Sunday Story…The Long Tail

 

Most of us are good with short-term rewards. We love instant gratification. That’s why your phone is such an insidious device…everything is right here and right now. No going to the library to find a book to get the information, just ask Google or Siri. Bang! Instant answer, no waiting!

 

On the other hand, however, we are not good with the long-tailed rewards (or punishments). If you knew the payoff for what you are doing today was 10 years in the future, how excited are you going to be about it? Think about this: if you got a hacking cough and a chronic life-threatening disease after your first cigarette how many people would smoke? Put that punishment out 30 or 40 years and we have an epidemic of people smoking.

 

Would you start that business if you knew you were going to be successful the day you opened the door? What if it took 5 years? How long did Amazon operate in the red? And now? How fit will you be in 10 years if you start now? How much longer will you live if you start working on your longevity now? As opposed to waiting until you are 75?

 

It’s easy to see and respond to a short feedback loop. It is much more difficult to recognize those long tails. However, the long tails are where the real reward lies. Get better at seeing those!

 

John Mariotti

www.crossfitodyssey.com

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

775-338-2412