Have you ever heard the story about the 'magic penny'? It's a pretty familiar story and the penny isn't actually magic. The story in it's entirety is at the bottom of this post. But, the premise is if you were to take a single penny and double its value every day for 31 days, you'd end up with more than ten million dollars.
The idea is that small things done consistently have a compound effect. If you're looking for a great read on this idea, try Darren Hardy's (founder of Success magazine) book, The Compound Effect . There is a core truth to being gritty that is so very important in this little story though...
Don't underestimate the power of your own work ethic
Do understand the compound effect.
Please pay attention to the importance of consistency in this concept. Gritty people, when working towards something, do it every, single, day! We all want our results so much faster than they arrive and we live in a world we feel pressure from those around us to magically speed up the process. It simply does not work that way. All of the evidence points toward this: consistent, every day effort compiled day in, day out, month in, month out, year in, year out produces significant change. I'd encourage you to keep your big vision, big goal, big purpose in mind. When you do, the small work matters.
The idea is that small things done consistently have a compound effect. If you're looking for a great read on this idea, try Darren Hardy's (founder of Success magazine) book, The Compound Effect . There is a core truth to being gritty that is so very important in this little story though...
Don't underestimate the power of your own work ethic
Do understand the compound effect.
Please pay attention to the importance of consistency in this concept. Gritty people, when working towards something, do it every, single, day! We all want our results so much faster than they arrive and we live in a world we feel pressure from those around us to magically speed up the process. It simply does not work that way. All of the evidence points toward this: consistent, every day effort compiled day in, day out, month in, month out, year in, year out produces significant change. I'd encourage you to keep your big vision, big goal, big purpose in mind. When you do, the small work matters.
'THE MIRACLE PENNY'
If you were given a choice between taking $3 million in cash this very
instant and a single penny that doubles in value every day for 31 days, which
would you choose? If you’ve heard this before, you know the penny gambit is the
choice you should make—you know it’s the course that will lead to greater
wealth. Yet why is it so hard to believe choosing the penny will result in more
money in the end? Because it takes so much longer to see the payoff. Let’s Let’s
say you take the cold, hard cash and your friend goes the penny route. On Day
Five, your friend has sixteen cents. You, however, have $3 million. On Day Ten,
it’s $5.12 versus your big bucks. How do you think your friend is feeling about
her decision? You’re spending your millions, enjoying the heck out of it, and
loving your choice.
After 20 full days, with only 11 days left, Penny Lane has only $5,243. How is she feeling about herself at this point? For all her sacrifice and positive behavior, she has barely more than $5,000. You, however, have $3 million. Then the invisible magic of the Compound Effect starts to become visible. The same small mathematical growth improvement each day makes the compounded penny worth $10,737,418.24 on Day Thirty-one, more than three times your $3 million.
After 20 full days, with only 11 days left, Penny Lane has only $5,243. How is she feeling about herself at this point? For all her sacrifice and positive behavior, she has barely more than $5,000. You, however, have $3 million. Then the invisible magic of the Compound Effect starts to become visible. The same small mathematical growth improvement each day makes the compounded penny worth $10,737,418.24 on Day Thirty-one, more than three times your $3 million.
Excerpt
From: Hardy, Darren. “The Compound Effect.” Vanguard Press, 2011-10-18. iBooks.
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‘Bite Down and Don’t Let Go’ is a collection of writings on
being intentional about life in a way that produces great persistence. Read
about it more here.
Dr. Chris Hobbs is an educational leader and Director
of Athletics at The King’s Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida. He’s earned a few degrees
and won some awards. He’s happily married to his high school sweetheart and
they have three teen age children. Life is messy and complicated most of the
time. You can follow him on Twitter
for all sorts of inspirational thoughts and good laughs.
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