“Nature is not in a hurry, yet everything is accomplished,” said Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu.
Giant sequoias, advanced organisms, towering mountains – it builds the most jaw-dropping features of the universe. And it does so silently, where growth is almost never visible right now but staggering over long periods of time.
It’s quiet compounding, and it’s a wonder to see.
I like the idea of quietly compounding your money. Just like in nature, it’s where you’ll find the most impressive results.
Every few years you hear a story of a country bumpkin with no education and a low-wage job who managed to save and compound tens of millions of dollars. The story is always the same: They just quietly saved and invested for decades. They never bragged, never flaunted, never compared themselves to others or worried that they trailed their benchmark last quarter. Their entire financial universe was contained to the walls of their home, which allowed them to play their own game and be guided by nothing other than their own goals. That was their superpower. It was actually their only financial skill, but it’s the most powerful one of all.
Imagine if, after your first date with a partner, you had to make every phone call, every text, every conversation with that person public on social media. Or even just with a small group of friends and family. You know what would happen: People would tell you you’re doing this wrong, you’re doing that too much, you should say more of this and less of that, on and on. You’d be so embarrassed, nervous, and influenced by other people’s goals and different personalities that you wouldn’t be you. None of the relationships would work.
Money is similar. People become so nervous about what other people think of
