How can I become more successful?

How can I become more successful? I have just watched this brilliant TED talk by Claudiu Moldovan, which looks at how we can change our life. We tend to overestimate what we can achieve in a year, but underestimate what we can achieve in ten years, because we fail to consider the effect of compounding.

The starting point is to write down our goals, and the strategy we are going to use. This activates both the creative and the analytical parts of our brain. We also need to decide on the price we are willing to pay to achieve our goals.

What we do daily will define our success. The things that we need to do are easy to do, but also easy to wriggle out of. We need to have the right attitude, do the daily tasks, and let compounding take care of the rest. We need to do the slightly uncomfortable tasks, because they will gradually lead to a very comfortable life. On the other hand, if we always choose to do what is most easy and comfortable now, it is the recipe for an uncomfortable future that does not live up to our dreams.

We can choose to read a book, listen to a podcast, exercise, drink more water, be more committed to our work goals, and spend more quality time with our loved ones. Whatever we choose to do will drive our passion, and give us a purpose.

It is helpful to think of the 20/80 rule – 80% of the results are delivered by 20% of the people. We need to decide which activities will bring us closer to our goals, and focus 80% of our time on those, so we can start bringing our dreams to life. We also need to track our daily progress, in order to maximise our performance in each of the areas we have selected.

Find your passion, and focus on improving your strengths. Associate with people who inspire you and support you. Take action daily towards your goals and allow the compound effect to work its magic!