Key Lessons from The Compound Effect

I really enjoyed Darren Hardy's book, "The Compound Effect." In this blog article, I share my key takeaways from this book.

I recently learned about The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success by Darren Hardy. This isn’t a typical book review but instead a summary of The Compound Effect book and some of the lessons imparted from reading it. I enjoyed reading The Compound Effect for many reasons, but I particularly liked the fact that it is well-written, is succinct and to the point, and is an easy, comfortable read that I will reach for again and again. I feel like this is especially important because, when a book has really good takeaways, you want to feel compelled to pull it out and remind yourself of key lessons.

I also like that the author finishes each chapter with a summary of action steps from that chapter. In addition, he has prepared a series of free resources (checklists and PDFs) that the reader can use to go deeper on any topic. It also makes it easy to try the processes that Darren recommends. In my opinion, Darren over-delivers on the content by offering the key takeaways and providing additional resources. This is a concept that he drives home in his final chapter on Acceleration where he explains how he multiplies results by exceeding what is expected by himself or others.

I believe this book would be a great gift for a college student, a young professional, or anyone who is looking for a transformation in their life, as it lays a foundation for discipline and productivity that anyone would do well to learn.

So, first, what is the Compound Effect? To quote the book:

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

Said differently, the Compound Effect is the combination of small, smart choices or habits repeated consistently over time that will produce radically different outcomes.

One of the most important chapters in the book in my opinion is on Habits. Darren points out that everything we do and think – whether good or bad -- is the result of a learned habit. Many parts of our lives are on autopilot. The good news is that we can unlearn habits just as we learn them.

The other principle that is discussed relating to habits is that the difference that separates good results from great results in one’s life is surprisingly small. The good news if you are not achieving the outcomes that you would like in your life is that small adjustments to your daily routines can dramatically alter your outcomes. Some of the adjustments that he suggests to up-level your results:

Make sure you have a clear understanding of your WHY; that is, what is the core motivation for you to improve your outcomes? At the end of the day, some of the strongest motivation that we can have is that related to our family and our most important relationships. Interestingly, Darren also believes that hatred can be an important motivator. For example, if you lost a beloved family member to Type 2 diabetes, you might use that anger to focus on your own goals around nutrition, physical activity, and losing weight. The more meaningful your WHY, the stronger your conviction to improve your outcomes.
Make sure your goals are well-defined. Author and motivational speaker Paul J. Meyer aptly stated, “If you are not making the progress that you would like to make and are capable of making, it is simply because your goals are not clearly defined.”
Darren also advises readers to identify your three best habits that will support your most important goal and the three worst habits that can take you off-course. Determine how to unlearn the bad habits (social media, TV watching, consuming too much media are all good examples of habits we could all benefit from reducing, for example).
Routines and consistency will move you powerfully in the direction of your goals. In chapter 4 on Habits, Darren walks through his morning routine (priming his brain and body for success and a flow work state) and his evening routine (reflecting on his progress for the day, lessons learned, and planning for the next day). Once we know what habits will set us up for success, we must show up consistently in our habits, in conducting our routines, and taking action toward our goals.

Darren has one whole chapter in The Compound Effect dedicated to Momentum. What we are trying to achieve through consistency, routines and habits is Momentum, or the “Big Mo” as he calls it. Momentum is where the compound effect starts to show up. As we are consistent in our daily efforts, we set ourselves apart from the pack and start to see results that others don’t see. Darren points out that once we achieve consistency in our habits, we should never allow inconsistency to seep back in because the massive cost of inconsistency is the collapse and loss of momentum of your entire progress.

Further, when you combine Momentum with Acceleration, the topic of the final chapter in his book, you can pull away from your competition as an elite runner would pull away from the pack during the last mile of the marathon. The concept of Acceleration is to take your normal results and multiply them by doing a few more reps, putting out one more piece of content, or making one more sales call. This allows us to not “hit the wall” or believe mistakenly that we’ve arrived at a destination, but to consistently beat expectations. You are viewing yourself as your toughest competitor and pushing yourself past what you would have formerly thought was “enough.”

In a nutshell, I really enjoyed this book. If you enjoyed the lessons I shared above, you may enjoy it too! Happy reading!

Categories: : Productivity, Focus, Habits, Goals