If you had to make a quick choice (no calculators allowed!) between a one million dollar check today, or a single penny that doubles each day for the next 30 days … Which would you choose?

An instant million dollars might sound a whole lot more satisfying than a penny in hand today, but if you chose the lump sum, you’d have missed out on an additional $4,368,709.12!

Worth the wait, right?!

But as a society, we’ve been conditioned to go for that feeling of instant gratification.

We’re the microwave generation … so used to instantaneous solutions like text messages, emails, and on-demand movies that we find ourselves tapping our foot counting down the 60 second timer on our leftovers.

And it’s not all society’s fault … Our brains are literally wired to prioritize short-term desires over long-term goals. (Mike Dillard explains this in detail in this episode of The Real Estate Guys™ Radio Show.)

In addition to our obsession with instant gratification, we’re also up against the human tendency to want to go all out when we’re excited about something. But running at 110% isn’t sustainable, so we experience periods of burnout.

We see this come into play often with new business owners and syndicators. They despise the day of “small beginnings” and try to jump ahead to step Z when they should be focusing on A, B, and C.

Without intervention, those who come out of the gates hot seeking immediate satisfaction are usually the ones who become quickly frustrated, lose momentum, and ultimately give up before they’ve had an opportunity to experience any real progress.

Growing and scaling a business isn’t a sprint.

At OTS, we treat it more like a long-distance relay … A series of 90-day finish lines where we pass the baton and shift our focus and key initiatives. As long as we give each leg of the race our all, we’ve got a solid chance to come out on top in the end.

But one strong sprint isn’t enough to make the cut. It’s not the flashy, showy bursts of activity that move the needle, it’s the slow and steady consistent actions over extended periods of time that create real, lasting change.

If you’re only giving your business sporadic attention and energy, you might see some progress and growth, but it’s linear, starting from zero each time. If you’re zig-zagging with your direction, every shift in focus means you’re deviating from the quickest route to your goals.

It takes solid, predictable, consistent focus and accountability to build the positive momentum that leads to exponential progress and growth.

And consistency doesn’t just build momentum … It builds trust. Our teams, investors, and partners are all more likely to put their confidence in us when we prove our reliability through our actions over time.

It helps build trust within ourselves too. It takes a certain level of self-discipline to commit to doing the work day in and day out, which in turn builds the self confidence we need to push forward when faced with adversity and the courage to overcome the inevitable roadblocks.

Like the compounding penny, it’s those who consistently show up, do the work, and stack the small wins who come out ahead in the end.

Here’s to the small but powerful everyday actions that add up to BIG results!