Darren Hardy is an interesting guy. I first learned about him when a friend alerted me to his “Darren Daily” morning motivational videos. The videos are OK— nothing to write home about. He isn’t exactly brilliant and a lot of the videos come off as over-the-top but those videos, in turn, alerted me to the book.
The book is Darren at his best. It was carefully considered and well written. It’s worth having a closer look.
The foundation of the book is simple; it’s in the title. Small steps, when done consistently make a world of difference. Darren doesn’t claim to bring any new information to the game. Indeed, he quotes Jim Rone when he warns “Truth is not new, it’s old. Be suspicious of the guy with ‘new antiques.’” Instead, he claims to be bringing a new strategy. As a strategist, I think that claim is far too generous. A strategy is quintessentially insight about information and that’s not what Darren offers. From my perspective, what he offers is motivational anecdote— inspiration to execute the strategy you’ve heard about but never followed. The stories are what make the book worth a read. You can’t get that sense of inspiration from a spark notes summary. Regardless, I’m going to jot down a few of my own notes.
The first part of the book deals with setting up the compound equation. Small, smart choices + consistency + time = RADICAL DIFFERENCE. Those even mildly versed in graphical algebra will note that the graph of this equation is hardly exponential. Also, it doesn’t make much sense. Here’s my version of the equation based on the same principles. (smart–daily-choices/inconsistency) ^time=RADICAL CHANGE. Darren then proceeds to give several examples of the equation in action. Some hypothetical; Three friends, magic penny; some experiential; Dad’s weight lifting, children of the wealthy.
The next section of the book deals with choices. Essentially, Darren believes that everyone is self-made, but only the successful people claim to be. I’m not sure how much I buy that, but the argument has merit from a game theory perspective.
This isn’t Darren’s idea; it’s a counter-argument to the default response to Darren. Of course, circumstances matter! Of course, path dependence is a thing! But, you’re actually better off not believing that. To answer Daren’s question, no, in reality, not everybody is a self-made man, but believing that you are is better than the truth.
The rest of the book can be summed up as a cause-effect argument. Break down goals into habits, stack habits into routines, turn routines into momentum and use momentum to break the ceiling.
- There were a few interesting stories, quotes, and unique ideas that caught my attention.
- Darren had an employee with greater personal costs than income, he taught her how to cut costs and her life improved, she started cutting costs for his business (as part of her job) on commission and is now a millionaire.
- A grateful journal (of things about your spouse) can be a great way to improve a relationship. (I tried it and liked it)
- “Success is doing a half dozen things really well, repeated five thousand times”–Daren Hardy
- “Tracking your progress and missteps is key for long-term success.” (I prefer “if you can’t measure it you can’t improve it”) but this works.
- “The difference between the number one golfer and number ten golfer is just 1.9 strokes. The difference in prize money is huge.” (Doing the extra pull-up with terrible form at the end of a set makes a tiny difference with a massive impact. In many disciplines, you don’t have to be perfect, you just have to be the best by a tiny bit)