Yesterday I wrote about how, over time, by continually investing a portion of what you earn, you can grow your money machine to the point where someday in the future it will generate enough income to take care of you for the rest of your life without having to work. Tony Robbins calls this “your personal Mount Everest” to climb.
I recognize that any comparison to climbing Mount Everest could be intimidating. Yet there is a beautiful, simple process at work behind most successful endeavors: my good friend “slow and steady wins the race!” It’s not a difficult concept, though it is probably somewhat rarely embraced. I have used it for years to achieve things that matter to me: read big books, educate myself on financial matters, adopt successful savings habits, run marathons, and of course write hundreds of these blog posts. Recently I have used it to compose a lot of new music: in the past three months, I have accumulated 96 tracks on an Apple Music playlist of original compositions I created using Logic (note: some of these are the multiple versions of the same composition I worked on over multiple days).
“Slow and steady wins the race” is not just a nice saying. It is my truth! And I live it! This morning I ran 5.5 miles in 55 minutes. It felt great. 5.5 miles in 55 minutes averages out to 10 minute miles. This is perhaps about average pace for the average runner. Yet for the general population? Running 5.5 miles is NOT an easy or a normal distance. Nor is running for an hour.
A long time ago I committed to making exercise a regular part of my life. Pretty quickly this became primarily about running. I never forced this habit, but I did maintain it. In an early post on this blog, I wrote,
Over eight years ago, I decided that regular exercise was going to be a part of my life. I was tired of doing it only some of the time. I was tired of being inconsistent. I had been at a gym at one point, and gone jogging sometimes. But I wasn’t regular. I wasn’t DISCIPLINED for the long-term.
That all changed in late fall of 2007, when I made a decision to exercise 5 days a week for at least 25 minutes per day. I have kept to that commitment.
My Exercise Life: King Integrity, I Salute Thee! (Warning: more Explicit language from Potty Mouth Chris!) (from May 4, 2016)*
The reason this habit worked for me is that I was in alignment about taking it on. The slow and steady philosophy is great, but you still need to make sure you are ready for it. It has truly worked for me.
This is probably why I was never intimidated when I read Tony Robbins’ words “your personal Mount Everest.” I understand that big things get accomplished over time by taking small consistent actions, no matter how modest they may seem.
I love this approach. I trust this approach. I live this approach.
So call me the Tortoise. I don’t mind.
Because I know I’ll get there eventually…
*Note: If you read this post, please don’t mind the explicit language I used. This was from the early days of blogging, and for various reasons I often found myself using colorful language.