Every January, we’re like a fat kid chasing the Mr Whippy van—full of intent and drive. On January 1, we’re unstoppable. By January 7, one shoelace is untied, and motivation is “on back order.” By mid-January—aka Quitter’s Day—willpower quietly packs its bags. By the end of the month, around 90% of New Year’s resolutions have been abandoned, usually parked next to the Thermomix that had so much promise. Come February, only the stubborn, the slightly unhinged, and people with spreadsheets remain. The rest tell themselves, “I’ll reset next Monday.” Which is inspiring, really—because nothing says commitment like annually recommitting to not committing.

So why do we start strong and fail just as quickly? Could it be that we forget the power of compounding—after all, it is the farmer’s superpower.

$100 per acre invested 50 years ago, gaining 7% annually through capital growth, is now worth just under $3,000 per acre. Do that over 5,000 acres and you’ve converted a $500,000 investment into $15,000,000. No clever timing of the market—just your mate “compound growth” quietly working away in the background.

Consider this: the average Australian household spends $1,200 a year on lotteries and gambling—essentially a subscription service for disappointment. But if that same $1,200 were invested each year into Australian shares, earning the long-term average of 8.9%, over 50 years, it would quietly snowball into $1,428,790. No champagne showers. No giant novelty cheques. Just boring, relentless compounding doing its thing. Compare that to Powerball odds of 1 in 135 million, where your most likely return is a trip to the rubbish bin rather than the Bahamas.

“SoSo, what, Mike—I like having a flutter,” I hear you say. Fair enough. This isn’t an article about the merits of gambling—after all, we’re all in the ag business, and that’s a pretty good gamble in its own right. This is about understanding the power of compounding and how we can use it to our advantage.

Albert Einstein suggested that compounding is the eighth wonder of the world. Now, while Albert doesn’t quite hold a candle to some of your Planfarm consultants, he was really onto something here. In business—as in life—small, consistent changes create massive outcomes over time. It’s not super sexy in a world that wants dinner delivered, endless streaming options, and five-second TikTok videos fighting for our attention. We want buy now, pay later. Experience now, pay later. Compounding is about discipline now for reward later.

Even the Good Book says, “At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off.” So, if Albert Einstein, Planfarm, and God all suggest there’s something in this, it might be worth considering.

We often overestimate what we can get done in a day but underestimate what we can achieve in a year. Small improvements, repeated consistently, create results that seem impossible in hindsight. James Clear, of Atomic Habits fame, suggests that “time multiplies whatever you feed it.” In other words, if you develop productive habits—even small ones—the effect compounds over time. A 1% improvement compounded daily makes you roughly 37 times better over a year, or a 3,700% improvement.

We tend to do the opposite—like running 15 km on day one of a New Year’s resolution, then going into a coma—rather than starting small. We want the big change now. The secret is starting small and stayingto start small and stay consistent and disciplined. Over time, what looks irrelevant at the start creates massive change. Compounding turns patience into an unfair advantage.

SoSo, what are the practical applications at a farm level? Areas like team development, communication, regular family meetings, negotiation, and effective leadership are all critical—but they don’t come naturally. You may have heard the quote, “You can’t grow beyond the conversations you refuse to have.” These are challenging skills that take time to develop.

Start small, butsmall but stay consistent. Don’t let fear of failure—or the belief that it’s all a bunch of rubbish—stop you from pushing through the normal resistance. See what happens when incremental gains are allowed to compound over time. We’re privileged to be surrounded by great learning platforms and facilitators. Don’t leave it to chance. Be intentional and disciplined.

With the power of compounding, areas you once thought were beyond you can become a point of difference—and your unfair advantage. Attracting quality people is challenging with nearly six long-term agricultural positions for every graduate entering the industry. Investing in hard-to-master skills could be the difference between owner burnout and a fulfilled farming business.