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The Compounding Power of Long-Term Mindset
“All the returns in life, whether in wealth, relationships, or knowledge, come from compound interest.” — Naval Ravikant
In a world that values instant gratification and quick results, it’s easy to get lost in the short term.
Many of us are used to seeking immediate rewards and quick results. However, those who take a long-term perspective in life tend to be more successful. The best way to succeed in any life area is to make small, consistent investments over time.
Long-term games are habits, routines, rituals and actions that require sustained effort over an extended period. They can be anything from building wealth to improving your relationships.
Playing the long-term game means making choices that may yield little results but are likely to impact our future positively.
It also means thinking beyond short-term outcomes and considering the first and second-order consequences of your actions.
“Wisdom is understanding the long-term consequences of your actions,” Navalsaid.
When we play the long-term game, we are focused on creating a better life for our future selves rather than just our immediate wants and needs.
Whether building a successful career, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, or developing meaningful relationships, playing the long game is a better trajectory for winning the game of life.
When we focus on long-term habits and actions, we are less likely to get caught up in the distractions and temptations of the present moment.
Instead, we are motivated by a sense of purpose and direction, which can provide us with a sense of satisfaction and fulfilment.
One of the key benefits of playing the long-term game is that it helps us to develop discipline and self-control.
We learn to delay gratification and resist the temptation of instant gratification. This can be particularly challenging in a world increasingly focused on instant results and immediate satisfaction.
Playing the long-term game can also help you build resilience. When we are focused on our long-term goals, we can better handle setbacks and challenges along the way. We are more likely to persevere in adversity and bounce back stronger than before.
Long-term games may not provide immediate gratification, but they offer something much more valuable — success that lasts.
When we take the long view in life, we leverage time to compound gains and actions. Warren Buffett is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors of all time.
He is known for his long-term perspective on investing, often holding onto stocks for many years or even decades.
He has famously said, “When we own portions of outstanding businesses with outstanding managements, our favourite holding period is forever.”
His long-view approach has enabled him to build a multi-billion dollar fortune over several decades.
Whether you are compounding money, relationships, or skills, time is your greatest force multiplier,” argues Thomas Waschenfelder.
On the long-term trajectory, we often have to make sacrifices in the short term. That means cutting back on expenses.
Investing time in indispensable skills. Spending more time pursuing meaningful side hustles. However, the payoff can be significant.
A mental model worth trying:
Bezos' Regret Minimization Framework
"I knew that when I was 80, I was not going to regret having tried this. I was not going to regret trying to participate in this thing called the Internet that I thought was going to be a really big deal. I knew that if I failed, I wouldn't regret that. But I knew the one thing I might regret is not ever having tried." – Jeff Bezos
To apply Bezos' Regret Minimization Framework, follow these steps:
1. Reflect on your life goals: Consider your long-term ambitions and what you truly want to achieve in your life.
2. Identify potential choices: Outline the possible decisions you can make to reach your goals, and consider the impact each choice might have on your life.
3. Project yourself into the future: Imagine yourself as an 80-year-old looking back on your life. Which choices would you regret not making? Which decisions would lead to the greatest personal satisfaction?
4. Make your decision: Choose the path that minimizes potential regrets and aligns with your long-term goals. By using Bezos' Regret Minimization Framework to guide your decision-making process, you can prioritize choices that will lead to long-term satisfaction and help you achieve a fulfilling life with minimal regrets.
Content worth reading
Zero to $1 Million ARR in Seven Months —The HeyGen team recently hit a huge milestone, reaching $1 million ARR in just seven months. Simultaneously, the company maintained 50% MoM growth for nine consecutive months. It happened quickly after going through 30 product iterations, upgrading the brand, and finally launching it to the public last July.
Compounding Optimism —Technological progress is easy to underestimate because it’s so counterintuitive to see how, for example, the philosophies of a guy who invented Polaroid film would go on to inspire the iPhone. Or how an 18th-century physicist would write a notebook that would set the foundations for a modern electrical system.
Big Tech’s Biggest Bets (Or What It Takes to Build a Billion-User Platform) — By my estimates, Meta has spent approximately $56B on its Reality Labs division since 2014 and through Q2 2023. This spend spans marketing, manufacturing, and device subsidies (most Quests are sold below-cost), as well as investments into software…
Things First-Time Founders Get Wrong — Lattice CEO Jack Altman wrote an insightful list of things many first-time founders misunderstand when building their startups. Reading through this thread will help you avoid common mistakes like counting out competitors, wasting time on investor conversations when you're not actively fundraising, and focusing on the wrong things.
Tools & Apps
ClickUp sells itself as the ‘all-in-one’ workspace for digital collaboration. The feature list is long and includes things like spreadsheets, chat, project management, to-do lists, time tracking, events, and more.
Ambr — Tackle Workplace Stress and Prevent Burnout. Use code SWAP25 for a 25% discount on your subscription to a healthier, more productive workplace.
OneCal syncs your calendars in real-time, helps avoid meeting conflicts,
saves time, and keeps your personal life private.
Deel — Compliantly hire anyone, anywhere, in 5 minutes with Deel.
Vaulty — A platform to request end-to-end encrypted information sharing from anyone with a web browser, so you can avoid sending sensitive information like passwords via email.
What I’m Reading
Meco — Enjoy newsletters in a space designed for reading. Meco is a distraction-free space for reading and discovering newsletters, separate from the inbox. Add your newsletters in seconds and liberate your inbox. It’s completely free. Try Meco
Morning Brew —Get smarter in 5 minutes with Morning Brew. There's a reason over 4 million people start their day with Morning Brew - the daily email that delivers the latest news from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. Check it out! It’s free.
Stay productive!
Thomas