The Most Powerful Force in the Universe (not gravity)
A couple of years ago, I came across an article that talked about the 8th wonder of the world.
I was very confused initially. I could've sworn there were only seven. I immediately skimmed through the article to see what the writer was referring to.
Honestly, I expected the 8th Wonder to be some newly discovered landmark similar to the others. Turns out, the 8th Wonder of the world is a principle that is the secret to the wealth of many.
It's compound interest.
Compound interest is a principle that earns money not just on the amount you saved/invested, but also on the interest you've already earned. It's like a snowball rolling downhill that gets bigger and bigger because new snow sticks to all of the snowball, not just the original snowball.
Later on, I discovered a quote by Albert Einstein that I share in the motivation section below.
Most people only know of compound interest as a financial principle, but I believe it also applies to our actions.
Over the last couple of months, I have been studying the stories of several successful people. One common trend in most of their stories is that they were not immediately successful.
It's almost as if their actions, failures, and decisions ultimately compounded into a moment where success became a reality.
If you didn't know their backstories, you would probably refer to them as an overnight success. However, the truth is their efforts were quietly compounding over time and likely hidden from the world.
Some of us struggle with committing to a long-term plan because we are addicted to quick results. I mean, everything in our world seems to be getting faster, and we are starting to think that should apply to every aspect of our lives.
Well, it doesn't.
Whatever is worth getting will take some level of long-term commitment.
P.S. On this week's podcast episode, I spoke about commitment as one of the top 5 traits that will place you in the top 1% of your industry. You can discover the other four here.
Your efforts need time to compound and yield the mind-blowing results you desire.
I've had to remind myself of this, and I hope you do too.
I want to leave you with these 3 takeaways:
- Great things take time.
- Don't stop because you are not seeing the desired results.
- Even when you don't realize it, your efforts are compounding.
I hope this inspires you to keep going and stay committed.
Don't let a need for quick results discourage you from staying committed to a long-term plan.
Rooting for you always!
