“I’m not interested in anything that’s not sustainable. Friendships, investing, careers, podcasts, reading habits, exercise habits. If I can’t keep it going, I’m not interested in it.”
Morgan Housel
I’ve talked about the magic of compounding before. I think Morgal Housel (author of The Psychology of Money and Same as Ever) was able to articulate it better. It’s important to talk about compounding because it’s easy to forget it. After all, we’re not wired to think in exponential terms, but in linear ones. Being consistent with your habits, as Housel explained, is one of the most important things you could do. Simply put, once you start, never give up.
Kevin Kelly once wrote: “There is no formula for success, but there are two formulas for failure; not trying and not persisting.” In other words, no one can tell you how to achieve success because there are several paths to get there. Not taking risks and being persistent is the fastest way to make sure you never achieve success though.
Another problem we have is that we spend too much time doing shallow activities or nothing at all. Naval once said: “We waste our time with short-term thinking and busywork. Warren Buffet spends a year deciding and a day acting. That act lasts decades.” In other words, we want to think long and hard before making important decisions because some of them are irreversible. On top of that, there are advantages to making a decision and sticking with it in the long term.
Simply put, you want to be consistent with your habits. Here’s Kevin Kelly once again “Keep showing up. 99% of success is just showing up. Most success is just persistence.” One of the best habits one can develop is cultivating a long attention span. I often think about how my life would look like today if I had never stopped playing the guitar, reviewing video games, saving a set amount of money every month, or learning Japanese. Of course, the habit itself is different for everyone. Mastering the art of showing up can be the difference between success and failure though. As tempting as it is, never give up.