Creating Your Own Life

In order for you to be the creator of your own life, you need to thoroughly grasp two powerful effects that occur in your life. Developing your knowledge of these two effects will make it easier for you to follow your dreams and passions and achieve whatever your heart desires. They are called the “compound effect” and the “butterfly effect.”

The Compound Effect

The compound effect is a concept that can only be understood if you observe it very carefully in your daily life. It’s difficult to grasp it intellectually, so try to do so empirically. For the compound effect to reveal its power, the only factor required is time.

Let's look at some instances of the compound effect in action.

Say there is a bucket sitting beneath a tap. From that tap water is dripping, a single drop at a time. If you keep observing this slow process, something very magical happens over time. The bucket fills up.

You might say, What's magical about that?

Well, as I said, it's difficult to truly understand this idea intellectually; you need to observe it yourself. The bucket’s transition from empty to full is due to the compound effect.

Let's take another example. Say you plant a seed in the soil. You water it and ensure it gets sunlight every day. If you keep doing so consistently, the seed will sprout, and over the years, it grows into a tree (depending on what type of seed it is, of course!). The transition from seed to a tree is due to the compound effect.

Let's look at the construction of a skyscraper, starting from a barren lot and ending as a tower that boasts a hundred floors. By placing a foundation of one brick at a time, the building rises from nothing until it reaches high into the sky. The transition from barren land to the skyscraper is due to the compound effect.

How can the compound effect benefit me?

You saw in the above examples how something was manifested from nothing. Similarly, to achieve your dreams and passions, you have to keep working at them consistently. Keep adding drop by drop or brick by brick. By the power of compound effect and the will of nature, your goal will surely manifest. But remember, for the compound effect to accomplish its magic, it needs time. As you know very well, time is the most valuable resource you have on this earth. So make sure while you navigate the journey of your life that whatever desires you decide to pursue are worth your time.

Let me share with you a very powerful hack to expedite the power of the compound effect. It’s called the “exponential compound effect.”

Exponential Compound Effect

To introduce the power of the exponential compound effect, let's play a small game.

I give you thirty seconds to choose one of the following two options:

Take only thirty seconds to choose either option.

Now that you have made a choice, let's look at both options carefully.

With Option 1, you get $100,000 in cash in an instant. That's simple and straightforward. You have cash in hand and zero time wasted. That’s not a bad choice.

Now, for the curious mind who turned down the temptation of instant gratification and went for Option 2: let’s figure out how much of a fool they made themselves. Check out the table below.

Starting from a single penny, you make more than $10 million in thirty days! That right there is the power of the exponential compound effect.

So what just happened? How did a penny turn into more than $10 million? Well, let’s take a close look at the exponential compound effect and how we can unleash its power in our lives.

First, check out the graph below, which plots the transition of a penny to $10 million.

Do you observe the pattern? Between Days 1 and 23, you hardly see any movement at all; but starting on Day 24, you can observe remarkably fast growth. This is where the true power of exponential compounding effect lies.

Now, how can you unleash the power of this effect in your life?

Well, just as with the compound effect, you can use the exponential compound effect to increase your capability in any field or skill set in order to follow your dreams. The secret ingredient required to unleash the power of exponential compound effect, however, is in incremental efforts over a certain period of time. This is the very powerful hack you can use alongside the plain old compound effect.

Let's learn more about this hack.

Say you want to learn how to play the guitar. All you need to do is learn one new chord every day. (Or one chord a week, to make sure you perfect it.) Once you perfect it, learn another chord and keep practicing the chords you learned on former days. If you are consistent in this practice for the next 30 days, 30 weeks, 30 months, or even 30 years, you will, for sure, become a master at playing guitar. Decide your own time period based on your goal. If you wish merely to have fun and experiment with the guitar, perhaps you will only continue for a short time; but if you develop a passion for it, you might continue for the rest of your life. The more you keep practicing your skills, the more you will improve. There is no limit to how great you can become.

You can use the power of this effect towards any goal you set your heart on. If you want to learn any sport, start any business, create any piece of art, invent any machine of any kind, get in shape, develop personally, change your habits, improve your personal relationships—just make sure you keep taking incremental, consistent steps in the direction of whatever you desire. You do not have to make giant leaps; take baby steps but do so consistently. Always remember, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” - (Lao Tzu, a Chinese philosopher).

To be the best version of yourself, do not set any limits on yourself. Always remember that humans are bounded only by the laws of nature. So keep following your heart. Also, never compare or compete with others. Your only competition is with yourself: so become a better version of yourself each day compared to the day before. If you keep adding and improving on yourself by a mere 1% each day, over time and by the power of exponential compound effect, you will become capable enough to fulfill all your dreams and desires.

Never forget where the true power of the exponential compound effect lies. Look back at the graph—we didn’t see any noticeable gains until Day 24. Similarly, as you encounter difficulties on your journey, you have to be patient and trust the law of nature and the power of the exponential compound effect. Do not make a habit of giving up too early before allowing the effect a chance to show its power. Your only job is to persevere at doing what you love and leave the rest upon the will of nature. Life will decide the best time for the exponential compound effect to unleash its power.

Butterfly Effect

In creating your own life, the other effect you need to be aware of is the butterfly effect. The term originated in a sci-fi short story called A Sound of Thunder by American writer Ray Bradbury. It is a story of how the killing of a single butterfly millions of years in the past completely altered present and future events in the world.

The way I view the butterfly effect is very comparable to two established laws of physics working in conjunction:

1. Newton's third law, which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
2. The first law of thermodynamics, also known as the law of conservation of energy, which states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only be transferred or changed from one form to another.

Let’s see how these laws are applicable in your life.

When you take any action—be it physical, verbal, or mental—it has some sort of equal (and perhaps opposite) reaction, depending upon the nature of your action. Once an action is conducted, its effects are out there in nature. The energy or vibrations created by your action, whether positive or negative, will continually reverberate in nature, and it will be a deciding factor in your future experiences in life.

For any positive actions which are conducted in a state of truth, love, compassion, humility, kindness, gratitude, and forgiveness, there will be positive outcomes, either instantly or sometime in the future.

Let’s look at an instance of the butterfly effect in action in your life.

Imagine one day you are in a hurry to meet up with someone important. As you walk down the road, you see a poor kid selling newspapers. You feel something in your heart for him, and out of a state of love and compassion, you help him by purchasing all his newspapers. The kid thanks you and happily goes home early that day. On his way home, he stops to purchase some flowers for his mother. While he is purchasing the flowers, he sees a car speeding up the road and a woman crossing the road, unaware of the car’s approach. The kid immediately jumps into the road and pulls the woman out of harm’s way. To relax and calm the woman down, he gives her two roses and continues homeward. The woman thanks the kid for saving her life and, in a state of gratitude, continues on her way towards a nearby park where she is about to meet with the love of her life. When she enters the park, she smiles and gives you her two roses.

Son, this is the power of the butterfly effect.

Through your knowledge and awareness of these two powerful effects, you can be the active creator of your own life. You can use them to your advantage to design your dream life. Being aware of the importance of daily incremental efforts will significantly help you in your journey of life. Always keep in mind that any small action today can change the course of your history. This mindset will help you to make wise and right decisions. At any stage in your life, whenever you are in doubt, just follow a simple rule: make sure to operate as a friend to yourself, in a state of truth, love, compassion, kindness, humility, gratitude, and forgiveness. Doing this, you can rest assured that both the effects of nature are working toward your own good.