The Compound Effect (Darren Hardy)

The premise of the book is that little, everyday decisions will either take you to the life you desire or to a disastrous life that you despise. The future is not given, it is what you make of it. Hardy argues that achievement is not about luck; it’s a science. Even though everyone is different, born into different environments, with different skills and talents, but the same laws of success apply across the board.

He says in life you reap what you sow. You can’t get out of life what you’re not willing to put in. If you want more love, give more love. If you want greater success, help others achieve more. You win inn life because of the habits you’ve built and because of the consistency with which you apply these habits. Its not about intelligence either. You need to make up inn hard work what you lack in experience, skill, intelligence, or innate ability.

It’s like we always say, knowledge does not equal power. Only applied knowledge equals power. The Compound Effect reiterates that new information is not what you need. Rather, you need a new plan of action. And that’s why we create these workbooks – to help you put your knowledge in action – to help you plan a better future and execute consistently to make your dreams come true. “It’s time to create new behaviors and habits that are oriented away from sabotage and towards success.”

The Compound Effect will show you how to reap massive rewards from a series of small, smart choices. (Small, smart choices + consistency + time = Radical success). We can’t deny that the environment has a huge impact on the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Sometimes life just deals you a terrible hand. But pointing fingers at other people or your lack of luck will not change these circumstances. Instead, focus on the small things you can control. Do this consistently. Success is the result of small, smart choices repeated consistently over time.

Results take time, and that’s why you need hard work, discipline and good habits. You make your habits, and then your habits make you. Small, insignificant choices grow into strong unbreakable habits. These small choices can cause you to sabotage your success if they’re not chosen carefully. As Brian Tracy would say, “The importance of anything is determined by its potential consequences.” Look at the actions you take often, where are they likely to lead you, success or failure? Darren Hardy says, “Nobody intends to become obese, go through bankruptcy or get a divore, but often, if not always, those consequences of are the reults of small, poor choices.” One way he tried to prevent divorce was to keep a thanksgiving journal for his wife. Every day for an entire year he would log at least one thing he appreciated about her.

Each of us is responsible for everything we do, don’t do, or how we respond to what is done to us. Only by taking 100% responsibility for making our lives work will they begin to work. A life left to chance will always result in disaster. In the Strangest Secret Earl Nightingale makes an example of a boat that has no captain. How often do you think such a boat will get to its intended destination? Same applies to your life. If you don’t take charge by setting goals, forming proper habits and executing consistently, then you will produce results you hate – you will crash and burn.

According to Hardy, the formula for getting lucky is as follows: Preparation + Attitude + Opportunity + Action = Luck. Personally, I think luck is not as simplistic as most people make it seem. Successful people often overlook, or pretend not to notice that being born in a different environment, being a different skin color, being a different gender would have dramatically changed the trajectory of their lives. There are some advantages they conveniently overlook.

However, this doesn’t excuse you from taking full responsibility for your life. No one is coming to save you, no matter how unfair life has been to you. Whatever happened to you – good or bad – victory or defeat – take accountability. You may not have decided how your life began, but you do get to decide how it will move forward. You can sit and make excuses and blame unfavorable conditions, or you can take full responsibility and do what you need to do to get the results you want.

In order to change harmful habits, you must know what they are. Keep score of your habits and their results. Decide which ones don’t serve you. These are the ones we will change. Decide on the new behavior that will replace these failing habits. Then track these new behaviors too to ensure they serve their intended purpose.

You can’t improve anything without first measuring its current performance. Continue to measure so that you don’t stick an old habit that used to be useful but is now detrimental. You must become aware and accountable for your actions. Keep a journal where you record your findings, ideas and consistency of implementation. We have recommended tracking worksheets inn the workbook. Make sure you download yours free on this page: https://www.successclub.co.za/free.

Your current results in life are the result of your current habits. Habits are the invisible force that shapes your entire life. Darren Hardy says, “The older they are, the bigger they get, and the deeper the roots grow, and the harder they are to uproot. Some get so big, with roots s deep, you might hesitate to even try.” Here’s the thing, since habits are learned over time, it stands to reason that they can also be unlearned. It’s always better and easier to deal with them early on, before they are entrenched. But it’s not impossible to displace them at any stage and replace them with something better if you are really determined.

In order to make the change effort successful, you need to be bought in logically and emotionally. Remember the elephant and the rider we discussed in our Switch review? Emotional reasons are the most powerful force to create a change. Without a strong why, you will be fighting an uphill battle. What are the consequences if you fail to make this change? Who else will be affected? What do they stand to lose? Not forgetting yourself, what do you gain if things go well, and what do you lose if they don’t?

Think about the identity question we spoke about in Switch. Are your current behaviors consistent with your core values, who you say, think, and believe you are?

What stands between you and your goal is your behavior. And what determines your behavior is your identity. Who do you believe yourself to be? And what behaviors do people like you indulge in? If you see yourself as an athlete, then ask yourself what behaviors athletes indulge in? Do they drink alcohol or orange juice? Do they sleep in or wake up early to train? Do you see yourself as a CEO? What behaviors do CEOs indulge in? Do they scroll social media all day or do they download workbooks and execute on their goals?

What behaviors do you need to stop doing in order to align with your identity? What new behaviors do you need to adopt in order to align with your new identity? We have exercises in the workbook that will  help you identify your goals, measure current habits, identify your time wasters, develop new habits, and I’m always available to hold you accountable as you become the person you need to become in order to achieve your most important goals. We have exercises in the work workbook that will help you get momentum started and keep it going. We have exercises to review the progress you’ve made so we can make the necessary changes.

One thing that differentiates the most successful people from the under achievers is the ability of the high performers to make themselves do things even when they don’t feel like doing them. You will fail. That’s  okay. It will take longer than you planned. That’s okay. Stay the course – be patient – even if it’s hard, boring and tedious. Just do it and keep doing it – as long as you’re still moving in the right direction. “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge.”

Your mind can be your best ally or your worst enemy when it comes to the accomplishment of goals. And only you stand guard at the gates of your mind. What are you feeding your mind? Because if you feed it garbage, then it will also produce garbage results. If you nurture and take care of it, it will also take care of you.

Be careful of what you read, what you listen to, what you watch, who you spend time with, and the environments in which you find yourself. These are the inputs that will shape your thinking and your actions. If you don’t have enough motivated and inspired friends, find yourself a coach or an accountability partner who will push you to do better than your best.

“Learning without execution is useless. Motivation without action leads to delusion.” That’s why we created these workbooks – so you can learn, execute and get the results you’re after. It’s never too late to dream another dream or pursue another goal. With the right associations, the right tools and accountability partner, theres no limit to what you can accomplish. It starts with the small, smart action of downloading your free workbook. https://www.successclub.co.za/free.

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