seem to share the common trait of good habits in many aspects of their lives. Successful people aren’t any smarter or better than anyone else, but their habits drive them toward more knowledge, competence and skills.
Be Like Larry
Basketball great Larry Bird is an example of good habits launching an ordinary person into an extraordinary success. Bird wasn’t the most gifted athlete, but still managed to lead the Boston Celtics to three world championships. His habits drove him to greatness. For example, growing up, he had the habit of shooting 500 free-throw shots every morning. This preparation led him to become one of the most successful and consistent free-throw shooters in the NBA. Through habit, he conditioned himself to have the automatic responses of a champion.
The goal is to get off autopilot and change the unconscious habits that are holding us back. Though these habits were created unconsciously, we can consciously change them and craft new, positive habits that serve our lives well. We can prepare ourselves to do this by:
We all know the “right” things to do to live a healthy life. We know we shouldn’t have Pop-Tarts for dinner or watch reality TV for 3 hours a night. So why do we allow these bad habits to continue? The problem is our need for instant gratification.
Often, the payoff you receive from instant gratification obliterates any concern in your conscious mind for long-term ramifications. For example, if eating a piece of cake instantly put 50 pounds on you, you’d put the fork down. If making one less sales call at work got you immediately fired, you’d pick up that phone. But since the consequences of these small actions can take years to show up, courtesy of the Compound Effect, it’s easy to choose instant gratification over the correct behavior.
The first step is to wake up and realize the true ramifications of the bad habits we indulge in and know that even the smallest changes can drastically affect the outcomes in your life.
Think of a plane traveling cross-country; if the nose is even 1 percent off course, the plane will end up 150 miles off course in the end. This is like a bad habit; the behaviour doesn’t seem like a big deal in the moment, but it can ultimately lead you way off course in your life.
Changing ingrained bad habits takes more than willpower. Willpower has likely failed you in the past. Think of resolutions that were abandoned and diets that went by the wayside. Willpower is not strong enough to keep you from sliding back into your ingrained bad habits.
Instead of willpower, Hardy suggests you draw upon what he calls “why-power.” You’ve got to figure out what you want and why you want it or you’ll give up too easily. Your “why” has to be incredibly motivating because it must ignite your enthusiasm and passion—emotions that will fuel your persistence. Knowing your “why” helps you stick through the hard stuff.
Example: Your “Why-Power”
Think about a wooden plank lying on the ground. If someone offered you $20 to walk across it, you’d do it in a heartbeat—easy money. But if that same plank were lying across two 100-story buildings, you wouldn’t even consider the $20 offer. If your child, however, was on the opposite building from you and was in danger, you would walk that plank without thinking —and without caring about the $20. When your why is big enough—in this case, saving your child—you can perform any action.
Your true “why” won’t be about money or material goals. It has to come from a deeper place that gets your heart and soul into the endeavor. Many successful people with all the material wealth they could want are deeply unhappy, dealing with fear and frustration. This is because focusing on achievement without fulfillment leaves you empty. Finding your core motivation is key because only a very powerful why will bring your true fulfillment.
Your core values lead to your “why power.” Defining your core values is a critical step when you’re trying to change your life; without clearly defined values, you could fall victim to making choices that are in conflict with what you want. For example, if you value integrity but hang out with people who lie and cheat, this creates a conflict.
When you have clearly defined core values, making decisions is easier because you can simply ask yourself which choice aligns with those values. If something doesn’t align, you can forget about it.
A motivating fight can give you strength and purpose. Throughout history, fighting an enemy has led to innovation and transformation. Think about David and Goliath, Rocky and Apollo Creed, or Microsoft and Apple.
Motivation doesn’t always come from a noble place; a negative emotion or experience can fuel your “why-power” and bring about successful results. We all have the ability to take hurtful experiences from our past and use them to fuel constructive change. For example, the great football coach Pete Carroll grew up with a chip on his shoulder because he was so small. He felt the need to fight and prove his worth and was rewarded with great success.
To achieve success, It is important to learn how to set and achieve goals effectively.
Clearly defined goals in all areas of your life—business, wealth, health, and relationships—are important because, once achieved, they can fill your life with abundance. The Compound Effect is always working, but without a clearly defined goal, it cannot bring you to a better life.
When you define your goals, you give your brain something to focus on and look for, invoking the Law of Attraction. To many of us, the Law of Attraction seems mysterious and esoteric, but in reality, it’s quite logical. We only see, hear, and experience a fraction of the things going on around us. So when you clearly define, picture, and focus on a goal, you are able to draw it into your life. It wasn’t accessible or visible to you until your thoughts were able to focus on it and lead your brain to see it.
