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Book 105. The Compound Effect. Author: Darren Hardy There is no magic pill or secret formula that will instantly make you an expert or a millionaire. It's too good to be true. Therefore, all offers to make you richer, fitter, and sexier in 30 days are all lies. The only way to become more successful is through the compound effect. This effect involves a laborious, tedious, and sometimes boring process. All you need is discipline and perseverance. Chapter 1. The Theory of the "Compound Effect" in Action. It can be described with just one phrase: "Slow and steady wins the race." You need to consistently and systematically perform the necessary actions every day, thereby turning them into habits. The author's father taught him this. He would wake him up every day at six in the morning and start doing barbell lifts, lunges, and squats himself. Regardless of rain, snow, or sun, his father did the same thing every morning, not missing a single day. He followed this philosophy: it doesn't matter how smart you are. A lack of skills, abilities, experience, education, and innate talents should be compensated for with hard work. If your competitor is smarter and more talented, work three times harder. Only then can you overcome them. Falling behind in math – hire a tutor and study all summer. Rarely making baskets – shoot a thousand shots a day for a month. That is, if something doesn't work out – work, work, and work again. For successes, he took his children to cafes. He didn't take those who were lagging in their studies. His father went from being a football coach to a top sales manager, and then became the head of a company. Thanks to his father's discipline, the author started his own business at 18, and by 27, the business was generating millions of dollars. Most people, however, do not have such inspiring examples as the author's father, so they hope for a miracle. In our society, the value of hard and consistent work has been lost. The compound effect is gaining significant benefits through small, thoughtful decisions. But many stop running after eight days because their weight hasn't decreased during that time. They stop playing the piano after a couple of months because they still can't play a complex melody. Or they don't save money for retirement because they think that a few thousand rubles a month won't bring any benefit. People don't understand that these small, seemingly insignificant steps, taken constantly, will lead to radical changes over time. We want everything at once. Therefore, if we were offered $3 million in cash upfront or a single penny whose value doubles daily for 31 days, 99% would choose the first option. Because the second option would have to wait a very long time. On the tenth day, we would receive only $5, while the person who chose $3 million would already be living at their leisure. But on the thirty-first day, the penny would bring us over $10 million, which is three times more than three million. That is, we see how important consistency is. And this effect works in absolutely all areas of life. Want to lose weight? Eat only 125 fewer calories each day – you won't even notice them, but after some time, you'll lose a few kilograms. But you'll notice a significant benefit in about two years. Want to understand something? Read at least three pages on the topic every day, and after some time, you'll become a pro. Conversely, if you start eating 125 more calories, you won't notice a difference in six months, but over a long period, you will suffer from obesity. Thus, even a small change can have colossal consequences and trigger an unpredictable chain reaction. For example, let's imagine we start eating two extra donuts a day. Over time, our stomach stretches, and these two donuts are no longer enough, so we buy a third. Overeating makes us clumsy, and in the mornings, we wake up sleepy and irritable. Sleepiness and irritability affect our work. Our productivity decreases, and management starts reprimanding us. By the end of the day, we are exhausted and angry. The journey home seems longer and requires more effort. This prompts us to overeat, and we buy a fourth donut. We go out with our wives less and less often. Our bodies become flabby, self-esteem drops, our wives leave us, and so on. Thus, two donuts can ruin our lives. The same applies to smoking, drinking, or gambling. The compound effect looks like this. As we can see, we will only notice a significant difference in about two years. And many don't want to wait that long. Companies also don't develop instantly. For example, YouTube initially didn't have many users, but their numbers grew more and more each year. Now YouTube has about 70% of the market. The same is true for Google. Initially, it was a small, barely surviving search engine. And now it's the most popular search engine. That is, it will always be difficult for you at first, but by doing it again and again, you will catch the wave and develop at a rapid pace. But as soon as you stop, all your efforts will be lost. Therefore, it's better to do a little bit every day than to give your all at once and then simply abandon what you started. But sometimes it happens that a person reaches a certain level of comfort, becomes carefree, and stops doing what allowed them to achieve these results. Because of this, they gain weight again, lose some skills, or money. This also happens with many companies. Having achieved success, the manager starts working less, which leads to untidy and insolent staff, and mediocre food quality, and the manager doesn't understand why they have to close in a year and a half. You can lie on the bed as much as you want and say affirmations, imagine that all your fantasies have come true, but this will not bring you closer to your goal. True and long-term success requires work – a lot of work! And discard the habit of thinking that everything came easily and simply for someone. It's not like that. Athletes spend several thousand hours in constant rigorous training, and successful businessmen spend most of the day at work, conducting thousands of negotiations and meetings. Starting today, take simple small steps, and with the help of the compound effect, you will find yourself where you dream of being, and conversely, abandon seemingly insignificant actions that can sink you over time. Chapter 2. Decisions. Every decision affects the compound effect and, in general, the trajectory of your entire life. To make your behavior more productive, follow these rules: First, stop blaming other people. For example, "I'm not moving up the career ladder because of my stupid boss," "I'm always in a bad mood because my wife is constantly nagging me." For instance, one of the author's friends constantly complained about his wife, even though the author had told him many times that he was lucky with her. And he suggested keeping a diary, as he himself does. He would write down everything he was grateful for about his wife, how she took care of him, how she cooked delicious meals, how she took care of the pets, etc. This overshadowed all the negative aspects he used to complain about himself. And one day, he gave her this diary. It was the best thing that happened to them – they felt in love again. Just five minutes a day, and