Ever thought of developing a plan to become wiser, more strategic and operate more effectively in your life and your career? Darren Hardy suggests developing your own personal board of advisors. Hand-select the people for your personal board of advisors by their areas of expertise, creative thinking and ability or based on the respect you hold for the person.
Sounds like a good idea. It’s just one of several Hardy writes about in his book, The Compound Effect Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success (Vanguard Press, 2010, ISBN: 978-1-59315-713-5). He writes, “I’m going to teach you to harness the power of the Compound Effect, the operating system that has been running your life, for better or worse.”
The Compound Effect
Hardy’s compound effect is “the principle of reaping huge rewards from a series of small, smart choices.” The author writes about the magic penny effect to illustrate the benefits of making small, smart choices. If one doubles the value of one penny every day for 31 days, one can end up with $10,737,418.24.
Topics and ideas explored in the book include:
- Making good choices that compound to make a significant impact
- Developing good habits that can also compound
- Gaining momentum – the Big Mo - by bookending each day with regular routines and stay consistent
- Realize that all of your choices, habits and behaviors can be influences such as what you feed your mind, associations with others and your environment and surroundings.
Hardy’s Ideas and Concepts
Three of the more interesting concepts Hardy presents include the idea that people fail because of their success. They gain the success they work for and then let down their work standards and end up failing. The power of why gets you to stick to the grueling, mundane tasks. One needs to have a strong why power to be successful.
To have more, you have to become more is the third suggestion in Hardy’s book that resonates with this reader. Other ideas center on becoming aware of what and who you are, how magical goal setting can be, making winning a habit and taking 100 percent responsibility for winning and losing.
The Compound Effect is Based on Principles
The author is publisher and editorial director of Success magazine. He tells readers he has based his compound effect on the hundreds of business articles and features and the many interviews of the professionals he has encountered over the years.
The book is short and to the point. Hardy uses anecdotal stories versus long, complicated case studies to prove his points. In theory, his compound effect model is simple, doesn’t seem to require a lot of major changes in one’s actions and as such more than likely will work when implemented according his game plan.
The book works nicely as a self-assessment and self-improvement tool. It provides success-centered ideas and concepts that can help any professional find their way to the top.