For example, say you are considering buying a new type of car. Suddenly you see that make and model everywhere around you when you had never noticed them before. Did they just appear? Of course not—they were always there, but you weren’t paying attention. They were there but they didn’t “exist” for you.
When you clearly define your goals, you experience the world very differently, attracting the opportunities, people and resources you need to achieve that goal. These things were there all along, but they were invisible to you.
Once you have clearly defined a goal, the next step isn’t figuring out what you need to do to achieve it, but rather who you must become to achieve your goal.
Jim Rohn perfectly captures this idea: “If you want to have more, you have to become more...Success is something you attract by the person you become.”
Think about the attributes you need to have to achieve your goal. Without these, you can do all the right things but still never succeed.
Example: Becoming Yourself
Hardy came to understand this philosophy when he felt ready to settle down and find a wife. He made a long list of traits he wanted in a wife, filling more than 40 pages with details, including her personality, character, values, and even physical characteristics. He wrote about his vision of what their life looked like together. Next, rather than ask what he had to do to find this woman, he asked himself if he possessed these traits himself. He listed qualities and behaviors that he needed to work on and set to work becoming the man he wanted to be. It worked—he met his wife, who was exactly what he had dreamed of.
Your behavior is all that stands between you and your goal. You need to figure out what you need to stop doing so the Compound Effect doesn’t drag you down, and you need to figure out what you must start doing, so the Compound Effect can take you in the right direction.
What habits do you need to lose, and what habits do you need to start crafting? When assessing your negative habits, the first step is to become aware of what you’re doing. As stated earlier, tracking is key.
Tracking Self-Defeating Habits
Hardy once mentored a successful businessman who wanted to boost his productivity. Hardy had him track his time for a week and found that the exec spent an inordinate amount of time absorbing news—reading the newspaper, listening to news on his commute, checking websites throughout the day, and watching the news on TV at home. He spent almost four hours a day with news—much more than he needed.
Hardy had the man cancel his newspaper and keep his TV and radio off, and set up an RSS feed so he could see only the most pertinent news. With his newfound time, he found himself exercising, listening to inspirational material, and spending more time with his family. Without the constant barrage of negative news, his mood and stress level were much better. A small habit change yielded great results in productivity and an overall better life.
To become aware of your bad habits, list your top three goals and write down the habits that are keeping you from achieving them. For example, if you want to get healthy but eat a bag of chips every night, that would be a habit you need to change.
The next step is to list positive habits you will need to help you reach your goal. By replacing your self-defeating habits with positive habits, you’re on your way to reaching your goals.
Since your habits are learned, they can be unlearned. These five strategies will help you overcome your urge for instant gratification and eliminate bad habits:
You don’t have to cut out every bit of enjoyment in life; some “bad” things are perfectly fine in moderation. What’s important is making sure you are in charge of your vice and it doesn’t have you in its grips. For example, every three months, Hardy picks one of his vices—ice cream, wine, movies—and abstains for 30 days, proving to himself that he’s still in charge.
After eliminating bad habits, it’s time to construct new, positive behaviors. Here’s how:
Many people remain unhappy and unhealthy, unable to change their bad habits because it’s not easy to do. Remember that successful people don’t like doing the hard stuff either, but they do it anyway.
Be patient with yourself as you embark on the process of changing your life. Some of your ingrained behaviors have been with you for decades, and it will take time and effort before you see lasting results. If you mess up, try again. Pressing forward brings huge payoffs.
Changing your habits will change your life.
Think about your most important current goal. What is the most significant bad habit that is holding you back from achieving this goal?
What is the long-term, negative ramification of indulging this habit over a year? (Remember that a plane flying cross-country that’s 1% off course will be 150 miles off target.)
Your “why” will fuel your motivation to change. What is your “why” to reach your goal?
Who or what are your enemies? Who can you think about to get constructive energy to defeat your bad habit?
Who would you like to be? Describe who you must become to meet your goal.
Momentum (Hardy calls it “Big Mo”) is a powerful force for success. Momentum doesn’t come easily, but once it kicks in, your ability to achieve success compounds quickly.
