It’s been a hell of a journey in terms of the Compound Effect. I went through this book and inherited a wide-range of actionable tools, and hopefully you did, too.
Here are my best parts about the book and some podcasts to follow.
Microwave Mentality
As I’ve told you so many times, there’s the smallest percentage ever who become an “instant success,” but you’re going to have to do-away with that mentality. The “insta-results” and lottery-winning expectations are a no-go because that same person endured hundreds of failures.
In the sports world, there’s no chance at you becoming a genetically gifted monster like Terrel Owens and a few other NFL players were. The countless hours of reps, sweating, running bleachers, conditioning and hauling ass on the field is all behind the scenes. The “lose weight fast; get abs in 6-weeks” blogs are bogus. Fact is everyone has abs, but most people have them covered by fat.
In Thailand you have a beauty pill. This beauty pill, which would be unbelievably illegal on top of illegal in America, can be bought in shops here. The pill that causes diarrhea, vomiting and a range of other ailments, is used to make women “beautiful.” No, you need to put in the world, and there’s no other way around it.
Choice
Look, everyone has a choice. I really hate to put it in blunt terms, especially for people who are possibly living in impoverished countries, but you had the choice to join that gang. You had the choice to smoke that “blunt.” You made the choice of slandering someone online, only to hurt yourself more.
“Think about it. Everything in your life exists because you first made a choice about something. Choices are at the root of every one of your results. Each choice starts a behavior that over time becomes a habit. Choose poorly, and you just might find yourself back at the drawing board, forced to make new, often harder choices. Don’t choose at all, and you’ve made the choice to be the passive receiver of whatever comes your way.”
Excerpt From: Darren Hardy. “The Compound Effect.” iBooks.
“Have you ever been bitten by an elephant? How about a mosquito? It’s the little things in life that will bite you. Occasionally, we see big mistakes threaten to destroy a career or reputation in an instant—the famous comedian who rants racial slurs during a stand-up routine, the drunken anti-Semitic antics of a once-celebrated humanitarian, the anti-gay-rights senator caught soliciting gay sex in a restroom, the admired female tennis player who uncharacteristically threatens an official with a tirade of expletives. Clearly, these types of poor choices have major repercussions. But even if you’ve pulled such a whopper in your past, it’s not extraordinary massive steps backward or the tragic single moments that we’re concerned with here.”
I’m calling out all Americans: “it was you that bought the frozen food at the store, not the food companies profiting from you.” I recently saw a photo of my not-so-immediate family at a party, and with the six women in the photo, I would have to make a guestimate that the total weight of all of them put together had to be around 2000 lbs. This has become the norm. So normal in fact that my Aunt, who i love so dearly, claimed that I was too skinny and that I needed to gain weight – even though I’m an extremely healthy weight. Bizarre.
I’m imploring all of you to just say to yourself, “everything that is happening in my life is the result of my past thoughts and actions. For me to change what’s happening in my life, I need to change my thoughts and actions.”
Super impose that and stick it above the bathroom mirror in big red lettering. Make it a “pocket map” and read it every time you unload your pockets in the evening – kind of like a gratitude rock. Be responsible for it all.
I’m declaring ownership to why all those egregiously krass and vice behaving Thai women approached me on different social media platforms – saying I was “black. Yuck. Disgusting. I hate black men. Go back to Africa!”
Yeah, some of you are saying, “but you didn’t deserve that.” It’s not what I deserve, it’s what I unconsciously called into existence.
University of Hard Knocks – My Favorite Part
Oh, yes! Thank you, Mr. _______ for telling me I wasn’t good enough in wake of one of the most racially influenced situations I’ve ever endured in my life. Thanks to the company ____________, which I’ll be giving a firm shout out to, for showing me that I can do so so much more. Yes, it was rough in the beginning. What I thought was a sure-job heading into the last week of the year — turned — hiatus. This was wrenching, simply because I almost severed my own head at my job by flipping birds and talking bad about wife-tourists. I almost slipped up viciously, but luckily I didn’t; or else, I’d be out of a job right now. In the unfolding of the first quarter of this year are the dimensions of the “transitional period” for me. Yeah, there’s a lot “if” and “omg, what’s going to happen next?” However, I feel like I’m on the verge of getting my Master’s Degree at the University of Hard Knocks!
Success Is A (Half-) Marathon
Let’s put it this way: Sprint, Super, Beast.
The Spartan Spring is 7km long; Super is 13km long; and the beastly Beast is 20km long.
If this is your first time doing the competition, or if you’ve fat and overweight, would it be smart to do the Beast? No.
Super? No.
Sprint? NO!
None of them. What’s smart is to walk for 100m-400m every morning and get in the groove. The micro winds. Some people want to take leaps. I remember a man by the name of Mike, who was Persian, said to me “Arsenio, can you train me for the olympics?” Mike had never ran the 100m or 200m sprint before in his life, let alone he was clocking in an 11.5 in the 100m. In the olympics, you have to be sub-10 seconds.
Mike, no. However, if you train everyday, get the proper nutrition, see a masseuse on a routine basis and search for a how-to guide, you’ll ultimately make waves – but not in America.
I’m not trying to discourage Mike, but it’s a bit insane to just jump in with the wolves without knowing what their diet is – if that makes any sense.
Arsenio's ESL Podcast 
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