Book Summary: The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

The compound effect is the strategy of reaping huge rewards from small, seemingly insignificant actions. You cannot improve something until you measure it. Books Articles Newsletter Events About TheCompoundEffectbyDarrenHardy summarizedbyJamesClear TheBookinThreeSentences Thecompoundeffectisthestrategyofreapinghugerewardsfromsmall,seeminglyinsignificantactions.Youcannotimprovesomethinguntilyoumeasureit.Alwaystake100percentresponsibilityforeverythingthathappenstoyou. TheCompoundEffectsummary ThisismybooksummaryofTheCompoundEffectbyDarrenHardy.Mynotesareinformalandoftencontainquotesfromthebookaswellasmyownthoughts.Thissummaryalsoincludeskeylessonsandimportantpassagesfromthebook. “Talkaboutthingsthatmatterwithpeoplewhocare.”-JimRohnThecompoundeffectistheoperatingsystemthathasbeenrunningyourlifewhetheryouknowitornot.“Therearenonewfundamentals.”-JimRohnSuccessisdoingahalfdozenthingsreallywell,repeatedfivethousandtimes.Youdon'tneedmoreknowledge.Youneedanewplanofaction.Consistencyistheultimatekeytosuccess.Ifyouaren'tbetter,workharder.Thecompoundeffectisthestrategyofreapinghugerewardsfromsmall,seeminglyinsignificantactions.Smallchoices+consistency+time=significantresults.TonyRobbins'noman'slandconceptiswhenyou'renotreallyhappyaboutyourlife,butyou'renotunhappyenoughtodoanythingaboutit.Youwanttoavoidthiscomplacency.Knowledgeuninvestediswasted.Choiceisatthecenterofallsuccessandfailure.Itiswhatwechoosethatmakesthebiggestdifference.Toooftenwesleepwalkthroughourchoices.Wedefaulttochoicesthatoursocietyandculturetellsusweshoulddo.It'snotbigchoices,butonesthatyouthinkdon'tmatterorcountformuchthatderailus.Youdon'tconsciouslythinkaboutit,butthesesmalldecisionscanreallychangethings.Keepadailygratitudejournalaboutyourspouse.Writedownonethingyouarethankfulforeachdayaboutyourspousethengivethemthebookasagiftoneyearlater.Gratitudeisacknowledgingtherearepeopleinyourlifewhohavedonethingsforyouthatyoucouldn'tdoforyourself.Whatyouappreciate,appreciates.Youhavetobewillingtogive100percentinyourrelationships.Alwaystake100percentresponsibilityforeverythingthathappenstoyou.Youaloneareresponsibleforyoursituation.Everyonehastheopportunitytobelucky.Ifyouliveinafreesociety,youarelucky.Thefirststeptowardchangeisawareness.Thebestwaytobecomeawareistomeasure.Writingitalldowniskey.Trackingyourprogressandmisstepsiskeyforlong-termsuccess.Trackyourbehaviorforatleastoneweek.Allwinnersaretrackers.Youcannotimprovesomethinguntilyoumeasureit.Professionalathletesareparticularlybigtrackers.Trackingwillrevolutionizeyourlife.Theauthorstartedbytrackingeveryfinancialdecisioninanotebook.Merelybecomingconsciousofyouractionsbeginstochangethem.Everydollaryouspendtodayiscostingyou$5intwentyyears.(Becauseofopportunitycostfrominvesting.)Makingsmallcoursecorrectionswillresultinexactlyzeroapplause.Thedifferencebetweenthenumberonegolferandnumbertengolferisjust1.9strokes.Thedifferenceprizemoneyishuge.Startbysaving1percentofyourmoneyeachmonth.Thensave2percentthenextmonth.Continueuntilyouaresaving10percentofwhatyouearn.DaveRamsey:personalfinanceis80percentbehavior.Theearlieryoustartmakingchangesthemorethecompoundeffectworksinyourfavor.Thekeytosuccessisthis:areyoulearningeachday?Nobusinessisgoingtokeepsomeonearoundjustforshowingup.Youhavetocontinuallygetready.Yourlifeisaresultofyourmomenttomomentchoices.Theolderyourhabitsareandthedeepertheirroots,thehardertheyaretochange.Itstandstoreasonthatsinceyoulearnedeveryhabityouhave,youcanalsolearnnewones.IfthenoseofaplaneispointedjustonepercentoffcoursewhenitleavesLAforNewYork,itwillendupinDelawareonceitgetstotheeastcoast.Themostmotivatingchoicesareonesthatalignwithyour“why”andyourpurpose.Youneedadeepwhyfordoingstuff.Withawhythatismeaningfulenough,youwilldoalmostanything.(ThinkofKristyexercisingforthewedding.)Toomanypeoplefocusonachievementwithoutfulfillment.Ifyoucreategoalsforyourselfthathavefrictionwithyourvalues,you'regoingtoself-sabotageorfeelguiltyaboutyourprogress.Forexample,ifyourfamilyisahighpriority,butyousethighfinancialgoalsforyourselfthenthereisfrictionbetweenthosetwogoals.(Note:thisisbasicallyidentity-basedhabits.Youcan'thavefrictionbetweenyouridentityandyourgoals.)Designthelifeyouwantfirstandthebusinessyouwantsecond.Mostpeoplechooseacareerbeforethinkingaboutwhatkindoflifetheywanttobuild.