The Power of Compounding

Nahu
Nahu
Sep 5, 2018 · 3 min read

1%∞

3 symbols, but what do they mean…

1 % for infinity.

It’s such a simple concept.

Be just 1% better every single day forever.

Imagine the results if we could achieve this?

As Albert Einstein said — “Compounding is the greatest mathematical achievement in history

Too many of us try and achieve radical changes.

How often do we opt for that new fad diet, the 6 week challenges or the hectic rush to achieve a deadline?

If we can redirect all of this energy and distribute in increments over time…

The depths of what we can achieve is unlimited.

The success stories that we see every day come from cumulative effort, not fleeting moments of hard-work.

Roger Federer, one of the greatest exponents to ever hold a tennis racket. Winner of 20 grand slams and record holder for longest period spent at #1 for 310 weeks is a prime example of this.

We have all seen the final output of his diligent work, the way he glides like he’s wearing a pair of skates around the court, effortlessly caressing balls back over the net.

This was all fine-tuned from the first time he picked up a racket at 4 years of age in his club in Basel, Switzerland.

Citing his childhood hero Boris Becker as inspiration he would hit the ball against his garage door for hours, patiently refining the exquisite skills that he would display for years to come.

I remember an old football coach used to tell us — “Aim for perfection and even if you miss you might just achieve excellence”.

Continuous improvement is one that we can implement in every aspect of our life.

I had the opportunity to live in China and picked up conversational language skills while there.

In the years following this experience, my use of Chinese has been negligent at best…

Over the past few months I found a simple Chinese app on my phone. 10 minutes of practice a day -it’s not a revolutionary process, with consistent revision I’ve felt my language skills rising.

I went from not being able to remember how to write rudimentary words to returning to a base of fluency while speaking.

There is no secret sauce, no shortcut to success.

It’s a simple notion, just work out what you want to do it and do it daily.

Time will pass and your skills will improve.

See those results compound daily and you will get to where you want to be.

This concept of continuous improvement is not new.

The Japanese gave a name to it — ‘Kaizen’

It means ‘change for the better’ with an inherent focus on it being continuous.

The theory of Kaizen was first coined at Toyota and has been prominently used at business’s both within Japan and across the world since then.

The Toyota Production System is famous for its long-term reliance on the Kaizen system for manufacturing and production improvements. It’s a system that has yielded significant results and directly contributed to Toyota’s on-going success as one of the world’s largest car manufacturers.

Kaizen’s a daily process. One of testing theories of change. Constantly assessing situations & processes and analysing where change can be made.

Imagine, if we were able to self-critique our routines and habits every day with this notion.

Every single day, just 1% better.

1 new skill or movement learnt in that sport.

1 new word that we’ve learnt in that new language.

1 new topic we’ve studied for the business we want to start.

With the opportunity to refine and change our mindset we would be infinitely more productive.

We are the sum of the habits that we do daily.

1% may not seem like much…

1% compounded into infinity however can be all the difference.

1%∞


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I’ll be writing daily, providing perspectives on a variety of issues & exploring the big questions that we all share.

Nahu

Written by

Nahu

A Gen-Y kid's reflections after travelling the world. Mindset growth, self-development tips & everything that lies in between.

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