The hardest part of achieving momentum is getting started. Think about when you were a child playing on the playground merry-go-round. When it was full of kids and you tried to push it, it took a lot of effort and went very slowly. But as the speed picked up the merry-go-round would spin rapidly and you could hop back on and enjoy the ride. It’s the same with making any changes in your life; progress can be slow at first, but when momentum kicks in it’s easy to keep moving. You can put out less effort and receive greater results.
Momentum can work for good or bad. The Compound Effect is always at work, so a string of bad habits can build up momentum and send you into a chasm of bad luck with compounding negative side effects. Think of Brad from Chapter 1; because of a few bad habits that gained negative momentum, he gained 33 pounds and ended up with a troubled career and marriage. This is an example of the Compound Effect working against you.
You gain positive momentum by building up your efforts until you hit what’s commonly called “the zone” or “your groove.” Momentum kicks in when you:
Momentum at Work Example 1: Michael Phelps
Olympic champion swimmer Michael Phelps worked with his coach, Bob Bowman, over the course of 12 years. Their practice and preparation fell into routines, and Phelps’ performance became consistently excellent. By the time the Olympics rolled around, Phelps had caught momentum at the perfect time, and his performance was both amazing and predictable.
Momentum at Work Example 2: Apple
Apple Computer has been around a long time. Its Macs were always popular, but they had only a fraction of the market segment PCs had. When the company introduced the iPod in 2001, the device wasn’t the first MP3 player around. But Apple had consistency in its courting of customer loyalty and was consistently innovative with design, ease of use, advertising, and the “cool factor.” The iPod was a hit, but the company’s path toward positive revenue growth took a few years. They caught momentum in 2005 and gained 68 percent revenue growth.
Today, Apple dominates the smartphone market with its iPhone and has exploded into other areas such as digital music.
When you have set a goal and created good new habits to support that goal, you must have daily, weekly, and monthly routines in place to reinforce your positive new direction. The greater your challenge, the more stringent your routine should be.
Think of new military recruits heading to boot camp. As soldiers, these recruits will have to be able to carry out their duties efficiently and reliably even under intense pressure and imminent danger. Because of this, boot camp instills rigorous routines for even minor tasks, such as standing at attention, making the bed, and shining shoes. In only 8-12 weeks, basic training turns young kids into confident soldiers through the power of routine.
Another example is famed golfer Jack Nicklaus, who was known for his pre-shot routine. To focus himself, he would go through a series of physical and mental steps—similar to a dance—before each shot. The timing of this routine never varied even by a second. In contrast, at the 1996 Masters, golfer Greg Norman’s pre-shot routine grew faster and faster each round; his consistency lost, he never gained momentum and his game collapsed.
You may not be a soldier or golfer, but predictable daily routines are vital to your success.
Your day is likely unpredictable; it’s hard to control all the events coming at you, so it’s hard to implement routines. But how your day starts and ends is in your control, and setting routines for these times can help you implement healthy, positive behaviors and gain momentum.
Hardy’s personal morning routine starts at 5 a.m. when his alarm goes off and he hits Snooze. This morning routine keeps Hardy grounded, disciplined and performing at a high level.
Hardy’s end-of the day routine is reflective.
No matter what happens during the day, his morning and evening routines mean his day will start and finish strong.
When Routines Need to Be Shaken Up
Sometimes routines can get boring and you find yourself in a rut. For example, when Hardy works out with weights the same way week after week, he stops seeing compounded results in his body and needs to change up the workout. Momentum can’t show up when you’re bored. This is why challenging yourself can liven things up and help you recapture your passions. Things like changing your exercise routine, going to a new restaurant, or joining a club help you gain a fresh perspective.
When you make your habits a routine, you can get into a rhythm—your routine feels easy and natural. Once you’re in a rhythm, momentum gets a chance to work its magic.
Hardy likens this to a steam locomotive. When it’s stopped, you only need a small piece of wood to prevent it from moving forward. Getting the wheels to budge is a slow process that takes a great deal of steam and connections, but when the train gets rolling, the wheels fall into a rhythm and gain momentum—and it could crash through anything in its path.
Daily rhythms are important, but looking to the future is important too. For example, Hardy and his wife have created a rhythm in their marriage and family life that gives their relationship momentum. Along with weekly date nights and setting aside every Saturday as “Family Day,” the couple reviews their relationship every Sunday evening, discussing the week’s good and weak points and what adjustments need to be made. They share things they’ve appreciated about each other during the week and ask how they can make the other’s experience better.
Each month they schedule a unique experience to share; they also plan quarterly getaways to do a deeper check-in on the relationship. All of this has created a rhythm for their family life that allows momentum to take effect in their relationship.
