Compound Effect..

Compound Effect is based on the principle that decisions shape your destiny. Little, everyday decisions will either take you to the life you desire or to disaster by default. 

“The Compound Effect is the principle of reaping huge rewards from a series of small, smart choices.”

“Small, Smart Choices + Consistency + Time = RADICAL DIFFERENCE”

Daren Hardy the author of Compound Effect explains the principle through following ideas

a.  A single penny that doubles every day for 31 days has a larger payoff than taking $3 million in cash today.

b.  Or take three friends who start off in relatively the same place—one makes no changes (good or bad), one adds a weekly beer to his diet and watches TV on his downtime, another makes some small changes like eliminating 200 calories a day and reading 10 pages of a good book daily… Which of these three people do you think end up in a better place two years down the road? 

Choices are at the root of every one of your results. Each choice starts a behavior that over time becomes a habit.

The most challenging aspect of the Compound Effect is that we have to keep working away for a while, consistently and efficiently, before we can begin to see the payoff.

Source:  “The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy  

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Always say less than necessary

“Be particularly careful with sarcasm: The momentary satisfaction you gain with your biting words will be outweighed by the price you pay.”

In 1825, Czar Nicholas I, ascended the throne of Russia. A rebellion immediately broke out, led by liberals demanding that the country modernise — that its industries and civil structures catch up with the rest of Europe.

Brutally crushing this rebellion (the Decemberist Uprising), Nicholas I sentenced one of its leaders, Kondraty Ryleyev, to death. On the day of the execution, Ryleyev stood on the gallows, the noose around his neck. The trapdoor opened...but as Ryleyev dangled, the rope broke, dashing him to the ground.

At the time, events like this were considered signs of providence or heavenly will, and a man saved from execution this way was usually pardoned. As Ryleyev got to his feet, bruised and dirtied but believing his neck had been saved, he called out to the crowd, “You see, in Russia they don’t know how to do anything properly, not even how to make rope!”

A mesenger immediately went to the Winter Palace with news of the failed hanging. Vexed by this disappointing turnabout, Nicholas I nevertheless began to sign the pardon.

But then: “Did Ryleyev say anything after this miracle?” the Czar asked the messenger. “Sire,” the messenger replied, “he said in Russia they don’t even know how to make rope”. “In that case”, said the Czar, “let us prove the contrary”, and he tore up the pardon. The next day Ryleyev was hanged again. This time the rope did not break.

A lesson from 48 laws of power..

“When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinx-like. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.”

Source:  “The 48 Laws Of Power" by Robert Greene 

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Extreme Ownership

Own everything in your world, and blame no one else....

Sent to the most violent battlefield in Iraq, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin’s SEAL task unit faced a seemingly impossible mission: help U.S. forces secure Ramadi, a city deemed “all but lost.” In gripping firsthand accounts of heroism, tragic loss, and hard-won victories in SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser, they learned that leadership—at every level—is the most important factor in whether a team succeeds or fails. Task Unit Bruiser became the most highly-decorated special operations unit of the Iraq War.

Willink and Babin returned home from deployment and instituted SEAL leadership training that helped forge the next generation of SEAL leaders. After departing the SEAL Teams, they launched Echelon Front, a company that teaches these same leadership principles to businesses and organizations.

If there is anybody to learn leadership principles from, it would be these gentlemen.

 “For all the definitions, descriptions, and characterizations of leaders, there are only two that matter: effective and ineffective. Effective leaders lead successful teams that accomplish their mission and win. Ineffective leaders do not. And the only way to  become effective is to take…Extreme Ownership ”

The basic idea is that leaders are responsible for every thing that is in or somehow impacts their world. It’s easy to assign blame to outside circumstances or other people (subordinates, superiors, peers), but Extreme Ownership removes those excuses.

Source : “Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win ” by Jocko Willink

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One Small Step …

One small step at a time is  about the big idea of “Kaizen”, which is Japanese for “taking small steps to continual improvement.”

Kaizen is an ancient philosophy captured in this powerful statement from the Tao Te Ching: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Though it is rooted in ancient philosophy, it is just as practical and effective when applied to our hectic modern lives. Japanese corporations have long used the gentle technique of kaizen to achieve their business goals and maintain excellence. Now this elegant strategy can help you realize your personal dreams.

Kaizen has two definitions:

a) using very small steps to improve a habit, a process, or product.

b) using very small moments to inspire new products and inventions.

This philosophy of small steps toward improvement was introduced to Japan after the war, when General Douglas MacArthur’s occupation forces began to rebuild that devastated country.

“When you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur. When you improve conditioning a little each day, eventually you have a big improvement in conditioning. Not tomorrow, not the next day, but eventually a big gain is made. Don’t look for the big, quick improvement. Seek the small improvement one day at a time. That’s the only way it happens—and when it happens, it lasts.” 

—John Wooden, one of the most successful coaches in the history of college basketball

Just take one small step at a time for everlasting result ....

Source : “One Small Step Can Change Your Life” by  ROBERT MAURER

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