This is for those of us who didn’t have a Mega Millions winning ticket last night. Think of it as a consolation prize!

And if your reaction is similar to this one of my sister’s two days ago … you really need to keep reading ;)

Actually I’m the one that needed alignment the other day, and I’m the one who needed to hear the exact podcast that played in my car this morning. Funny how what you need has a way of finding you.

Don’t know about you but I lovvvve instant gratification

I’m guilty of wanting big, exciting wins of various kinds quickly and with as little effort as possible.

While I did discover a pretty incredible way to do this over the summer (check out my Making Magic post if you missed it), what I’m sharing today is something I came across this morning…

… ironically right after I realized my South Carolina lotto ticket I purchased when traveling down I-95 was not the South Carolina ticket that won the big bucks.

Compound Effect: the power of little wins

In episode #236 of The Life School podcast, Brooke Castillo talked about the Compound Effect: small actions taken consistently over time can bring about powerful results.

Most of us are waiting for the big win. We’re waiting for the lottery. We’re waiting for the book deal. We’re waiting to get discovered. We’re waiting to have this huge win.

So why do we make all of our insignificant choices, insignificant? Because we’re so hungry for that immediate reward. But when we understand that all of the insignificants add up to the significant, then we can begin looking at our lives very differently.

– Brooke Castillo

Our daily decisions may not seem like significant choices on their own but when those little decisions accumulate, they have an incredible amount of (positive or negative) power:

  • working out – even for just 20 minutes a day
  • eating empty calories
  • scrolling through Facebook or Instagram (for what turns out to be an hour… or two or more)
  • spending the last 20 minutes at the office prepping for the next day

These may not be a big deal in the moment but when you do (or don’t do) something every day think about what that adds up to in a year.

The tiny choices you make today can lead to the successes and failures you experience tomorrow. Small steps and slight changes lead to major progress and massive results.

SMALL, SMART CHOICES + CONSISTENCY + TIME = RADICAL DIFFERENCE

– meaningfulhq.com

based on Darren Hardy’s The Compound Effect

Are your choices taking you to where you really want to be a year from now? Not all of mine are :/

What kind of CLUTTER is holding you back?

It’s about making the better choice over and over. Brooke does a beautiful job showing how the Compound Effect can affect your business, health and life in general in her podcast, below.

And I love this quick exercise she shared:

TAKE ACTION: Take a look at your typical day and all of your choices you tend to make.  What will be the results – the compound effect – based on these little decisions you’re making?

Simple awareness is a big first step. Then, change up the decisions that aren’t taking you where you want to be.

Applying this can transform your health, your relationships plus more … which can be (dare I say:) even more valuable than that winning lottery ticket!

Not that I wouldn’t enjoy both!

Compound Effect:  Brooke Castillo Life School podcast #236