Maximize Yourself By Compounding Your Wins

Coach Lou Brown for the fictionalized version of the Cleveland Indians in the movie "Major League" once said, "Ok, we won a game yesterday. If we win today, it's called "two in a row." And?if we win again tomorrow, it's called a?"winning streak "... It has happened before!" He was referring to compounding the wins they had and using that to build upon a better future. Every day we face a dilemma do we move forward, or do we regress backward. It doesn't have to be a monumental shift. Maybe we take a day to "Netflix and Chill," but we don't accomplish any of our predetermined goals. It doesn't mean we are doomed forever, but we didn't grow that day. There will be days when we tackle tremendous obstacles and move 100 times closer to goals we want to achieve, and other days we may move a couple of inches. We still moved forward, and we still were compounding the day's results. You want to work towards compounding the positives and releasing the negatives because you can compound the negatives the same way you can compound the wins.

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?You may be asking, "Ok, what is the deal with this compounding?" I come from the finance world, and often, when people are talking about compounding in my world, it is referencing interest. There are hundreds of articles online and calculators that will show if you put money into an investment account and leave the money to grow, how much you can receive if you leave it there to build upon itself. This is referred to as compound interest. If I were to put $10,000 into an account and not withdraw the interest earned but let it continue to build, I would be making money on earned money; I'm compounding.?

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I like to take the same concept but use it in our everyday lives. For example, I have a seven-year-old son that loves to play baseball. His favorite position is second base because that is where his favorite player plays. We will spend hours catching ground balls and throwing them to first base, but one thing he had to learn ways to be a great baseball player, you have to move beyond catching the ball and making a great throw. You have to learn to hit, run the bases properly, and be a great teammate. However, I could just stand him in a batter's box and say, "hit the ball." We started at the beginning with his batting stance, the placement of his hands, we learned how to load his stance, where to step, rotate his hips, watch the pitcher release, and we haven't even swung a bat yet. How does he learn all of those steps? One step at a time, and then he compounds that little win to a more significant win.

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The key is when you master the skill you don't think, step one, step two, step three; you play the game because you've mastered the skill. Yogi Berra is known for his crazy sayings, but he said, "How can you think and hit at the same time?" It's comical because you can't go through each step; you have to master the skill. When you master the skill, you give a quote like Jose Altuve for the Houston Astros, "signing bonus? Just give me a contract. I'll sign for free." He knew the work he had done before getting a contract, and he knew his skills could help him succeed.?

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Several years ago, I was doing some soul searching, and I continued to find myself struggling with my "mood." I started to consider how I could begin compounding my wins? I would use different things to get myself in a "better mood," whether using milkshakes, coffee, or exercise and feeling I wasn't in control, but the substance or activity would help me reach the goal. Then I realized that wasn't the most efficient way to be the best version of myself. If I wanted to start compounding my wins personally and take my results into my own hands, I needed to think of the essential steps that would help me be the most excellent version of myself. I came up with three realistic targets to help me compound my wins daily.

It started with understanding the purpose of my current mood. I took a task from Brendon Burchard to heart when he said to start tracking your mood on an hourly basis. I remember driving down the road with my wife and handing her my phone to track my mood in my "notes" section of my phone. She looked at me like I was crazy, but she began to understand my theory when I started to explain. If I could determine what was causing my moods, I could focus on what was driving my reactions. What caused me to be happy, anxious, excited, tired? When I could understand my mood, I could use what I discovered to help formulate times in my day to build upon my wins. If I found myself exhausted after a meeting, I could schedule a time to meditate, or if I knew I felt anxious before a big appointment, I could rearrange my schedule to get a run in that morning. The goal was to maximize my mood by partnering complex tasks with tasks that gave me the most outstanding returns.

?Tom Bilyeu has a fantastic podcast called Impact Theory, and I came across it while traveling several hours for work several years ago. One book he continually referenced as "Mindset" by Dr. Carol Dweck, and this book changed my life. The thought the book describes is the power of a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset. What I learned while reading the book was that I was a victim of a severe fixed mindset. I believed I had set tools, and I tried to play into those tools instead of feeling I could develop additional tools for my success. As I started digging deeper into the tools I could grow, I came across Dean Grasiozi, who taught me about positive self-talk. This is where compounding your wins can go to the next level. When you start understanding your mood and practicing your positive self-talk, you can use a growth mindset to maximize your potential. I went from 240 pounds down to 165 in the course of a few months by ignoring the thoughts of "I'm big because of genetics" and put practices in place by telling myself, "you're a runner" and "you believe in a healthy lifestyle." Was it easy? No! However, the more I said it, and the more I practiced, the better I became. I started to believe the things I was saying; I was compounding on my wins!

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?I'll never forget the first article I read on Linkedin that hit me the hardest. It was an article by Richard Branson that talked about the power of writing down your thoughts. He described every interaction he has with someone, whether a billionaire CEO or a lower-level employee; he always has a journal ready to write down any innovative idea. I started to keep a track record of my different perspectives and thoughts throughout the day. If I were sitting in traffic, I would speak to my notes on my phone, or if I was watching a baseball game with my son and I heard something insightful, I would quickly add it to my notes. I started keeping tabs on my results, utilizing what I captured from others, and adding that to what I was learning. I began developing transferable skills in other areas of my life and not limiting myself to things at the moment. What skill could I develop today that may have a significant impact on me in the future? I stopped thinking now but started tracking my results towards set goals for the future. I didn't want to set goals for small individual wins, but I wanted to maximize my compounding wins for a greater return. When you're moving forward, you are building on the bases that you have previously established you start to receive returns greater than you would have initially gained.

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I took these actionable items and started adding them to other areas that I had already mastered and skills that I could enhance. This was the beginning of a transformation that took time and deliberate effort to accomplish. I didn't provide immediate results, but I used the information I was gathering about myself and others around me to work towards my goals. The idea was to grow a little every day; some were giant leaps and other slow crawls, but I wanted to win the day. Today I am working on a Brian Tracy task of making a list of things to accomplish the following day before going home every evening. I track business, personal, and fitness goals, and I don't stop until I believe I have won the day. How do I win each day by compounding my wins for tremendous success!

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You can do the same!

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Have a great day.