A Few Thoughts on Compounding, A Full Life, and Taking Action
Why small, consistent actions, a life filled with purpose, and the courage to move forward compound into extraordinary results.
I love to read, but I’m not always great at remembering what I read. Yes, I could give you the highlights and a few ideas. However, it just doesn’t resonate the same when it’s my words instead of the author’s words. After all, they are the person who took the time to put their words on the page and accept the risk that comes from sharing your ideas with the world. All I did was compress it into a phrase and act as the proverbial middle man in a transaction of knowledge — hardly a laborious task.
That’s why I’ve started highlighting while reading. Now, I can forget and still remember everything I read. I use an app called Readwise for this task and it syncs perfectly with my Kindle. When I come across something of note, I simply highlight it on my Kindle and seconds later it’s in my Readwise. Then, every day, I’m prompted to review a few of my highlights. Some days, the highlights are insightful and spur a new thought. Other days, they serve as a swift kick in the butt. No matter what, though, I’m a little better at remembering and that’s truly the goal of the exercise.
Now, I’d like to share that experience with you. I’ve selected three of my favorite highlights. We’ll go through each one, parse a few ideas, and hopefully give us something to remember — at least for a little while.
“We do it all the time. The most important things come from compounding. But compounding takes awhile, so it’s easy to ignore.” - Morgan Housel, Same as Ever
Of course, I had to start off with a mention of compounding (I paid a good $20 for this domain and want to stretch those dollars as much as possible). I’m so fascinated with the idea of compounding. To paraphrase Einstein, it truly is the eighth wonder of the world. And I still think it’s underappreciated in our lives because of what Housel is saying here — it takes a long time and we’re just not wired to see beyond the requisite time horizon.
The crazy thing is, it isn’t our fault either. Long periods of time just don’t seem to compute well in our brains. The obvious interesting tension here, then, is that the most important things in life come from something we are fundamentally (aka evolutionary-level) terrible at grasping. So, what’s the takeaway here? It’s twofold. First, constantly remind yourself about the long-term. It may never feel natural and that’s okay. Reminders are good and even if they make you 1% more long-term oriented, that’s a huge win. Second, accept there will be moments of short-term thinking and embrace them. That’s like beating yourself up for not being tall enough to make it to the NBA. You can only work with the cards you are dealt.
“Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the fullest. If you’re going to while away the years, it’s far better to live them with clear goals and fully alive than in a fog, and I believe running helps you do that.” - Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
Right off the bat, I cannot recommend Haruki’s book enough. It’s brilliant. If you’re a runner, you’ll love it. If you’re not a runner, you’ll also love it. To say the book is only about running is like saying Hamlet is just about a guy soliloquizing while holding a skull — you’ve only scratched the surface.
Why I like this quote from Haruki’s book is because it’s about the importance of just showing up. There’s never a guarantee of anything. The alternative, though, is so much worse. A random something is always better than a guaranteed nothing. The runner has no promise of a long life at the end of all those miles. But at least those miles were packed with life — no matter how fast, slow, grueling, or exhilarating. It’s the same for all of us. I’d rather be out there getting my butt kicked than living in a fog of nothingness. Plus, the butt kickings are never that bad, anyway. There’s always something to learn from them.
“Action, on the other hand, produces the appetite for more action.” - Steven Pressfield, The Daily Pressfield
I struggle with this idea and it’s why I love this quote so much. I’m a thinker. The process of researching and learning gives me so much energy. I’m not kidding when I say I could spend hours clicking through Wikipedia and would enjoy every second of it. Some people hoard items. I like to hoard knowledge. I also hoard hats, but that’s a story for another time.
Frequently, though, when the time comes to take action, I freeze up. I want to continue researching and strategizing and theorizing and philosophizing and you get the point. Basically, I’d rather the rubber not hit the road. Yet, it needs to at some point, and I’ve been using Steven’s quote to get me there. Action loves action. It’s like a big cheese wheel rolling down a hill. With just one little push, it gets moving. Before you know it, you’re up to top speed and joyfully bouncing down the slope.
I’m a work in progress on this, but more and more I find myself getting a teeny-tiny bit better at starting down the hill. It will take time, but luckily I have the laws of compounding on my side.