(Note:greatidea.Evenbetterideamightbetotestlifestyles.Tryoneprojectinvarious“lives”andseewhichyouenjoymost.Writeabook(author),showaphotoprojectinagallery(photographer),etc.)TheLawofAttractionissimplydirectingyourattentiontowardsomethingthatwasalreadythere.Writedownyourmostimportantgoals.Whenyousetagoal,mostpeopleask,“WhatdoIneedtodotoachieveyourgoal?”Instead,youshouldask“WhodoIneedtobecome?”Whatisyourentertainmentvs.educationratio?Thetop20%ofpeoplespendtheirtimefocusedoneducation.Stopwatchingthenews.Thenewsjustaggregatestheworst,saddest,andmoststressfulstorieseveryday.Ifthereisadifferencebetweenwhatyousayandwhatyoudo,thenyourbehavioristhewinner.Identifyyourtriggersforyourbadhabits:thewho,what,where,andwhenthatpromptsyoutostartyourbadhabits.Startbyeliminatingyourtriggers.Throwoutjunkfood,etc.Stoplyingandjustifyinghardchoicesbysayingthingslike,“It'snotfairforeveryonetoavoidsweetsjustbecauseIdon'twanttoeatsweets.”DeanOrnishstudyfounditwaseasierforpeopletoditchlotsofbadhabitsatthesametime.Anynewhabithastoworkinsideyourcurrentlifeandlifestyle.Thegymcan'tbeoutoftheway.Ithastobeontheway.MontellWilliamshasanadd-inprinciplewherehefocusesonaddingsomethingintohisliferatherthanwhatheiscuttingoutorsacrificing.HardyrecommendsusingaSeinfeldcalendarforpublicaccountabilitytoo.Hangoutintheoffice,etc.sootherpeoplecanseeit.Bepatient.You'vespentyearsrepeatingbadbehaviors.It'sgoingtotakeyearstobuildgoodones.Momentumishuge.Objectsinmotiontendtostayinmotion.Thehardestpartofmomentumisthebeginning.Butlikepushingthemerry-go-roundontheplayground…Onceyougetmovingyoucankeepgoingveryeasily.Withmomentum,youcancontinuesucceedingwithlesswork.It'seasytokeepthingsrunningonceyouhavemomentum.JackNicklaushadarepeatedpre-shotroutinethathedidthesamewayoverandoveragain.Apsychologisttrackedhispre-shottimeforeveryshotatatournamentanditneverwaveredbymorethanonesecond.Setyourselfupforsuccess.Bookendyourdays.Youcanalwaysensurehowyourdaystartsandends.Finishyourmostimportanttasksfirst.Reviewyourdayeachevening.Committodoingarelationshiprevieweachweekend.Coverwhatwentwellinyourmarriagethatweek.Rankyourrelationshiponascaleof1-10overthelastweekandthenaskwhatcouldgetittoa10.“Anyonecanfallinlove.Fallinginloveiseasy.Stayinginlovetakesrealwork.”Whenyoulosetwoweeksofwork,youdon'tjustlosetheworkyouwouldhavedone.Youalsolosemomentumandthatisthebiggerproblem.Garbagein,garbageout.Don'twasteyourtimewatchingTV,eatingjunk,readinguselessstuff,consumingnegativestories,andmore.Whoisonyourpersonalboardofadvisors?Whoarethe10-12expertsyougetadvicefrom?Thebestpeoplehirethebestcoaches.HarveyMcKayhad20coaches.Aspeechcoach,writingcoach,humorcoach,etc.Whatareyouwillingtotolerate?Ifyoutoleratepeoplebeinglatethatiswhatyou'llget.Ifyoutolerateearninglessthanwhatyou'reworth,that'swhatyou'llearn.(ThisissimilartoMarkManson'sideaof“whatkindofpaindoyouwant?”Excepthereitisappliedtothenegativeforcesinourlifewhereasheappliesittoourgoalsandambitions.)Oprah's2004seasonopenerisoneofthegreatestproductlaunchesandexamplesofgoingaboveandbeyondexpectations.Alwaysgoalittlebitbeyondwhatpeopleexpect.Dressalittlenicer.Tryalittleharder.Thereisadifferencebetweenlearningandstudying.Learningleadstoknowledge.Studyingatopicmeansyouareinvestedinitandtryitout.Theworldalreadyhastonsofknowledge.Youdon'tneedtolearnmore.Whatyouneedistostudy,topractice,andtotakeactionontheknowledgeyouhave. ReadingSuggestions Thisisalistofauthors,books,andconceptsmentionedinTheCompoundEffect,whichmightbeusefulforfuturereading. HarvardprofessorDavidMcClellan'sresearchonreferencegroups. TheCompoundEffectbyDarrenHardy Buythebook: Print Ebook Audiobook Or,browsemorebooksummaries. Thanksforreading.Youcangetmoreactionableideasinmypopularemailnewsletter.Eachweek,Ishare3shortideasfromme,2quotesfromothers,and1questiontothinkabout.Over1,000,000peoplesubscribe.Enteryouremailnowandjoinus. AbouttheAuthor JamesClearwritesabouthabits,decisionmaking,andcontinuousimprovement.Heistheauthorofthe#1NewYorkTimesbestseller,AtomicHabits.Thebookhassoldover5millioncopiesworldwideandhasbeentranslatedintomorethan50languages. Clickheretolearnmore→ ReadNext IncognitobyDavidEagleman LoveYourselfLikeYourLifeDependsOnItbyKamalRavikant ThePowerofFiftyBitsbyBobNease TheRichestManinBabylonbyGeorgeS.Clason FreeWillbySamHarris AllBookSummaries