Introduction

Did you know that a bamboo tree spends its first few years just developing its root system underground?

It invests an incredible amount of energy into building a strong foundation, anchoring itself in the ground.

It nurtures those roots beneath the soil, absorbing vital nutrients for its future growth.

To the naked eye, not much is happening.

But really, the tree is taking its time to build up its ethereal assets.

And it’s not for no reason

Once it is ready, with its root network firmly established, it is poised for a mighty ascent.

In a mere six weeks, the tree can shoot up to heights of up to 80 feet.

After years of preparation, it completely defies any expectations and reaches its incredible towering height in a matter of weeks.

That means, it spent 97% of its time just investing energy to develop its root system.

If it were a human—with emotions—it likely would have given up in the first year.

Or who knows, maybe even right before its incredible ascent.

The Law

The Law of 100 is something I came across relatively recently from Noah Kagan.

Just like the bamboo tree, the journey to success often starts with humble beginnings and unseen efforts.

Most of the time, the greatest achievements are only preceded by long periods of turmoil, uncertainty, and doubt.

Today’s world favours instant gratification and quick fixes, and the whole concept of patience and steadfastness almost seems outdated.

Because of this, never give up has become super cliché, and people are needing something near them to latch onto.

That is exactly why The Law of 100 is beneficial.

It gives something tangible to hold on to.

The law is simple:

It says that you should first do 100 repetitions of anything before you even consider giving up.

You ignore the results, and treat them simply as practice.

Starting the gym? Complete 100 days first.

Starting a podcast? Complete 100 episodes first.

Starting a new business? Pitch 100 potential customers first.

And if you think 100 is a lot, just remember what Thomas Edison said:

Luckily, Thomas Edison didn’t come up with this law, and so it’s not called The Law of 10,000—so I’m sure it’s a reasonable starting point for most people.

I highly recommend you try it and watch what can happen if you just persist to 100.

Just remember though, if you give up before day 97/100, you've given up before the bamboo tree.

Ethereal Assets

The reason The Law of 100 is so crucial, is that most of the time you are going to be building ‘ethereal assets’ before building tangible assets.

→ What are ‘ethereal assets’?

Ethereal assets are the build-up of intangible things that are useful or valuable.

→ What are some examples of ethereal assets?

• Fans

• Links

• Trust

• Brand

• Reach

• Capital

• Visibility

• Goodwill

• Referrals

• Networks

• Followers

• Inspiration

• Reputation

• Comments

• Mindspace

• Social proof

• Past solutions

• Interest on interest

• Volume of customers

• Emotional connections

The point is, there are a lot of them.

And thank you to Rob Moore for bringing this concept to light for me in his book Money.

By not following through all the way to 100, many of these will go unnoticed.

You will never give them a chance to come to fruition.

Just like the bamboo tree above, or any other tree for that matter, it has to grow down before it grows up.

I realise that last week’s newsletter was roughly a 10-minute read, and the one before that a 15-minute one.

For that reason, I wanted to keep this week’s newsletter short, snappy, and practical.

Moving forward, I think I’ll be sticking to an average of a 5-minute read, but I want your feedback.

Did you like how lengthy and full of info the previous couple of newsletters have been?

Or do you prefer punchy and practical?

Let me know by replying to this email.

I look forward to your response ;-)

B-Mega,

Fabian