When it comes to the effects of hard work / success / self-improvement, many people (including myself) lack the sight to see just how powerful the long-term effects are.
Recently I have done a lot of reflecting, and came to the realization that the effects of actions YEARS ago are STILL affecting me today!
As it turns out, what you do YEARS ago can affect you now, which means what you do now is SO IMPORTANT because it could alter the course of your life for YEARS- for better or for worse.
My Example
My example is rather simple: over 2 years ago, I began trying to get clients for my digital marketing work. About 2.5 years ago is when I started learning digital marketing.
One of the clients I work with (my favorite one) is still with me, from 2 years ago. The overall value of the client over these 2 years is enormous.
The same is true of other small jobs I had gotten- maybe I did a small job with someone, then they referred me to someone else, and then other good things happened.
Even for non-entrepreneurs, this realization is rather quite simple: your work to get a new job could literally supply you with income for years!
It actually blows my mind when I think about it: literally because I made the decision 2.5 years ago to obsess and learn digital marketing, and because I learned so much in the past 2 years, I am basically set for life when it comes to income.
Even in a “worst case scenario” of the internet being “turned off,” I’ve still learned so much about MARKETING and entrepreneurship that I could no doubt create value offline.
What I’ve learned is an infinite payout. You could take away all of my clients & current wealth, and I could easily get it back knowing what I know now.
Knowledge & Goal-achieving = Infinite Payout
I’m not saying you should waste time and learn for the sake of learning.
Instead this is motivation for you to realize just how powerful learning is to achieving your goals and dreams. The simple act of achieving a goal gives you “infinite payout,” such as a story, life lessons, or skills which you will never lose.
The simple act of achieving a goal, no matter how small, also gives you infinite payout because your confidence gets increased just a tiny bit in a way which can’t be reversed.
A wave of failures could smack you in the face, but you will have the knowledge that you have achieved a goal before, so you can do it again, with enough persistence.
One Final Example
Let’s take dieting for example- someone who eats shit food, lots of sugar, and doesn’t exercise is likely to become fat. When they’re fat they’ll feel more shitty, and prone to an endless cycle of depression & binge-eating.
The simple action of eating one sugary snack a day creates a compound effect which can literally ruin their life!
On the other hand, the simple act of eating right & exercising has the power to improve your health, and in doing so you’ll have more energy for relationships, love, joy, and more energy to create wealth, too!
What you eat today, while it may seem small, actually has long-term ramifications. Are you taking one step towards death, or a step towards vitality?
What You Do Now…
So whatever you do now, do it with a lot of care. It has the ability to permanently change your life for better or worse.
You can engage in an “upward spiral” or “downward spiral,” but ultimately it’s your choice.
Whichever choice you take becomes easier to take in the future due to the law of inertia, or scientifically put: your brain-neurons begin to solidify turning it into a habit.
And even if what you’re doing now doesn’t turn into the habit (such as job searching), it has the ability to permanently affect your life for years to come.
This should get rid of any lack of motivation you have… Think about it, when I closed a client I didn’t close the client for the month. I closed them for years.
Now THAT is exciting!
-Michael
