Keep on keepin’ on

With everything available in the palm of your hand, you can almost get anything you want instantaneously.

Need some social interaction? Open Instagram, Facebook, or any other social media app and scroll, like, DM, or comment to your heart’s content.

Want a new book? Go online and buy it or listen to it immediately in the form of an audiobook.

Need to center yourself and feel grounded? Open a meditation or breathwork app.

Need some entertainment? Open Netflix or YouTube and voila you have instant content.

Need some deodorant or toothpaste? Head to Amazon and get it in less than a day.

Need to split the dinner bill? Open Venmo and you’re in debt no more.

This life of instant gratification can be a blessing. However, in this world of duality, it doesn’t come without its drawbacks. 

Given the conditioning you’ve received from instant gratification in so many areas, life can feel like it isn’t working out unless you see immediate results.

How often do you see people make New Year’s Resolutions to go to the gym, only to give up a couple months in when they don’t immediately realize the lofty results they set for themselves?

What about getting promoted and working your way up at work? It’s not everyday that you see someone graduate college and immediately get a Vice President position at their first job.

Or think about a new business venture. The inspiration hits you like a stroke of genius, but fizzles out when push comes to shove.

Whatever it is that you set out to do and ultimately want to master, it often takes time to realize the results of the effort you put in. 

While time is one of the greatest illusions and constructs we operate under within our three dimensional existence, there is no denying the role it plays within the narrative of our current earthly lives.

For it is within the linearity of time that you can learn, refine, make mistakes, grow, and experience within your temporary bodily home.

In February 2022, I was at the Private Placement Industry Forum – a conference for my job at Goldman Sachs. Every year, bankers, investors, lawyers, and rating agencies in the structured finance world descend upon Miami for a weeklong conference to talk business, industry trends, and hot button topics. We set up individual meetings with all our investor clients, but one meeting particularly stuck out to me. 

In the meeting, one of the largest investors we work with told us that they deployed a record $1.1 billion dollars for their program in 2021. They were able to invest in bonds which allowed them to hit their return targets, portfolio diversification needs, and ultimately invest an all-time record amount of cash for their program. 

I thought about this for a minute and came to an important realization. If they invested money for a day, they wouldn’t come close to investing $1.1bn. If they invested money for a week or even a month, they likely would still not be close to breaking their all-time record. If they even invested for half a year, chances are slim they would hit their target, let alone surpass it. It took them a full year working to diligently underwrite deals and ultimately invest their record $1.1bn in privately placed bonds. They stayed the course and saw the results of their effort.

This story is analogous to your own personal growth and development in whatever it is you choose to accomplish in life. 

If you start a journaling or meditation practice, you likely won’t see any results in just a day. If you did it a few days a week for a month, you are probably still not being consistent enough to make a meaningful impact in your mindset or in your life. Within a few months you are likely to see some progress, but it may not be at a highly noticeable level. However, if just like our investor client, you consciously implement the chosen practice on a daily basis, you will look back on your year and see leaps and bounds of incredible growth.

This is also true for a business venture, a fitness goal, relationship growth, or any number of things you desire to create in your life.

It can feel discouraging when you don’t see immediate results in this modern world of instant gratification. To this, I say KEEP GOING.

As the famous quote goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Similarly, victory or success doesn’t always go to the most skilled, it often goes to the one who believes in themselves and doesn’t give up.

A brilliant example of this is the 1974 boxing match “Rumble in the Jungle,” between Muhammad Ali, 32, and 24-year-old heavyweight boxing world champion, George Foreman. Foreman’s record was 40 fights, 37 knockouts, and 0 losses. In his previous 17 fights, he had knocked out 15 of his opponents within the first two rounds. Foreman had also just beat two boxers who had recently beaten Ali – Ken Norton and Joe Frazier.

Commentators and betting lines counted Ali out by all means. Stripped of his world title 7 years earlier, no one believed he could win. No one except Ali. He famously said, “I’m gonna show you how great I am.”

While Muhammad Ali took a beating early on, he slowly came back. He stayed the course and ultimately knocked out George Foreman to everyone’s surprise.

Put the work in, trust your intuition, believe in yourself, and do your best. Enjoy the instant gratification you have in the palm of your hand, but don’t forget that some things require time to unfold in order to realize the heights it can reach

Keep on keeping on, because it’s not over till it’s over.