When you want to change your life for the better, doing too much too soon can set you up for failure. Instead, set up a rhythm for success that you can stick to because this is about improving the rest of your life with the Compound Effect, not just having a better day, week or month. Aiming for improvements you can make consistently is critical for success. A lack of consistency is a momentum-killer.
For example, if you’ve never worked out a day in your life and you decide it’s time to get fit, it’s a mistake to go too gung-ho and vow to work out two hours a day five days a week. At some point you’ll find you don’t have two hours to spare, so you won’t work out at all. This will start happening more and more, and you’ll get discouraged and soon the whole effort will end.
Instead of overdoing it, start a program you can maintain for 50 years, not a month. Set a reasonable amount of time to exercise as your target, such as 45 minutes a few times a week, so you can reap the long-term benefits of consistency. You can always add more as you go.
The Flight Toward Your Goals
Think of two planes headed from Los Angeles to Manhattan. Say one plane takes off and goes 500 miles per hour, but lands and takes off again in every state in between. The other plane goes only 200 miles per hour, but flies straight through with no stops; it will get to the destination far more quickly. The other plane probably won’t even make it because it will run out of fuel. This is just like achieving your goals: keeping a regular “speed” keeps your energy and motivation strong, while trying to do too much is disastrous and wasteful.
Since consistency is critical to gaining and maintaining momentum, it’s important to understand the high price of inconsistency. When you’re inconsistent, you lose not only a single action and its small benefits; the loss of momentum will damage your overall progress.
Hardy likens this to a hand-pumped well. Bringing the water up to the surface requires pumping the lever, which causes a suction effect to bring the water up through the spout. When we start a new program, it’s tempting to grab the “lever” and pump hard. But when no water (progress) immediately appears, we often give up. If we keep going, when a little water appears (small, visible changes), we might think, “Is that all there is?” If we are able to persist through this, soon a steady stream of water appears (tangible results); we no longer have to pump (maintain our habits, routines and rhythms) with so much effort, just with consistency.
But slacking off kills momentum. If we stop pumping the water lever, we’re back to square one and have to start the arduous process all over again. Slacking off in our habits and routines ruins our progress. When you miss a few weeks at the gym, or stop sticking to your date-night routine with your spouse, you end up right where you started, with no momentum.
The lesson: keep your pace slow and consistent; given enough time, your momentum will carry you to victory.
When we gain momentum, there’s no stopping us.
This chapter discussed how inconsistency is the momentum-killer. What is a change you wanted to make in the past, but applied it inconsistently and eventually lost all momentum?
Think about why you were inconsistent. Did you bite off more than you could chew? Was the change unsustainable?
If you wanted to redo the change, what is a smaller change that you’re confident you can do consistently for months?
We are all responsible for the choices we make, but it’s important to realize that those choices are influenced by powerful outside factors. We’re often unaware of the subtle influence of these external forces, but understanding and governing them can help us maintain our trajectory toward success.
There are three main types of influences:
Controlling what our brains consume directly impacts our productivity and results. For example, reading a tabloid won’t help your brain function at its peak, but reading something educational and inspirational will nourish your brain.
What our brains consume is difficult to police, however, because we absorb so much unconsciously. Even if eating junk food is easy and mindless, at least you have to put it in your mouth yourself. In contrast, we can hear, feel and absorb irrelevant and destructive input without even knowing it—for example, switching on the radio on our way to work can flood our brains with terrible news, leaving us with fear and negativity to start our day.
You are the gatekeeper of your mind, and you must be vigilant about protecting it from worrisome and destructive input—and being very particular about what you allow in.
Your thoughts have an impact on what you create in your life, so whatever is influencing your thoughts is important. Whatever you allow into your brain is influencing your thoughts.
Hardy likens your mind to an empty glass. Fear, negativity, worry and stress—delivered care of news filled with politics, murder, economic collapse and more doom and gloom—fill that glass with muddy water. It’s hard to be creative with a mind full of negativity and sludge. But if you flush that muddy water with clean, clear water, soon you will have a glass of fresh, clean water. Positive and inspirational input is the clean, clear water for your mind. Seek out stories of success, people who overcome challenges, and ideas that foster love and abundance.
You can’t lock yourself in a bubble; negative info bombards you on billboards and at work, and friends, family, and even your own thought process can let negativity seep in.
