Eventually, everyone quits.

Perhaps it’s an exit or a transaction.

Perhaps it’s death.

Perhaps it’s folding the company.

Perhaps you turn in your resignation.

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Nonetheless, all things come to an end.

However, the Lindy effect is real. The Lindy effect is a heuristic made known to me by Nassim Taleb. In short, it says, that however long something has been, it will be. Meaning if something has been around for 1,000 years the chances are high of it being around another 1,000 years. Think religion, works of art, books, etc.

I found this to be true of grinding it out at your day job or starting something new, IE new company. I have found that the power law accumulates the longer you stay with it, whether it is being an employee of a company or having started your own - the longer you’re at it, the longer it will be and the more power you accumulate. The power law is where power accumulates to the winner and that could be money, market share, autonomy, etc.

So many employees or founders quit early. Either for a 10% raise or for some sense of security. They don’t realize the lindy effect begins to set in… they could have eventually tasted a hint of a power law but they exchanged it for a quick comfort.

The quick rich schemes that litter your social feeds pray on the human desire for dopamine and quick wins. Quick wins, while they exist, and feel good, do not deliver in the end. They also, as the lindy effect states, start to predetermine your staying power for all things. It’s rare to see someone’s resume with stints ranging from 12-24 months and then all of a sudden 5-7 years…why? Their staying power can only handle 2 years max.  Things got hard and they punched out. People who punch out often rarely win. Why?

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Staying the course gives you shots on goal and this is the only metric that matters in the end.

Getting shots on goal goes to those who have stayed. Despite what your social feed says, it’s not that easy…work is hard.

Cheers to the stayers!