Jump on the ground.
You go up a little.
Jump on a trampoline.
Same legs. Same effort.
But the trampoline stores your force and throws you higher.
The trampoline = leverage.
Leverage is a tool that multiplies the impact of your effort or decision.
Same input. Bigger output.
For example:
- You give a 1 hour talk, in a room → maybe 100 people hear you. (1:100)
- You give a 1 hour talk, record it, and publish it online → 10,000+ people can hear you. (1:10000)
As Jack Butcher puts it:
“Leverage allows you to accomplish 100x what others can – it is a force multiplier for your effort, skill, and judgement.”
For most of human history, work was basically 1:1.
Harvest crops for 8 hours. And you get about 8 hours of harvest.
Your output was tied to your time.
Then we built tools (leverage) that changed the ratio:
- Printing press: one book could be printed multiple times and reach many people.
- Broadcast media (TV): one message could reach millions who have access to TV.
- Internet + software: one person could publish something and reach the world.
Let's talk about the types of leverage.
One type of leverage is permissioned.
You can’t use it fully until someone says “yes.”
Two forms:
1) Capital (money)
You can use money to multiply the impact of your decision.
Imagine you’re a CEO of a clothing brand.
You decide to develop a new product.
You use money to hire designers, buy fabric, pay manufacturers, run ads, and ship units.
You don’t build the product yourself.
The money “does the work for you” through other people and systems.
Money is a powerful form of leverage, but typically, you need someone to give it to you first (or you earn it slowly, or you take debt).
2) Labour (people)
You can use people to multiply the impact of your decision.
You make the decision.
They take action on your decision with you or for you.
A CEO’s decision has more impact than an individual contributor’s decision because a CEO has a team taking action on his/ her decision.
Labour is permissioned because people must choose to follow you or work with you.
Another type of leverage is permissionless.
You can use it anytime.
Without needing anyone’s permission to use it.
Two forms:
1) Media (writing, video, podcasts, posts, newsletters)
You create content once. Many people can consume it — now or in 3 months or in 3 years (unless you delete it).
You don’t need a publisher.
You don’t need TV.
You need a phone or a laptop and an internet connection.
For example:
You write something → You publish it on LinkedIn → LinkedIn’s software shows it to others (often for free).
This is how the renowned creators of the world built and continue to build wealth.
James Clear, Simon Sinek, Vishen Lakhiani, etc.
- Create content, consistently.
- Prove that you know what you are talking about.
- Make people trust you.
- Create or attract opportunities that you can make money out of.
- Repeat.
2) Code (software)
You write instructions once, and computers do the work for you again and again.
A group of people wrote the code for LinkedIn.
The code did it’s thing without needing the ones who wrote the code to interfere (unless they wanted to).
The rest is history.
Naval Ravikant refers to code as “an army” that can work for you while you sleep.
Why I care about this
One of my goals in life is to build wealth.
I don’t want to attain this by working for 9 hours a day forever.
I want to attain it by building things that keep working for me even when I’m not working.
How I'm trying to build wealth
1.) Identity (inner work)
Get clear on who I am, what I stand for, and who I want to become.
2.) Action (reps)
Learn. Write. Speak. Interview. Improve. Repeat.
3.) Expression (public output)
Express my identity, publicly + Turn my actions into content.
My content will prove I know what I’m talking about.
This will make people trust me.
And make room for me to create or attract opportunities I can monetise.
How you can use leverage too
Pick your trampoline:
- Write a post.
- Record a video/ podcast.
- Build a digital tool.
And publish it, online.
Start small. Stay consistent. And let it compound.
Once you let it compound, you’ll prove to others that you know what you’re talking about.
People will trust you.
Opportunities will follow.
And when you make money out of your opportunities, you can use that money as leverage to further multiply the impact of your decisions.
And/ or hire people to further multiply the impact of your decisions.
TL;DR
Leverage is a tool that multiplies the impact of your effort/ decision. Start with creating content/ writing code. Prove you know what you’re doing. Earn trust. And opportunities to make money will follow.
Thanks for reading,
Yuvraj Mehta.
How I developed my understanding of this concept