this year became the happiest year of their marriage. His friend's marriage also changed drastically after this. Second, always take 100 percent responsibility for all your decisions and actions. Even in relationships, you must be prepared to give one hundred percent and expect nothing in return. Only when you are ready to do this will your relationships work. Otherwise, relationships left to chance are doomed to disaster. Now, most people constantly shift blame to each other, portray themselves as victims, while others solve their problems. You were late because the printer was busy? No, you were late because you procrastinated until the last minute. Your partner messed up the presentation? Why didn't you check it before submitting it? Only you are responsible for your reaction to what is happening, for what you do or don't do. Victory or defeat – it doesn't matter, it's all yours. Third, don't rely on luck. The formula for luck is: Preparation + Attitude + Opportunity + Action. Preparation is the continuous development of your skills, knowledge, and connections so that you can take advantage of all these benefits at a certain moment. Attitude is the belief that we are always surrounded by luck, and unfavorable situations and circumstances are just random events. Opportunity usually arises suddenly and unplanned; you need to seize it as quickly as possible, believing in your own abilities. And as soon as you seize this opportunity, start acting, acting, and acting. Fourth, realize what changes you are striving for. For example, if you decide to get out of debt, you need to control every cent you spend. If you want to lose weight, you need to control everything you put in your mouth. Be sure to write down your plan on paper. This way, you won't have problems deciding, for example, whether to go to a restaurant or not. Although it's labor-intensive, remember, successful people do what unsuccessful people don't want to do – that's the difference between them. Try to record everything: where your money goes, how much food you consume, how many exercises you do, how much time you spend developing skills, etc. That's why athletes track everything down to the smallest details: training time, number of exercises performed, number of calories consumed, etc. First, start tracking one of your most important habits. Then, you will want to implement this practice in other areas of your life. For example, you'll notice that you eat more than you realize. And then you'll discover that you spend $60 a week on coffee, which is a thousand dollars a year or $52,000 over 20 years. And if you had invested this money every year, you would have a more substantial amount. Or you'll find that you spend too much time reading news, which could be used to your advantage, for example, by reading a book. Living with statistics is much easier. Fifth, praise people. The director of a large company spent a few minutes every day walking through the offices and praising the most successful people. This behavior, which took only an hour a week, yielded colossal results over time. Employees who were praised started trying harder to earn recognition again. Others also started working harder because they saw that their efforts were noticed and appreciated. As a result, the number of clients and orders increased, and customers left much less often, which led to a revenue increase of more than 30%. There is also the 30-second rule, where, upon meeting someone, give them a compliment about their appearance, clothing, etc., within the first thirty seconds. And people will treat you much better. Remember, the sooner you start making small changes, the more the compound effect will work in your favor. Therefore, start immediately. And don't think that time has already passed; it's never too late to start. But start gradually. That is, if you want to start running, first walk 2 kilometers every day, for example, for a week. Then do it at a brisk pace. Then start running at a comfortable pace, don't rush. As soon as you get out of breath, reduce your speed and switch to walking. This way, you'll gradually be able to run a quarter, then half, and then three-quarters of the distance without stopping. Then increase the distance. And if you continue to do this, it will be easy for you to run 5 or 10 km. Remember the chain reaction. You'll become more energetic, your self-esteem will increase, you'll meet new people, new habits and behaviors will emerge, etc. Chapter 3. Habits. A daily routine based on good habits is what distinguishes successful people from everyone else. Yes, they have bad habits, but not many. With enough practice and training, any behavior, whether bad or good, becomes automatic over time. Thus, we can consciously change our habits. But our desire for immediate gain holds us back and turns us into animals. Therefore, even realizing that we are wasting our time or money on nonsense, we are still driven by the desire for pleasure here and now. That's why we buy new sneakers, watch entertainment shows, or overeat delicious cookies. It seems to us that we are only getting pleasure and that it has no negative consequences. But, as mentioned before, this is not true. For example, let's take an airplane. If it changes its course by just 1 degree, the deviation will be a whole 241 km. The same is true for you; a single bad habit that seems insignificant can lead you hundreds of kilometers away from your goals and the life you dreamed of. Willpower alone is not enough to deal with bad habits. You need to want something and know why you want it, otherwise, you will give up very easily. Therefore, ask yourself the question: "Why do I need this?" If you don't know why you need to run in the morning, you won't do it. Let's imagine that a board is placed in front of you, and you are offered to walk across it for $10. You will certainly do it. Now imagine that the board is placed between two houses, and you are also offered to walk across it. $10 will no longer seem so attractive. But imagine that the other house is on fire, and your child is on the roof. You will walk across that board without hesitation, and $10 will mean nothing at all. The first time you will flatly refuse, the second time you won't even think about it, even though the risk and danger are the same in both cases. Only your "why" has changed – the reason why you want to do it. And to truly ignite your motivation, you need to look beyond material gain. It should bring you happiness and satisfaction. Even hatred can motivate you, for example, you hate being perceived as incapable. Or you hate injustice and therefore want to achieve something and change it. Your second question should be: "Who do I need to become?" For example, if you decide to find the girl of your dreams, first decide for yourself what she should be like. And then ask yourself, what kind of man will she be looking for? Who do you need to become to attract the attention of a woman with such qualities? In this case, you will control your drinking, you won't use profanity in your speech, etc. That is, you will know what you need to change in yourself to become that person. This can be applied to absolutely any area of life. For more details on how to get rid of bad habits and adopt new ones, you can watch the video "Atomic Habits."