How would you like to turn 1% into 3,640.93%? What if you could do this in a few minutes per day?
After World War II ended, the United States sent a man over to Japan to rebuild. His four step process launched a revolutionary way of thinking. Let's look at the steps:
No matter what you do, use the four steps as an improvement process. Let's say we want to run a little faster than we do today. Let's use the four step process to improve.
- Plan - I plan to run the 100 yard dash 1/2 second faster. We use mental preparation. Visualize yourself running faster. Visualize yourself running the race, and finishing 1/2 second faster. What other things will you do to run a little bit faster?
- Do - Go run the 100 yard dash. Follow everything in your Plan.
- Check - Check the results. Did you run the 100 yard dash faster?
- Act - What went well? What could you change? Could you exercise your legs more to run faster? Could you eat better? What about different training?
When the man brought the four step process to Japan, a new term was born. The Japanese coined the term
Kaizen.
What is Kaizen?
Now we’ve established a frame of mind to get in, let’s slide on over into an execution mindset. The next principle to learn and embrace is Kaizen. Kaizen comes from an American statistician named William Edwards Deming. Deming believed in continuous incremental improvements in all aspects of your job. Kaizen is a Japanese term from post World War II. It means improvement, or change for the best. Managing a website while trying to get traffic is a hefty task. It’s easy to get derailed.
Small Goals Transform Into Big Gains
To keep on track, focus on a small goal everyday. Pick one aspect of your life. Studying, exercise, getting better at a new hobby, making friends, etc. Pick one of these and set a timeframe. It can be a day or a week. Then, I want you to improve your numbers by 1% per period. Do something every day or every week to improve your new skill by 1%.
I pick 1% because it’s manageable. 1% is quantifiable. 1% gives you something else - momentum. You see, you just need to start moving. Once you begin motion, Newton’s first law takes over. Objects in motion tend to stay in motion. Continuous motion, even at 1% improvements, starts to pay dividends.
If you stay consistent with Kaizen, compound interest takes over. You see, 1% per day for 30 days amounts to more than 30%. Compounding takes over. Let’s review a Kaizen strategy at 1% per day, every day, and see what you get:
- After 30 days, you improve by 33.45%
- After 60 days, you improve by 79.87%
- After 90 days, you improve by 142.44%
- After 120 days, you improve by 226.77%
- After 180 days, you improve by 493.64%
- Wanna go for a full year at 365 days? 1% per day, every day, gets you a 3,640.93% gain
Now think back to your 1% a day. Each day is a drop in the bucket, over time, it turns into a gushing waterfall.
