Small habits for long-term success.

“A strong foundation is the key to creating long-term success.” Michael Leonard

I recently had the privilege of having a conversation with a client who is entering his 3^rd phase of life. He has built long-term success. Success which I found out was built on a healthy foundation. He was generous enough to share with me the actions, thoughts and beliefs that made this possible. He calls it “the compound effect”. I know we hear a lot about compound interest as it relates to investments and retirement annuities, but life, not that much. Here are a some of his thoughts:

1. Focused on commitment.

His habits were focused on commitment. Commitment, that was connected to consistency over many decades. I know it sounds boring and dull, but as John Maxwell says “Leadership develops daily, not in a day”. I believe this, as I have exercised weekly for the last 15 years, and only now I am truly appreciating this small but powerful habit. I can truly say I am much healthier than 15 years ago.

2. Teachability and humility.

Another daily habit was about teachability and humility. He has focused over many decades to keep trying new things and learning from various situations. This willingness to learn new things and stay teachable has kept his business ahead of competitors. Often, we innovate and learn until we make some “real turnover”. This can be dangerous and create a blurred picture of reality. Jim Collins explains this in depth in his book, How the Mighty Falls. The reality is that the fading of teachability is the pinnacle point where decay starts to show itself.

3. Incremental growth.

Another key habit was on incremental growth instead of sudden growth. I love the illustration a mentor shared with me 12 years ago. He explained to me the principle of the flywheel. A flywheel is a heavy wheel attached to a rotating shaft, as part of an engine. The function is to smooth out delivery of power from a motor to a machine. The inertia of the flywheel opposes and moderates fluctuations in the speed of the engine and stores the excess energy for intermittent use. It takes time for the flywheel to store enough energy in order to keep momentum during fluctuations. What I have learned from applying this principle is that once the flywheel, energy capacity has built momentum, little extra energy is needed, it just needs to be maintained. The same is true for incremental growth. The little habit of reading one book a month might not show wisdom after one or even 5 years, but after 10 years it definitely starts to show in the decisions we make in life. I set myself a habit/goal to write a new book every 2 years. After 9 years of this habit, I can now see the fruits of incremental steps of growth and improvement. Many people ask me the question, “how do I start writing?” My answer will always be, “Just start”.

In today’s life, true success only reveals itself after many years. The story of Warren Buffet and many others speak to this truth.

In Xpand we believe in building a strong foundation to create beautiful pieces of art that will become timeless. In 2024 we will take you on an expedition focused on 5 key foundational aspects we believe, if practiced weekly, yearly and even for decades, will truly bring lasting and meaningful success to yourself, your work, family and society.

Join us on this expedition by following our Linkedin and Facebook pages, looking for updates on our posts, and visiting our Blog page regularly.

We want to wish you all the best as you keep doing those small but precious things, and making adjustments where need be, to bring success in the long run.

Blog written by Cias Ferreira.