Long-Term Vision or Short-Term thinking

One of the reason why achieving ‘mastery’ is so difficult is because we hold a short term view on almost everything. 

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos once asked Warren Buffett: “You're the second richest guy in the world. Your investment thesis is so simple. Why don't more people just copy you?” Buffett replied, “Because nobody wants to get rich slow.”

Unlike Buffet, our default setting is to look for the results of our actions. We want tangible outcomes; right now!

We don't factor in time in the equation → actions (input) = result (output). 

One reason for this behavior is that we crave for certainty. We want guarantees. And since, there is no surety of an outcome, we prefer to take whatever is immediately available. Nevertheless, history has repeatedly demonstrated that individuals who worked patiently on something over a long period of time, frequently achieved something extraordinary & beautiful. 

The marshmallow experiment is an apt example to prove this. However, we need to fine tune it to fit our case. In the experiment, the marshmallow is the prize for patience. There is no long term grind expected from the child. 

When we are building something meaningful, we place one brick at a time with care and precision. We embark on this journey with meticulous goal setting, creating a comprehensive framework and formulating a thoughtful implementation plan. Each day becomes a joyful endeavor as we focus on the placement of the singular brick we currently hold.