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This week we are going to be discussing a great concept that you might have heard of before, but I know it would be beneficial for us all to have a little refresher on, and that is the Compound Effect.
I first listened to the book, The Compound Effect, authored by Darren Hardy back when it came out back in 2011 as I drove to and from my real estate office and I gotta say, “The Compound Effect” is not only a great book, but also a great concept!
Simply stated, the Compound Effect is when you make small, seemingly insignificant choices (over time), they can add up to very significant results. In other words, you make your choices and your choices make YOU!
So, once again, the root factor of the outcomes we experience in our lives can be boiled down to the choices we have made. But the problem is that most of us are sleep-walking through life and not even remotely aware of the choices we are making. And our choices determine our entire life experience.
For instance, if you kept track of how much money you spend on coffee, soda, or lunches out, do you think you would make different choices?
I have a dear friend that lives in California and has always struggled with money because she is self-employed, and unfortunately she has absolutely no money put away for retirement. However, she has made the choice to smoke for over 40+ years. Currently, the approximate price of a pack of Marlboro cigarettes is $8.00 per pack in California. And, she is a pack a day smoker. So, just this year, if she smokes a pack a day for a month, that equals $240.00 per month. If she continues to smoke throughout the year, she will spend approximately $2880.00.
Now, cigarettes haven’t always been that expensive, so let’s just say the average price per pack over the 40 years she has smoked was $4.50. Over the course of 40 years, we are looking at her spending at least $65,700. Now just imagine if she would of put that money away in a retirement account and let it compound over all those years.
But, our biggest problem is we live in a microwave world and we crave instant gratification. Unfortunately though, business success isn’t something that can happen instantly. We have to keep making choices that are going to help build our businesses each and every day. Listen, the greatest barrier to your success is always reaching for the immediate gratification.
We pretty much need to grind our way to success. It takes hard work, and the difference between successful and unsuccessful people, is that successful people are willing to do what it takes. They are willing to do the mundane, the unexciting, the unsexy, and frustrating work…
So, let me ask you one of his questions from the book. “Why are you not more successful?”
What are some of the choices that you are making on a daily basis that our holding you back from having a more successful real estate business?
Did you do any prospecting today? Did you pick up the phone and make some connections with your people? Are you doing anything to expand your knowledge? Are you networking?
What are the success habits that you need to develop to accomplish your goals? What is something small, that you could do every day, that would help you grow your business? It doesn’t have to be a huge new chore, just add a small task that you can do each day to let the results compound over time.
Make a couple extra calls before going home?
Post some current information on FB regarding the local real estate market to keep you looking like the go-to person for real estate advice.
Send the homes in the area you are farming the market activity within their neighborhood for the last 6 months?
Pop by a couple past client’s homes with a little gift just to see how they are doing and let them know you were thinking of them?
My point is that you can make small, smart choices that you practice consistently over time and the compounded effect of those choices is going to have a positive impact on your business.
You already know all that you need to succeed, now it is time to create new behaviors and habits that point you towards success!
And, I want to point out that the compound effect works in all areas of your life. Whether you want to make some changes to your health, relationships, personal finances, small changes made consistently over time can make radical differences in your life.
The author used an example of a man in his early 40’s who wanted to lose some weight. So, he made the decision to eat one cup of cereal in the morning instead of his usual 2 cups (a savings of 125 calories), and he was going to try to add more steps to each day. Now this wasn’t a drastic breakfast change that left him feeling deprived, and he didn’t seem to notice any changes for a long time. But, still he had faith in the compound effect over time and this is what happened.
After 31 months = 940 days removing 125 calories a day from his diet, he had lost 33.5 pounds!
Dang! Now that should inspire us all!
Here are some other ideas you might be able to incorporate into your life to make some positive changes.
- Contribute $10 a week more to your savings.
- Do 20-30 minutes of cardio a day.
- Start drinking at least 5 more glasses of water a day.
- Listen to 30 minutes of business related or inspirational audio a day that will help feed your mind and bolster your passion.
- Create a specific day of the week that is date night with your spouse.
- Read 10 pages of a book each day.
- Incorporate some weight training into your daily routine.
- Block out specific time to spend with your kids.
So, to wrap this up, I want to encourage you to look at your days and think about what you are creating with all your little decisions. Becoming aware is the first step to any positive change in your life. If you want to create a different result, you have to rinse and repeat over and over again to reap the wonderful benefits.
And consistency is the key! Commit to doing it every day and see what happens. Try to let go of reaching for the instant gratification and commit to doing the things you said you were going to do.
And, I would also suggest checking out Darren Hardy’s book, The Compound Effect or watch one of his presentations on Youtube.
Thank you so much for listening today! If you would want to take action in your life, become more successful, feel better about yourself, or you need some accountability, I offer a free 30-minute mini coaching session to see if working with a coach would benefit you. If you are interested, go to shellewinkler.com, click on the “Contact” tab, and send me a message.
Believe, me good coaching can change your life!
Have a great week you guys and thanks for tuning in!
Links:
Sign up for a free mini-session of coaching:
http://shellewinkler.com/contact-2/
The Compound Effect Book by Darren Hardy: https://amzn.to/2QAqTsR
Darren Hardy’s Compound Effect Presentation on Youtube:
https://youtu.be/iO6XEMMFNOc