The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy – Review

There are a lot of motivational books in the market that almost repeat the same set of ideas in a different style and in a different way. From the classics of Dale Carnegie to moderns authors like Mark Manson, things have not changed too much. However, some authors are writing in different styles and try to convey messages in other than the traditional ways. There are many books that I can name. However, let’s discuss the matter of importance here. I have recently read an interesting book ‘The Compound Effect’ written by Darren Hardy. For many, it is a wonderfully inspirational book that talks about practical ideas one can work upon to grow in various walks of life – with money at the centre. It guides the readers to be aware of the good and bad effects of their behaviours, actions, thoughts and decisions in the short as well as long run. There are so many minor things that we miss in our life and we often ignore those as they are not going to affect our life so much. The author has mentioned those minor points and described them very wonderfully to let us know the pros and cons of our behaviour and habits. Yes, it is different from those 7 habits… you got my point!

The Book:
The Compound Effect is a motivational book written by the publisher of Success magazine – Darren Hardy. He has earned a lot of experiences in his life and wonderfully utilised those in this book – as it seems from the outside because many have said so on Amazon or Goodreads in their reviews. Well, reading the book might give you mixed impressions. The book talks about the fundamentals of our life that are needed to hold a balance to achieve something great. We all have read compound interest in our schools but we have never imagined how it will work in real life, in abstract and practical ways. The author has tried to connect the dots between old learning and modern life. Sometimes we fail to measure the long term impact of a change and we stop them in the early stages. For instance, we cannot bring six-pack abs visible within a few minutes after a session of push-ups. The compound effects pay you in the long run, not in the short run. The book talks the same, in short.
The book has been divided into six chapters starting from ‘The Compound Effect in Action’ to ‘Acceleration’ in between you will read some wonderful chapters like Choices, Habits and more. It has explored the basics of human nature that consists of habits, choices, influences and behaviours. The language of the book is moderate and anyone can read it fairly comfortably. However, the book does not only run on the basis of its language and concept. It has to thread things together in the best order and present it in a better than the best way to stay ahead in the completion. On that scale, the book scores a little above the average and remains one of the lots… but above many in that lot!

Critical Insight:
The book is filled with wonderful examples that will surely motivate you to change your behaviour. Will it? May well do. The concept of ‘Magic Penny’ forces us to think in a broader perspective than seeing the thing in black and white. If you have a choice to get $3million in cash or a single penny that doubles in value every day for 31 days. You would surely choose $3million cash but at the end of the 31st day you will have the same amount but if someone has chosen another option ends up making 10.7 million dollars. This is how the compound effect pays in the long run.
Apart from this, you should be directed towards your goal otherwise you will land somewhere else very far from the main goal. And this is the message that will be coming out as a refrain from the pages that you turn. Though the style is new and so is the whole packaging, the book drains out quickly towards becoming the same old jargon as you keep reading it. I am not criticising the author. I am just tired of the same old rhetorics – work hard, be consistent and become better. I know it, Mr Author!
Well, the author has given a wonderful example in the book and named the concept as ‘A One Degree Difference’. Imagine an aeroplane leaving from Los Angeles flying direct to Rome, Italy. The flight will take about 12 hours if the plane goes in a direct and straight line. But, if the nose of the aeroplane is pointed just 1 degree off course to the south, after 12 hours the plane will land somewhere in Tunisia, Africa! If it’s 1 degree off course to the north the plane might land in Slovenia or Austria!
In the same way, if you are not on the right track you will end up somewhere else in your life. Don’t be on the track rather being on the right track is important in life. The book has explored many dimensions of life that provides a glimpse of right and wrong choices. We are not aware of the things which do not show any real-time effect. Imagine if you eat a burger in the night and wakes up fat in the morning then you will surely never eat any junk foods. However, in real life, everything is connected with a compound effect and you can not visualise it in a short period.  Reading two or three books in a month can annoy you but if you keep up with this habit for four years you will end up reading 96 to 144 books. The book helps the readers to make the right choices at the right time.
Out of many shortcomings I can find in the book, the most annoying one is the self-exaggeration of the author. He always uses to say because I am the publisher of Succes magazine, you have to believe these things. On the contrary, a good author always tries to remain absent and let the readers decide which course to take out of the many offered. Readers should be set free in making their choices to believe in something or not. Nevertheless, without a doubt, The Compound Effect, in toto, comes out as a good package containing a nice motivational piece of literature that we seldom find these days.

Conclusion:
The book talks about four major things Scaleability, flexibility, adaptability and longevity. What you want to in your life make it more border and flexible. Learn to adapt to new things with time. Always think about the long term effects of changes rather than thinking of short term gains. If you want to read the same in detail, please get a copy of this book by Darren Hardy.

Buy the book from Amazon India – click here

Review by Amit for Indian Book Critics