Excerpt from John Maxwell's The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth

"...Darren Hardy writes in his book "The Compound Effect" about the battle most people experience when it comes to weighing instant gratification against doing what's best for us:

'We understand that scarfing Pop-Tarts won't slenderize our waistlines. We realize that logging three hours a night watching "Dancing with The Stars" and "NCIS" leaves us three fewer hours to read a good book or listen to a terrific audio. We 'get' that merely purchasing great running shoes doesn't make us marathon-ready. We're a "rational" species--at least that's what we tell ourselves. So why are we so irrationally enslaved by so many bad habits? It's because our need for immediate gratification can turn us into the most reactive, non-thinking animals around.'

When it comes to growth and success, immediate gratification is almost always the enemy of growth. We can choose to please ourselves and plateau, or we can delay our gratification and grow. It's our choice."

John C. Maxwell ~ The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth