Post pandemic, I got engaged into the research what is more important for an employee as far as one’s growth within organization is concerned. While working towards the matter, I carved out mainly two type of employment growth within the organization. 1. Linear Growth 2. Exponential Growth. If I may take the liberty to deep dive into the given subject, then I also have to bank over the concept of Compounding to make it more relevant. First of all, I want you to understand what Compounding Insinuates.

Simply put, Compounding means little actions during respective stint lead to exponential consequences over a period of several years. These consequences can be virtuous or depraved depending on what actions you took.

Let me share you one specimen to make it simpler for you to pursue. Two close friends started their careers in the same organization at the age of 25. Let's name them as A and B. A decides to put in extra efforts at his work, Saves extra money and Follows a disciplined schedule. B on the other hand is mediocre at work and just does enough to get by. He never saves his money and has very less discipline in life.

At the end of One year, They are almost at the same position. They both have their jobs, A has some extra money due to his saving habits but B doesn't care as he feels his job is eternal. B also makes fun of A for staying meticulous. 

At the end of Two years, A is starting to get a little ahead of B and gets a promotion for his performance. His pay rises and he also saves more so his savings start getting bigger and bigger. B continues to be paid the same and started getting jealous. He has little savings but continues to take up more negative habits which worsen his own health and finances.

After 5 odd years, A is extremely well ahead of B in his career and has a lot more money at his disposal. He buys a nice car and a nice house. B starts feeling even more envious. His performance drops even further and soon he is fired from his job. Because B has very little savings, It become extremely hard for him to navigate tough times. Instead of getting serious and turning his life around, B falls even deeper into his bad behaviors.

At year 10, A becomes a part of the C-Suit of his company and is extremely well compensated. He is seen as extremely reliable and irreplaceable by his bosses and is idolized by his juniors. B on the other hand has destroyed his life further with his deleterious habits and is no longer seen as employable even. He is bitter and frustrated in life and lives on the mercy of others. He keeps complaining to whoever listens and claims A became successful because he was "Lucky" enough.

Was it really luck that made A successful or was it the tiny extra efforts that he always put in every day that ultimately got Compounded and led to exponential changes? I think wise readers like yours already know the answer.

Even someone as brilliant as Albert Einstein has called the concept of compounding the eighth wonder of the world!!!

BUT, always keep in mind that many times you won't get sudden outcomes. Sometimes, You need to go to the extra miles for a long stint to get the biggest benefits of compounding.

Extra Ordinary work, What going the extra mile does get you exponential growth, while being just an average gives you only linear growth (Sometimes even not that). What is the difference in Two?

Linear growth is constant addition over a period of time while Exponential growth is constant multiplication over a period of time. So a linear growth of 2 for 10 straight years (2+2+2 and so on) would lead to a total of 20 while an exponential growth (2 X 2 X 2 and so on) would total 1024 at the end of 10 years!!!

Keep in mind that, at year two, both linear growth and exponential growth have the same result: 4. But as the years pass by, when compounding really kicks in (provided you continue to put in a little extra effort continuously for a long time) you race ahead of others at lightning speed!!! This is the real secret of success of almost all the great people that you might be knowing.

What kind of growth do you prefer?  I assume most people would prefer an Exponential Growth and that is an easy choice. But the bigger, tougher choice is this: Are we ready to pay the price today to live the life of our dreams tomorrow because as we all know that there is no such thing as free lunch on this powerful planet!!!