Anyone can run the Boston Marathon, yet few will
Going from four hours to sub-three sounds impossible. It isn't. It's compounding.
Anyone can run the Boston Marathon. Almost no one will.
Boston only hands out starting bibs to the top 5% in each age group. The number stops people before they begin. They look at their first marathon time, do the mental math, and decide Boston is for other people. Faster people. People who were born different.
I crossed the finish line of my first marathon in four hours. My legs were jelly. My head was lighter than it had been in months. The only thought I had was that I wanted to do that faster. But as for running Boston one day, it was out of the question.
Then I ran a second marathon. 3:40. Then a third. 3:21. Mark by mark, Boston started to become a possibility. Eventually, I set my aim on Sub-3, which is the wall that separates the top 1% of marathon runners on the planet from everyone else. Going from four hours to less than three in the marathon sounds impossible until you understand the magic of compounding.
Boston is not a question of if. It is a question of when you stop quitting.
When It Gets Real
I am an engineer by training. I have stared at exponential growth curves in textbooks for years. I knew what compounding looked like on paper. I could not feel it. Not really. The math stayed locked behind glass. Useful for an exam, useless for my life.
Then I read about the famous bacterium analogy.
Assume bacteria in a lake grow by doubling every day. For most of its life cycle, the lake looks empty. The day before the lake is completely covered, it is still only half full. The day before that, a quarter. For weeks, it looks like nothing is happening. Then, almost overnight, the lake is gone.
That is the curve that governs progress in life. Most want to be Anthropic and be an overnight success, but the reality is that for most, the beginning will be slow, often painfully slow.
Warren Buffett made 99% of his wealth after his 65th birthday. Read that again. If he had retired when most people do, you would not know his name. He did not get smarter at 65. He just refused to step off the curve.
Most founders want the inflection point. They quit during the part where the lake still looks empty. Success happens slowly, but then suddenly.
Worth Your Time
The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel, chapter 4: "Confounding Compounding." Housel calculates that if Buffett had started investing at 30 instead of 10, his net worth would be 97% lower today. The takeaway is not about money. It is about starting earlier than feels reasonable, and refusing to stop.
Final Thoughts
Einstein said it best:
“Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn’t, pays it.”
The force works in every direction. Your fitness. Your craft. Your reputation. Your company. Small, consistent input over a long time produces results that look like miracles from the outside.
Boston is NOT a reward for the gifted. It is a reward for those who keep at it until compounding kicks in.
Thanks for reading.
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