While you can’t control everything, you can limit your exposure to “dirty water.” For example, you can’t avoid the tabloids at the supermarket register, but you can cancel your subscription. At home, you can turn off the news and instead record inspirational and educational programs that benefit the whole family—and skip the commercials. You can turn off the radio on your morning commute and listen to a book on tape or something uplifting.
Another way to limit your exposure to negative input is to go on a “media diet.” The media is savvy; it knows that sensationalism appeals to our basic nature as humans. This would be easy to tolerate if there were only a few media sources. Today, however, the news is everywhere and runs 24/7. As media outlets compete for our attention, they try to outdo each other with shock value. The result for us is a warped, dismal view of the world. The millions of good things that happen each day don’t make it into our minds. This is crippling to creativity.
Hardy’s personal media diet is stringent. He doesn’t read or listen to any news. He has set up RSS feeds with news that directly impacts his interests and goals only.
Many of us spend untold hours in our cars—in fact, 12,000 miles a year is the average for Americans. Instead of turning on the radio and listening to the news or whatever music is playing, try listening to instructional and inspirational material instead. Brian Tracy explained to Hardy that listening to educational material for a year while you’re driving is equivalent to gaining the knowledge of two college semesters.
The people with whom you closely associate are critically important because you inevitably end up talking, reading, eating, thinking, watching and otherwise doing things like them. According to one expert, your closest associations—your “reference group”— can determine much of your success in life. Jim Rohn says we are the average of the five people we associate with most.
Our friends influence us subtly yet powerfully, and that influence can be negative or positive. For example, if you hang out with people who order potato skins and other greasy appetizers while gossiping, you’ll soon find yourself joining right in. If, however, you hang out with people who order healthy food and talk about uplifting subjects, you’ll assimilate these behaviors.
If you want to possess certain traits, the best way to start is by hanging out with people who already possess those traits. The habits and attitudes they possess will rub off on you, and you can then mirror that success in your own life.
Consider the people you spend the most time with and place them into one of 3 categories:
Expanded Associations: Mentoring
Finding a mentor is a great way to associate more with an individual whose qualities you’d like to emulate. You are never so good that you can’t benefit from a mentor. In fact, some of the most successful individuals keep learning from the best coaches and trainers there are. One of Hardy’s mentors was Paul J. Meyer, who spurred him on to higher levels of ambition and spirit.
Finding a mentor is a simple process. You don’t have to take a lot of their time; rather, small snippets of wisdom is greatly beneficial.
Expanded Associations: The Board of Your Life
Another strategy Hardy uses to keep high-minded people around him is what he calls his life’s “board of advisors.” These dozen people have expertise or special talents in certain areas of life; he contacts them regularly for feedback and input, and the process has yielded invaluable benefits.
Your goals and ambitions may be bigger than your current surroundings, and sometimes it takes getting out of your current environment to see your dreams fulfilled. Hardy likens this to planting an oak tree; it has to be in a big space to soar to its potential.
Your environment isn’t just where you live; it’s everything that surrounds you. The goal is a positive environment that supports your dreams, and creating this environment means eliminating the clutter in your life. This isn’t just the physical clutter; it’s what Hardy calls “psychic clutter.” In particular, psychic clutter is everything around you that’s incomplete or broken, such as a commitment or agreement. Incomplete tasks don’t allow you to move forward because they keep you mired in the past until you finish them.
Another thing to consider when creating a goal-supportive environment is understanding what you tolerate. Whether in your family or business, what you tolerate, you will get. Tolerating disrespect leads to disrespect. Tolerating an unhealthy body means you stay unhealthy.
Guarding your physical, emotional and mental environment allows you to live with peace and creativity, protected from the chaos of the world.
The choices we make are subtly influenced by outside factors.
This chapter discusses the negative influence of the media and how it can hamper creativity. What are three types of media you absorb daily that might be affecting you negatively?
How does listening to, reading, or watching those types of media make you feel?
What are some alternatives to the current negative media influences in your life? How could you replace the negative media with the better alternatives?
The Compound Effect can spur you to greater heights of success faster than you ever thought possible, but on your journey you will face moments of truth—times when you’re up against the wall. What you do next defines both who you are and who you will be. In such a moment of truth, growth and true improvement can occur.
Hitting a wall is inevitable. Whether you’re riding a bike up a steep hill or facing a long day of work, there will be times when quitting is a very attractive option. These moments of truth, however, are defining moments—the turning points for your success and progress.
