Honest to say, I haven't experienced the graph of success on a big scale (a big success, maybe). Therefore, asking whether or not I truly understand it, I will admit that I don't.
There's a big difference between knowing and understanding, and as Richard Feynman (a great physicist, professor) also stated that knowing the name of something doesn't mean we understand it.
Just like that! In this newsletter, I share about the graph of success I heard somewhere. I don't really understand it, because I have to experience it in my own life, and make it become a part of my own behavior to truly understand it.
This time, I just know it, and share it here.
The graph of success
Let's plot a graph explaining and describing the graph of success...
The graph of success looks somehow like the one above. At first, we see nothing, we have no hope.
Keep going along the way long enough, at some points, we'll see the turning point, where we receive the fruit of the good seeds we planted.
Let's take an example
You receive an amount of money, plus 10% of it, each month.
Let's say the first amount is $100. The next month, you get $110. Next, you'll get $121.
After one year, you'll get: $314
Two years: $984
Three years: $3,091
Four years: $9,701
Five years: $30,448
Six years: $95,559
...
Ten years: $9,270,906
...
The point is: The first 5 years the return is really low. But keeping it until the 6th year, everything changes. And from then, it just keeps growing, and the ratio of growth is also growing.
This image can be summed by the graph of success.
I'm trying to take this idea into my mind, and turn it into my own behavior, that I will never lose my mind, or give up when I know I'm doing something great but still receive no compensation.
Taking inspiration from it...
I heard stories from successful youtubers sharing their processes. The main theme is: at first, they see nothing... No return. No light of hope; kept going, ignoring the heart-breaking fact that they were seeing no growth. Gradually, as the time built up, to a particular point, the consequence changed dramatically, when the consistency has satisfied life's requirements, they got the dream come true.
Especially, in finance, this graph truly reflects the situation. We don't hear much about those who make money short-term; even greatest financial guys with experiences and genuine understandings admit that they can't predict the future in short-term.
We, however, hear the name Warren Buffett, as his ability to control his emotion, to keep investing at the age of 11 until now. For 3 / 4 the years of a century, he kept his investments, made quality decisions.
The graph of success describes the process of Warren Buffett as a great majority of his fortune came after his 50th birthday. It's like the whole amount of money he'd made until that year is a water drop, but when that turning point came, everything changed, dramatically.
The idea of this graph resonates with me so much, as I'm trying to discipline myself, and be better day by day, to build my future and my dream. Still to this point, no return, no compensation could I see, but thanks to this idea, I keep going, because I know somewhere on the line, I will meet my turning points.
So, now, I'm learning to enjoy the process I'm going, making friends with the hardships, difficulties, to make the final success not an ending, or a result, but a consequence of everything I've been doing.
Thanks for your reading.
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Tim D. King