As we approach the middle of August and summer winds down, that means getting back into a regular routine. Maybe that means attacking your New Year’s Resolutions that you’ve put on hold or maybe it just means getting back on track. To set goals, you must have a process. I love setting big goals because if you aren’t challenging yourself and thinking big picture, you are limiting your potential. To reach your big-time goals though, you must be able to break things down on a smaller level. That means the monthly, weekly and daily levels. In Darren Hardy’s, “The Compound Effect,” (one of my favorite books!) the basic premise to be successful is to make small, smart choices consistently in your life and eventually this will compound into success. To reach the big goal, it does not happen overnight. There is no such thing as an overnight success. When the media labels the newest young star in acting or the Olympics, an overnight success, it just isn’t true. We didn’t see the blood, sweat and tears they put into their practice. We just see the end result of them being at the top of their sport. The compound effect is mainly used in financial circles as compound interest is the key to your retirement (unless you know of the next Amazon and in that case, let me know! ;-)). No one just adds a lump sum to their retirement portfolio when they are age 60 and calls it good. Instead, starting early, you contribute a little bit out of each paycheck. Listen, it doesn’t seem like much at first, but if you do this consistently over time, it adds up and that’s the power of compound interest. How about applying this to other areas of your life? Want to be healthier? It starts with little deposits each day. Workout class on Monday, taking the stairs on Tuesday, opting for a salad instead of fast food on Wednesday, sleeping 8 hours on Thursday and the list goes on. These aren’t groundbreaking things. In fact, they are just small choices but if you do these over a period of time, you become healthier. The compound effect is powerful but it requires consistency and consistency is tough. There are going to be times when life gets in the way, but don’t make it two bad days in a row. I believe consistency is the key to success and no matter what you are trying to achieve, it’s going to be challenging. Sometimes it can be monotonous but that’s why people don’t reach their goals a lot. They get bored and go for that next shiny object. But guess what? If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you! You can do it. What area of your life are you going to be implementing the compound effect more?