I’ve  let library books pile up again.   I finished a nice graphic novel memoir called “Relish” that was recommended by the podcast Librarians Assemble.

But I also have a small little pile of books recommended by online business folks on Patrick Flynn’s program,  “15 Entrepreneurs Answer:  ‘What I Wish I’d Known Before I Started My Own Business.'”  These books must be pretty popular because they are all on hold and I can’t renew them.

“The Compound Effect” is the most accesible.    Though I’ve skimmed rather than read each sentence carefully, this book hits home the message of the power of habits.

Though I found some of his metaphors and examples tiring,  Darren Hardy’s message of the power of daily habits and decisions  affirms what I’m trying to do with habits lately.   Our daily decisions of what we do have a compound effect that are imperceptible from day to day but make a difference over the long haul.  Pizza or salad every day?  Try it for the year and see the difference.

Some other practices that were interesting reaffirmed:

• Track what you want to change or the habit you want to establish
• Think in terms of what you want to add to your life instead of what you want to subtract
• Little changes done consistently can change your life’s trajectory.

Even though this book wasn’t so engaging it’s nice to have something to remind me of powerful best practices.

Just skimming and taking then taking  the best ideas is sometimes the best strategies for some books.  “Compound Effect” has good section titles and chapter summaries with good ideas.   Use the text features to get something out of any book.

“Compound Effect” was not the most thrilling reading but it was a good way to remind myself of the power of habits.   In the last few months I’ve been writing and playing more guitar because I have the Chains.cc app to remind me to do a little bit.   I’m experiencing the “compound effect” even though I didn’t read the book word by word.  I’m building.  I’ve got a habit.