Day 7: Compound Interest and P90X

Compound interest is pretty simple. You take your money, you invest it in the financial markets, your money earns interest and then you reinvest your initial principal plus your interest earned to gain more interest.

If you invest in mutual funds or ETFs, most of the time, you truthfully don't have to do a thing. Your patience is what pays off.

If it's that's simple to gain wealth. Why not apply that same principal to our own personal growth? Because it's difficult. Obviously.

How do you get better at doing difficult things? You do slightly less difficult things, then incrementally, increase the difficulty of your next task.

This past weekend, I had a great conversation with a friend. We keep each other accountable, and I wanted to do P90x because it's difficult.

If you're not familiar with P90x, let me provide you with a brief overview. This was during a time when Netflix was known for mailing DVDs to your doorstep, MySpace reigned supreme in the realm of social media (with Facebook requiring a college email for access), and iTunes charged a dollar or more per song. In addition to this somewhat archaic technology, consumers made purchases by dialing 1-800 numbers after seeing TV advertisements. There was even a store in my local mall called "As Seen On TV," offering items that were typically only accessible by dialing a 1-800 number.

One of these TV advertisements showcased P90x, a fitness program that promised to transform your physique in just 90 days if you were willing to "bring it." All you needed to do was insert their "muscle confusion" workout DVDs (yes, you needed a DVD player) and follow their nutrition plan.

These ads were impressive, blending documentary-style storytelling with educational content. They left you wondering, "Could I really achieve such incredible results if I committed to this for 90 days?" The only way to find out was to purchase the program.

And guess what?

It worked.

At least that's what my friend's uncle, a former Division 1 university quarterback, told me. I thought, "Well, if he was a D1 QB, it must be true, right?" Word of mouth is powerful.

I decided to see for myself and bought the DVDs, which set me back around $250 – equivalent to a week's pay from my restaurant job. In addition to the DVDs, I had to invest in dumbbells and a pull-up bar. I purchased dumbbells from a friend and got a pull-up bar at a local sporting goods store. I carefully studied the nutrition pamphlet and stocked up on healthy food. I was ready.

The face and driving force behind the program was Tony Horton, a former actor turned personal trainer. Even to this day, Tony remains one of the most motivating figures I've ever seen on screen. His boundless energy conveyed that he was superior to you, but if you put in the effort, you wouldn't need to follow him on screen forever. Fun fact: Eddie Lacy of the Green Bay Packers once enlisted Tony's services for an offseason.

I never managed to complete the full 90 days, but that program was intense. If someone is living on junk food and leading a sedentary lifestyle, P90x has to be a better alternative than doing nothing, right? I still incorporate a few of the exercises they taught into my routine, and I occasionally pop in Ab Ripper X.

Today, I leave you with one of the finest quotes I've ever heard. If you're just picking up something and you think that you suck. You probably do. And that's okay. Because you're supposed to struggle in the beginning. Keep at it over time, and you'll eventually get to where you want to be. And if you don't, you'll just keep wondering what it would have been like if you would've started three years ago.

In Tony Horton's words:

"A lot of people say I can't do pull-ups. Change your mindset from 'I can't' to 'I presently struggle with.' Over time, someone whose dream was to do one pull-up will turn that into 20 or more."

So the next time you catch yourself saying "I can't," remember to shift your mindset to "I presently struggle with."

And watch your compound interest grow.

As time goes on, your proficiency begins to compound. You start to see more significant improvements with less effort because your prior knowledge and skills act as a catalyst for further growth.

The key to benefiting from this concept is consistency. Just as regular contributions to a financial account lead to greater returns, consistent practice and learning in your chosen area of interest result in accelerated growth. Over time, you can become exceptionally skilled or knowledgeable in your chosen field, often achieving levels of expertise that may have seemed unattainable at the outset.

That's all I have today.

- Josh