10% better, 100% better off

They say to dress 10% better than those you are dealing with in order to be professional, but not overdo it. I wonder what 10% worse does?

That is where I likely am.

Perhaps 20%

Next week there is a large, internal, multi-day sales meeting and I was just reminded that there is an awards dinner one evening. That is a suit event.

I have put on a couple pounds since the stroke.

Maybe a couple of couples.

Nothing "too bad", but I tried on the latest suit I have bought (which was pre-Covid) and it is a little tight in all the wrong places. I am not keen to go and get another suit for this event, so I will make do and perhaps go for a run and not eat for the next few days :D

I also went to get a hair cut. Something I rarely do, as I have been cutting my own harr for the better part of two decades now. It started off because I wasn't happy with the cuts I was getting and then later, because I could save money doing it. Now, it is mostly about convenience - I am terrible at making appointments for personal things. It is good to have it done occasionally though, kind of like a "reset" for my hair.

While I was sitting waiting and thinking about that "10% better" concept and how it applies to energy levels too, where if looking to raise or decrease a person's or group's energy level, it is useful to come in just above or just below, and they will adjust - I was also thinking about how it is probably fits for investments too. I wonder in the space of a lifetime, what difference does behaving 10% financially better make for example, on a retirement position.

From a simple compounding interest formula of putting 100 or 110 in per month at 20% over 40 years, it is obviously going to be a 10% increase in the total, as that is the only factor that is changing and both are compounding at the same rate.

However, what I wonder is if the difference in other areas would compound also, where for example, just like increasing the energy of a group by being a little more energetic, being a little more focused on investing a little more, will have knock-on effects. Especially for those who are "not energetic" at all.

Looking at my own exercise regimen (or lack there of), if I were to start with say, 10 minutes of exercise a day, I would slowly get results. But, as the results were realized, it is far more likely that I would want to see more results and perhaps, spend 15 or 20 minutes a day instead, speeding the process. And then, once I have made that move, then it is again more likely that I would make other changes to my behavior to support greater results, like decreasing sugary food and increasing healthy food and water consumption.

Is it the same for investing?

I assume that an "investment mindset" doesn't just apply to risk-taking and investment strategy for financial gain, and I suspect it gets applied to all manner of life behaviors. For example, the investment into study or performing work tasks, as well as the willingness to work for and take opportunities as they arise, even if there is no immediate payoff or even, a short-term loss incurred. These kinds of things can lead to greater incomes and when paired with a slightly higher propensity to invest, can amplify the results.

Rather than just following the "rule" of save 10% of income (pretax remember), a whole range of factors are rolled into the strategy. And once there are the gains, those gains don't want to be lost and even a reduction in the rate of gain is seen as a loss. Even if not required any longer, investing less or getting a slightly lower ROI is seen far more negatively than the impact it might have on the outcomes.

When skills training individuals, I look to target keystone habits that will impact on a group of adjacent behaviors in order to accomplish a compound effect over time. Even small changes in the "right" areas will have significant impacts down the track, as all of the "streams of value" start to combine into a river. It was this approach I brought into Hive also, where while it was a lot of work for not very much at the time, these small actions added up to not only bring in steadier and higher amounts, but changed me as a person - and this is where the real value lays.

If I hadn't have started doing this 5.5 years ago, I likely wouldn't have taken the second job position at the company I now work for 3.5 years ago. Taking the position allowed me to add some additional funds into crypto, as well as increase my compulsory retirement contributions, as it is being supplemented from two sources. On top of this, the perspectives I have gained from others and through my own writing has improved my collateral and attitude as an employee, giving me opportunities to improve my position and income at the company. The steadiness of employed work has been highly valuable during Corona times, where my business too a major hit on income and still hasn't recovered.

All of this takes time and there are no guarantees in it, but speaking from opportunity likelihood, doing the work to improve behaviors is more likely than not to improve results. But, it really does take work and thought, but not everything has to be a conscious decision made constantly. For example, investing programmatically a certain amount each month automatically takes the mental burden off making the decision, just like building the habit to go to the gym on a particular schedule makes it far easier to stick to the routine.

Putting in that 10% extra effort into improving defaults barely feels like an increase at all, but a few years down the track the difference it might make on our lives can be profound. As they say, "money doesn't buy happiness" but what people forget is, money doesn't live in a vacuum. There are many clusters of factors involved that will affect our ability to obtain money, as well as will be affected by the attainment. I wonder if people actually broke down their requirements to "be happy" - how many would be acting to be so. I suspect that like most, we focus on the easier and likely short-term factors, while ignoring or downplaying the factors that are harder and take longer to achieve.

There is much more to happiness than dressing better or getting a haircut, but if not where one wants to be, start acting with some attention and intention to improve the way you dress yourself, so when you look in the mirror, you are content with what you see in every aspect that matters to you.