Why You Should Read The Compound Effect

Happy Today!!

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There was a time in which I spent a lot of time collecting books to curate my own library of personal growth books.  I had time pencilled into my schedule each day to allow me to have dedicated reading time.  At 3:00pm each day, my phone would and still does ring to remind me to stop and read.  Then the world fell apart and I got out of the habit of reading for growth and instead read for distraction.

Here we are in September and I am re-committed to that hour of dedicated reading.  Not audiobooks or podcasts, but reading and note-taking from books which are in line with my goals.  So this month I decided to start with one of my all time favorite personal development books – The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life Your Success by Darren Hardy. It’s one of those little books that packs a punch.  I believe in this book to the point that I have a copy in all available formats – audiobook, book and ebook.  It makes a great gift for high school and college graduates as well as anyone who wants to make changes to their current life circumstances.

What is The Compound Effect?

The Amazon book description states – No gimmicks. No Hyperbole. No Magic Bullet. The 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 disaster by default. Darren Hardy, publisher of Success Magazine, presents The Compound Effect, a distilllation of the fundamental principles that have guided the most phenomenal achievements in business, relationships, and beyond. This easy-to-use, step-by-step operating system allows you to multiply your success, chart your progress, and achieve any desire. If you’re serious about living an extraordinary life, use the power of The Compound Effect to create the success you want.

Why you should read The Compound Effect:

This book is for people who want to make life altering changes but think they do not know where to begin.  It is a back about the impact repetitive habits, good & bad, can have on your life.  It’s a book about decision making and routines with action steps that make sense.  If you read just one book, this one is it.  

The writing is clear and to the point without the extra fluff that adds pages to books and makes you want to stop reading & put it away before you get to the good stuff.   

This book provides suggestions and reinforcements regarding how each small step over time create extensive change.  It takes you through the process of goal-setting and the decision making which goes into changing your life.  If you are serious about resetting your life, this book should be included in your personal development plan.

This is a book I gift to other people as well as I have in every format – audiobook, kindle, and book.

Notable Quotables:

“Unsuccessful people carry their goals around in their head like marbles rattling around in a can, and we say a goal that is not in writing is merely a fantasy.” – Darren Hardy

Here’s the thing, writing down your goals takes deliberate effort and action.  It requires you to pick up a pen and paper or open the computer and begin writing your goals.  Once you start writing, your brain analyzes what is being written and makes you concentrate on the steps needed to actually achieve them.  From my perspective, the act of writing it out enabled me to make & revise detailed plans which allowed me to make a decision regarding prioritizing my goals.

“All winners are trackers.” – Darren Hardy

Now that we have written our goals down, we have a better idea of the habits we need to track.  This is a practice I use pretty consistently for my health & fitness goals.  I talked about this a little in my post about this practice changed my health in 2021.  Each day I track the activities I did which are in alignment with where I want to see myself at the end of the quarter.  I also add a weekly goal in my Passion Planner so I remain focused on the right things.

“You will never change your life until you change somethings you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” – Darren Hardy

There is beauty in doing things in the correct order.  The first quote helped us remember to write our goals down, the second quote is a reminder to track your habits .  This quote reveals the need for daily routines. The daily routine you set out for yourself can be one associated with progression or distraction.  I remember growing up we had to practice our dance routines daily in order to not only remain fluent but flexible.  It became a thing we did without thought because it was a part of my daily routine.  Think about it, do you really need a reminder to put on deodorant each day? No, its an inherent part of your day.  

“You alone are responsible for what you do, don’t do, or how you respond to what’s done to you.” – Darren Hardy

There have been an assortment of life issues which have made this an unyeilding fact.  There has been the economic recession of 2008, the pandemic, and the stressors of life can push us past a breaking point.  The value of therapy & social opportunities have been written about extensively over the last few years.  The world was forced to be resilient & it taught the average person that we had the power in how we chose to respond.  One of the practices I have maintained is the practice of journaling – not having a co-worker to distract me with small talk at the water cooler led me to look for other ways of venting frustrations.  My journaling practice helps me change how I respond to frustrating situations.

“There’s nothing wrong with ordinary.  I just prefer to shoot for extraordinary.” – Darren Hardy

I love this quote and philosophy.  It allowed me to release some pressure I placed on myself in trying to live the supermom life.  Now if I need a day or a few weeks to exist and refresh my mind, I give myself permission to be ordinary me.  Other times I write reminders in my journal that today I shoot for extraordinary.  Today is one of those days I am shooting to be extraordinary.  This quote was turned into a morning affirmation I do with my kids each day – We repeat “Today I choose to be extraordinary – I am extraordinary.” We seal it with a kiss on the cheek and they are off to school. 

If you are building your personal library or want to learn from a mentor in a book, check out Darren Hardy’s The Compound Effect.  

Til next time,

“In essence, you make your choices, and then your choices make you.” – Darren Hardy