The Long Compound

The reason most habits don't stick: you're trying to add a behavior to a person who wouldn't do it. Decide who you are first. A runner doesn't negotiate the morning run — it's just what runners do. The habit follows the identity, not the other way around. Then make the first version so small it's almost embarrassing. Two minutes. One page. The point isn't the size — it's that you never break the chain. Everything that compounds starts boring. Most people quit before it does anything. Stay past that point and you're already rare.

@TheBookNewb I wish everyone could know this. Starting small is actually very smart.

@TheLongCompound This resonates with me. My reading journey started with a few pages a day, not some dramatic life overhaul.

I avoided discipline for 20+ years and kept winning anyway. That taught me the wrong lesson: effort is optional. No need if you make 6 figures a year working 3 times less than most people. About 2 months ago I decided to test the opposite. Not with a 5am routine, cold plunges, reading a book every week, or a 12-habit stack. But with the smallest things I could take seriously. Right now I'm consistent on three: - making my bed every morning - 2 minutes of stretching (psoas and QL) - push-ups daily, started at 3 in one set, hit 28 this morning across three sets. Most of my behavior is still the same (same diet, unorgonized sleeping pattern, drinking). But these three are holding. The reason they're holding is probably the reason they sound embarrassing to say out loud. They're too small to skip. Too small to negotiate with. Too small to fail. X is full of morning routines built for people who already have discipline. That's not what I'm doing here. I'm trying to build the thing from scratch, in public, with honest results. Small is the only way I've found that doesn't collapse on me yet. Ask me in a year 🤞

@TheBookNewb Thank you so much.. haha.. and yes I agree

@TheLongCompound Honestly, 28 pushups and a made bed sounds like a pretty solid day to me 😄

SpaceX apparently just bought Cursor for $60 billion. A rocket company now owns the AI that writes your code. Meanwhile I'm over here genuinely proud of 28 pushups and a made bed. The machines are approaching superhuman. I'm still negotiating with basic human.

@thejustinwelsh Each yes looks reasonable on its own.

No matter how busy your life gets, it's always a reflection of what you've chosen to say yes to.

@buccocapital That's the model though. Consulting sells hours, so headcount is the product, not overhead. Also exactly what AI is going to eat first for breakfast.

I am just now hearing that Accenture has 800,000 employees. I cannot believe it. What in tarnation?

@RobertGreene True, and completely useless. Nobody's ever changed a single decision because they remembered the odds of being born.

The odds against you being born as you are are beyond astronomical.

@Markmanson Same mistake feels different at 25 and 35. The event didn't change, the meaning did, mostly on its own.

You don’t regret what happened—you regret the meaning you’ve assigned to it.

@RyanHoliday how long can a man keep that anger going on.. it'll die eventually

Our stillness depends on our ability to slow down and choose not to be angry, to run on different fuel.

@ML_Philosophy Feeling alone.. the feeling sticks more than the fact.

What's harder: being alone or feeling alone?

@dickiebush What if you're starting over. It'll be hard to know which task will be the one that's going to generate the highest revenue. That's a struggle.

How to grow your business: Spend the first 3 hours of your day on your single highest revenue-generating activity. Design your entire life around protecting those 3 hours. Obsess over choosing the right task before bed. Repeat every day for longer than you think is necessary.

@paraschopra Freedom to make the bet isn't the same as the bet being good. But I'm really rooting for Midjourney, such amazing super smart people.

Midjourney launching an ultrasound scanner is such a clear example of freedom enjoyed by bootstrapped companies that VC-backed companies would never have. Only time will tell if it’s the right bet. But such bold bets require ownership and a kind of devil-may-care attitude.

@ML_Philosophy I don't think you can will self-respect to outweigh loneliness in the exact moment you need it. It's the sum of how you treated yourself when no one was around. Build it in the quiet days and it's just there when the lonely night tests it.

Your self-respect should be stronger than your loneliness.

@kunalb11 The humor is also the proof. You can't really joke about something that still owns you.

When you share stories of your misfortunes humorously, you stop paying emotional interest on old losses and start collecting wisdom from them instead.

@readswithravi Only if you actually finish them. Don't own them as trophies and keep them stacked.

The antidote for brain rot is books. The antidote for brain rot is books. The antidote for brain rot is books. The antidote for brain rot is books. The antidote for brain rot is books. The antidote for brain rot is books. The antidote for brain rot is books.

@TheRich_Gospel Worth printing and hanging on a wall you wake up to everyday

Speak 5 lines to yourself every morning: 1. I am the BEST. 2. I CAN do it. 3. GOD is ALWAYS with me. 4. I am a WINNER. 5. Today is MY DAY. Do this for 30 days straight.

@hnshah Already happening, on every piece of software I'm working on

Model agnostic software is going to become quite a bit more common place and popular.

@CoachDanGo Strong lungs at 80 come from a boring habit you started at 35. It'll compound :)

Between the ages of 30-50 we lose up to 15% of our lung capacity. By age 80, we lose up to 50%. The older we get the more we lose lung capacity. If you want to live longer, build stronger lungs.

@russellbrunson And they probably still do. The doubt stays there but you learn to not let it have a say.

Every person you look up to once questioned themselves too.

@DearS_o_n Good advice in general. But privacy would also walls you off from people that may actually root for you.

You're a man. Stop telling people about your private life. It’s dangerous to showcase what God is doing in your life around unhappy people. VERY dangerous!

@rajshamani Being informed by definition should mean that it's something that changes you. If a headlines won't change a single action in my life this week, knowing it early just cost my focus and gives me nothing.

Curated ignorance is the new modern superpower. Trying to stay updated on everything floods your brain with useless anxiety. Filtering out 95% of world noise leaves you with the focus required to fix your immediate life.

@DearS_o_n This is great advice that works on 2 levels: Leaving a safe zone will push you to work more, kinda like burning your bridges. Nothing awesome happens in small towns, so you'll have more stories to tell.

WARNING: Your environment can 100% ruin your potential. Leave that small town before it kills all your dream.