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I cannot believe this is true: 14. In 1973, when the same class was resurveyed, the differences between the goal setters and everyone else were stunning. The 1
by etothepii 5y ago
I cannot believe this is true:
14. In 1973, when the same class was resurveyed, the differences between the goal setters and everyone else were stunning. The 13 percent who had goals that were not in writing were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84 percent of students who had no goals at all. But most surprising of all, the 3 percent who had written their goals down were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other 97 percent of graduates combined!
It might make a difference, but not 10x in 20 years.
- cloche 5y agoThat's because it's made up. The study never happened yet it keeps getting repeated in numerous self-help books. https://ask.library.yale.edu/faq/175224 https://ask.library.yale.edu/faq/175224
- etothepii 5y agoThe worst bit is if it was 10% and 25% it would still be hugely impressive figure to someone who understands numbers but actually plausible.
- tedunangst 5y agoEven if it were real, pretty stupefying that nobody considers if it's an outlier or why the study was never repeated at any other college. Provides some insight into the critical analysis vs confirmation bias in these books.
- b3morales 5y agoYup, and even if the stat were true the presentation is textbook conflation. Did the 3 percent "succeed" because they wrote down their goals, or did they write down their goals because they were driven to "succeed"? Do we seriously think that if every one of the 84 percent were tasked with sitting down and writing goals they would have morphed into 10x earners? A few would, sure, but not most or even many. I also personally object to the singular focus on monetary income (I want numbers on how many of the 3/84 percenters reported being happy, doing work they considered important, fulfilled, etc.) but that's just a side note. It's standard cherry-picking fare for this kind of advice.
- xmprt 5y agoI also think some advice that was valid when it was studied back in 1973 isn't so valid anymore. The world has changed a lot in 50 years.
- alexc05 5y agoI recently took "the compound effect" out at the library. It was one of the worst pieces of "success grifter" bullshit I've read (audiobook) in over 10 years. A steaming pile of trash from the founder of "Success" magazine. Imagine my surprise when I read the original source of that was an article in the pages of the same magazine.