Proof from my life:

• Daily 15- min dumbbell exercises, over time made me strong, fit, and at my perfect healthy weight.

• Daily IGNORING these simple easy to exercises, and indulging in just a tad more stuffing the pie-hole, and drinking that additional glass of wine, being complacent that I deserve this at my fit healthy self - lead me put on and add more to the weight!

Proof from my life:

• 17 years it took from the day I arrived in the USA, to become a US Citizen.

• The destination known, the general map known, but I had to walk the path.

• Each step tracked from arriving as a student, through sponsored work visa, permanent residency and finally US Citizen).

• Be responsible to know what step I was on, and what was next, respond and take action in time, make it a inviolate priority.

• When opportunity of working for an organization that sponsored permanent residency arose - take it (lucky me!). When opportunity arose with new reduction in recruitment laws - take action (lucky me!). Made choices (and sacrifices) to continue each and every day to work doubly harder than my peers to stay gainfully employed through the dot-com bust (lucky me!).

Proof from my life:

• All success in my life can be attributed to - WHY I want What I want. I was in the 4th grade and finals were over and results was less than stellar. Result was downright awful. The sadness I saw in my mothers eyes, when she (and I) sat in the principal's office and I had to share my report card. No one said anything, but the silence, sadness, and sorrow made deep impact in my heart and soul. I vowed never again will I ever be the cause of my mother's sadness. I might drive her nuts being just me, but it will never be over a report card of any sort. Grade 5 - first mid-term - I ranked 6th in class of 60! and I was never going back The no-word smile on her face in etched in my vision!

• Did I ease in? or Did I plunge in? - I do not remember. I am tempted to say - Plunged.

• Increased study review time before the mid-term and found that I actually liked it.

• Decreased play time or aimless wasted wanderings (pre-TV, Cable, Social media time, mostly reading fictional books).

• Adapted time spent in idle chit-chat with friends, to coming home in time, and doing homework each day.

Proof from my life:

• This was a revelation that took my successes and compounded them even further. My upbringing, experiences, and few simple principles of life, had indeed set me up for success right from an early age. Working fulltime at profitable organizations, allowed for a very structured day, week and month. Then came along Darren Hardy and showed me - Sunday Planner! MVPs - Most Valuable Priorities, and Achievement tracking.

• I have journaled off and on throughout the year on different books. 2014, I got hold of one-note (thank you, Microsoft!), and it was life changing. If there is a tool I adore completely - it is one-note. This made my tracking mobile and accessible from anywhere (no book needed).

• This also began a ritual of mornings - gratitude, setting intentions, and plan for the day that was not work related - other life commitments. And an evening continuation of the story of the day. Slowly it started to shift to plan and prep for the next day - get the post mailing ready, calendar updated with blocks of time, expense-income ledger update weekly, and more.

• In Jan 2015, I set an audacious goal and declared it to whole organization (that I was working in at the time) - 52 non-fiction books with summary in 52 weeks. Mad goal if I ever set one! I had no idea if I was ever going to succeed, but I wouldn't know what my capacity was, unless I gave it an honest try. So, began my journey, through technical, financial, craft, biographies and more. The only way I could succeed is to have dedicated time (MVPs) during the week and weekend to read, assimilate, and write down the Aha moments. My morning commute meant a book in hand! (riding a bus - no driving!).

• Side effects of this ritual: (a) Saved me money for car-parking, (b) Saved me from wasting time ranting at traffic, (c) learned focused distraction free reading - rather read than chit-chat, or watch mindless TV, or on social media, (d) summaries, and learnings and unconscious gravitation towards putting the learnings into actions, (e) weekly reporting to colleagues, enabled better articulation and communication and layering of ideas. Above all - I became a reader, a goal achiever, and earned me a wider recognition from not just my peers, but C-suite and board members to talk about personal development a year later with 52 books under my belt.

Proof from my life:

• Unpacking the goal achievement of 52 books in 52 weeks - the only way to do this was distraction free.

• Closing out most of the TV, Social media, and wasteful time and reclaiming that time to reading made realize, I didn't miss much. And for that what I missed, was not worth having anyways. It also made me keenly aware of what I could and couldn't control. What I could control? - Spending my time on things that work for me, assist me, and help me towards my goals. What I couldn't control? - weather, politics, people, and external incidents. I can choose!

• I lost friends, gained powerful mentors and true relationships.

• I lost crap, gained efficiency in running my house and life.

• I lost interest (even further) in instant gratification shiny crap, gained immeasurable pleasure in planning, structuring, investing, self-sufficiency and independence. Then on began even a deeper dedication towards my own financial independence. If I could crave out time to rad 52 books in 52 weeks, then I can carve out time to really evaluate and organize my entire life.

Proof from my life:

• The fear of feeling dumb, ridiculed and looking stupid never truly goes away. One just learns to live with it, and basically keep its play-field restricted to the back of the car (or better still locked in the trunk). Whenever there are things I feel I want to do - send flowers, send cards, send impromptu gifts, call to say "hello" with no expectations except connect - I felt fear. Then, just went ahead and did those. The results was compounded, and surprising - people went out of their way to support, open up, and step up and assist me in my time of need. My life track has shown that I have received (money, attention, love, respect, etc.) a lot more back from varied sources.

Where do I go from here?

• Reading The Compound effect each year is a ritual. Each time there is something new to glean and practice or reinforce. I do believe in re-reading and re-practicing until mastery is achieved, rather than diluting my attention to the next shiny thing.

• 2021 in the summer doldrums, Darren Hardy ran SummerFest - 6 chapters of The compound effect over 6 days (1 chapter a day). This was irresistible free offer! This lead to Darren Hardy's Jumpstart - 6 week course, to really dive in and get deeper! After 7-years of reading and re-reading the book, I thought I had heard it all. But I was in a for surprise, 6-week course, really made a cellular change within me. "I AM...." became the driver of goals, rather than just SMART goals. This already has had deep impact on clients I serve, allowing them to see their own potential with even more clarity.

Where do you find yourself as you read this article?

The stars have aligned, the sun and moon are in perfect setup, all you need to do is step up, step in and take the courageous journey.

Just doing so, unleashes the power of greatness that lays dormant within you.

"If you will change, things will change for you" - Jim Rohn

We have several programs to choose from, Accountability (you know your SMART goals and you want someone to hold you to them), Results & Beyond (Help in defining SMART goals, unearth your natural strengths and weaknesses, and craft a plan), or any of our focused themed workshops.

No matter what - get started on something, one thing, anything!