Compounding, The Growth Paradox and Your Business

Why Can't I do A Spinning Pull-Up

I wanted to learn how to do a spinning pull-up.

I had spent the last year learning how to do pull-ups and could already do ten. But whenever I tried to do a spinning pull-up, my arms locked, and I couldn't engage my lats.

It was a little frustrating because it just wasn't happening.

However, I continued to do my weekly pull-ups at the gym and small exercises to get stronger; one day, I went back and tried the spinning pull-up after two years.

The first one was a little wobbly, but I tried again, and it happened! That day, I did the spinning pull-ups about ten times before my arms gave out. And I couldn't believe it.

That Ah-huh Moment

Today, I was listening to my new favorite podcaster, and he shared his story of how his podcast grew more in the last month of 2023 than in the first three and a half years he had been making them.

Hearing this took me back to my pull-up story, and it was when I realized that I had heard this story many times before from people in different industries who all had the same experience. And it made me think of you and me.

See, most successful people start doing work and creating things nobody cares about. But they don't give up; they continue doing small things to learn and improve their work.

Then, one day, everything takes off, and this is what is known as the Growth Paradox.

The Growth Paradox

The growth paradox tells us that growth takes a longer time to come than you thought it would have when you got started.

But then, it happens so much faster than you ever thought possible.

And this is why I wanted to share this with you. For reference, when you feel it's taking too long for the outcome you wish to see.

Remember that, as you continue to work on your business, it's those small daily actions, the boring ones, the things you don't want to do but still get up and do that make you, your business, and your products better.

Growth will happen slowly if you continue to do it, but suddenly, you won't even realize it and will be beyond where you had hoped to be.

The Challenge
Take some time this week to identify an area in your life where you have seen the growth paradox at work.