Viscous & Virtuous

By default, there is no order.

When you think about the physical world, and particularly the law of entropy, things are constantly in flux, and have a tendency to go from a state of order to a state of disorder.

Put differently, there is only 1 way that a family can stay wealthy for 500 years (nobody along the way ruins it). Similarly, there is only 1 fastest way through a given corner on a race track (but thousands of ways to take that turn incorrectly).

Crucially, it requires energy to keep things in a state of order.

I often think about two cycles: The Viscous Cycle and The Virtuous Cycle. These cycles manifest in work, school, art, exercise, and so on. People are always seeking a “magic answer” or a “shortcut”. Unfortunately — or fortunately, depending on your perspective — there are no shortcuts.

Instead, there is a framework I use to think about consequences. A framework that can take you from where you are today to where you want to be.

Let’s use the example of a clothing company. They have designed and stocked their inventory, but not made any sales yet. By definition, they are currently experiencing The Viscous Cycle.

The Viscous Cycle

In The Viscous Cycle, you start with no customers. And because you have no sales and marketing budget, you do not acquire any new customers. This means you generate no revenue.

Your lack of revenue, in turn, means that you cannot build a sales and marketing budget. The Viscous Cycle continues on and on, with you not moving forward.

In the example above, we are talking about business. But we can use learning a language, or taking a college course, or almost anything else, into this cycle.

The Virtuous Cycle

By contrast, in The Virtuous Cycle, things are going well. You start with a sizable budget, which you allocate to sales and marketing. From those campaigns, you attract new customers, who increase your revenue.

Your greater revenue allows you allocate more funds to sales and marketing efforts, which leads to even more customers. This cycle builds on top of itself in a way that’s positive and rewarding.

The key question is how do you get from The Viscous Cycle, the place where everyone starts, to The Virtuous Cycle?

The answer is by expending an incredible amount of energy. That energy can come in the form of your work, hiring others to work alongside you, raising capital and using that capital to perform work, or more.

There’s a quotation by Michelangelo that I always think about. It goes:

“If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.” –Michelangelo

When we think about companies that have succeeded — they have gone from startup to national brand, or from local coffee shop to international chain — they have navigated from The Viscous Cycle to The Virtuous Cycle.

The same is true of people. Those we admire have escaped the traps of The Viscous Cycle (being upset or unhappy, which leads to being unmotivated to change, which results in not being where you want to be in life).

In short, there is no virtue on accident. Virtue is long, tiring, and uninspiring work. It’s a habit. And it’s hard to keep.

“Few are those who wish to be endowed with virtue rather than to seem so.” –Seneca