For example, famed football coach Lou Holtz inspired his team to come back from a halftime deficit of 42-0 by showing them a highlight reel of second efforts—the extra effort after you’ve already done your best. That extra effort is the difference-maker in a football game and in life.
Hitting the wall is an opportunity for greatness, not an obstacle. When things are easy and going well, everyone can do great. But when an obstacle appears, it’s a chance for you to rise above the pack and give the extra effort others are unable to give. Your response to obstacles is what sets you apart and spurs you to great achievement.
We’ve learned that because of the Compound Effect, your small actions, habits, decisions, and behaviors, compounded over time, can lead to powerful improvements in your life. But adding just a smidge more effort can speed up and greatly improve your results.
Since true growth occurs because of what you do after you’ve hit a wall, pushing through that wall can multiply your results. For example, if you’re weight training and your exercise program says to do 12 repetitions, doing 12 will satisfy the requirement. This is great and will yield good results if you stick to the program consistently. But if you push through and do a few more reps, you can multiply the effect of your workout.
Another example is running. If you set a goal for your run, but go a little longer after you’ve hit your wall, you’ve extended your personal limits; the results of that single run are multiplied.
Remember the magic penny that doubled in value every day for 31 days? What if it doubled just one extra time per week? You’d have $171 million instead of $10 million!
To motivate yourself to do just a little bit more than expected, think of yourself as your own toughest competitor when you hit a wall and fight to go above and beyond your limits.
Another great way to multiply your results is to focus on rising above what other people expect of you, surprising them with what you’re truly capable of.
You can do more than people expect of you in every aspect of your life. Oprah is a great example of this. When she launched her 19th season in 2004, she called 11 people to the stage and gifted them with a car. Then she gave the rest of the audience boxes, saying one of them held the key to a 12th giveaway car. But when the audience members opened their boxes, everyone had a key. “Everybody gets a car!” she screamed. In that moment, she fully surpassed everyone's expectations. She did this often, changing lives for many people.
Hardy did more than anyone expected when he proposed to his wife. Instead of simply asking his fiance’s father for her hand, he learned his speech in Portuguese and delivered it to her father, who wasn’t completely comfortable conversing in English; he also asked each of her five brothers for their blessing, and some took a little convincing. All of this extra effort and attention paid off in his relationship.
A little bit of extra effort can exceed the expectations of others and propel your own results.
Doing the unexpected separates you from the pack, makes a bold statement, and multiplies the impact of your efforts. Doing what’s expected is fine, but yields only expected results. Adding extra effort to create a wow factor gets attention and boosts your chances of success.
For example, Hardy doesn’t send out the expected Christmas cards; instead, he sends out Thanksgiving cards with handwritten personal sentiments. This unexpected behavior has a huge impact on family and friends for just a little more effort.
Another example is Richard Branson. Every time he launches a venture, he grabs attention with bold, audacious, and often scary stunts, not a boring press conference or launch party.
But you don’t have to spend a lot of money to show extra effort. For example, when he worked in real estate, Hardy would show up at expired listings and hand the owners a “sold” sign, telling them they’d need it if they gave him the listing. This greatly increased his odds of getting the listing.
Example: Doing More Than Expected
Hardy’s friend, Alex, was up for his dream job across the country. The local applicants were interviewed in person while the out-of-town applicants were interviewed via videoconferencing. Hardy advised Alex to get on a plane and show up unexpectedly for his interview in person. He told Alex to research the company and the decision-makers, finding out their interests and hobbies. He advised Alex to send them resources or gifts they’d appreciate. This was over-the-top behavior, but it would get their attention and respect.
Unfortunately, Alex didn’t take this advice and did the expected—and didn't get the job.
There are many small ways to do better than expected. For example, Hardy always goes one step above the dress code for events. When doing keynotes, he learns all about the organization and prepares tirelessly, aiming to exceed their expectations for his talk and continue a reputation for excellence.
Nordstrom is famous for its “wow factor” in customer service, knowing that exceeding expectations builds customer loyalty. Another example is a CEO Hardy worked with; he always paid contractors early, knowing that getting paid early would create surprise and delight—and goodwill.
In all areas of your life, find the opportunity to multiply your results—prepare better, push harder, last longer and put more of your time, energy and thoughts into your endeavors. Your results will multiply, not just improve.
More effort pays dividends.
This chapter talked about the multiplying effect of just doing a little extra. What are three areas in your life where you could give just a little bit more?
Think about areas of your life where your contribution is expected. What are three ways you could turn your expected contributions into an unexpected “wow”?