Daily Grind, Compounding Returns..
When given a choice, will you want to receive $10,000 every month for the rest of your life or 1 cents that doubles every month. At the first glance, $10,000 is really a lot for any individuals and it may be tempted to take the first option. However, at the end of the day, you may not be the winner.
Let’s have a simple Excel calculation as below. If you have taken the first option, you will be way ahead financially. However, as time goes by, you start to see scenario 2 picking up the pace and growing in magnitude. By end of the 19th month, it overtook the total accumulated amount as in the first scenario. This is the power of “compounding effect”.
What does the examples above teach us?
To me, it actually taught me a few values which was very essential to my personal growth. Many times we will compare ourselves to others. I am guilty of this myself as I tend to compare with peers of my age group, even when I know that it will dampen my spirit as they are way ahead in their careers.
A personal experience would be the time when I was starting out as a fresh graduate to work the industry. As my academic grades were not fantastic, it was very competitive to get a good paying job. Also, you will get demoralized when you see your friends starting to move ahead of you in their careers. However, I put in the effort so that I can catch up in my own ways.
There is no shortcut
During my working days, I have realized that it does not matter where you started, but where you are going to end up to be. Everyone wants to get rich or famous quickly, however there is no shortcut in getting there. You still have to get through the grind and work your way to your destination.
Consistent effort and determination
This is all about putting the daily effort into your dreams and passion. You can’t achieve greatness overnight(although there are exceptions). Like building your physical body, you can’t achieve a great body just by doing one intensive exercise. It needs time and multiple sessions in order for you to see some change in your body.
If you were to check your weight everyday, I am pretty sure you won’t see much difference in the first few days of exercise. However, it may be a different story if you were to look at it 6 months later after training everyday.
More importantly, you have to wake up, show up and get down to work. You have to gather your mental strength to overcome your inertia and procrastination. Take small steps rather than never.
It’s all about patience
Progress takes time and it is applicable to every scenario in life. Be it whether you are writing a blog to have a bigger outreach to the digital audience, working hard at work to climb up the corporate ladder or putting money into investments. All of these require some form of consistency to get to your eventual success.
My Personal Results?
This is my personal story but I did see some results in my life. When I was fresh out of school, I did not get a high paying job as some of my friends. It was pretty demoralizing because I thought I will not be able to catch up in order to have a comfortable life.
Ever since I found my passion in the area of tech, I noticed that I put in so much effort that I start to see the fruits of labor. When I first started, I would put in the effort to code everyday for at least one hour. I wanted to catch up to my peers and so as to be able to transit into the tech industry.
In the beginning, I really did not see significant results because I was very new. My coding skills were still amateur and I had a steep learning curve in every scope that I was in. However, I do see small progress, a bit at a time.
Eventually, I was able to move from companies to companies and able to command a premium in compensation. When looking back at how I first started, I noticed that I have grown so much and have already gone beyond the levels of a beginner. I would say I have achieved some form of success today.
Conclusion
Though I still have a long way to go, I still believe in the power of consistent effort. As you put in the daily effort, your results would compound. You may not see the effect in the beginning, but you should not feel disheartened. One day when you will look back, you will be surprised at how much you have achieved. Stay determined and you will eventually get there!
For more of my posts, you can visit https://goingmeraki.com or visit my instagram @goingmeraki for short posts on data analytics.
