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# Strategically compounding correlated variables
- URL: https://www.autodidacts.io/strategically-compounding-correlated-variables/
- Published: 2026-11-10T05:20:09.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-10T05:21:54.000Z
- Author: Curiositry
- Tags: 100DaysToOffload, Life

*A reader read a draft of my essay on measuring early stage progress, and said, that’s cute, but a more interesting question is what we should be compounding in the first place.*

Everyone seems to agree that:

1. Compounding is powerful, and compounding good things is good
2. Many things compound, including: wealth, skills, health, and relationships

But then you hear some people say, tighten your belt in your twenties, don’t go out as much, and invest your savings and you’ll be set in old age

And other people say: live it up in your twenties, experiences are what matters, you’ll never be young again, and who knows if you/your investments will survive until your RV-in-Arizona retirement.

And other people say: go to college, and then some more college, and then some more college, and then your hourly wage will be so high you can wipe out all that student debt in the blink of an eye.

(I have missed the boat on advice on how to spend your twenties, but it’s been closer to 2 and 3 than to #1.)

But anyone with half a brain can see: having one of the four things in that list of compoundables makes it *much* easier to get the others.

Wealth can pretty clearly buy about ten years of lifespan, and a lot of skills (in the form of tuition and world-class private tutors) and the appearance of skills (ie winning awards that cost money to enter), and up to a point probably makes it easier to make and keep friends or get hitched.

So, the first people are right?

Yet, in this supposedly-meritocratic (but actually obviously not) world, isn’t the second-easiest way to get wealth (after being wealthy already) to be highly skilled, and pull in a doctor’s salary, or start that new AI company the world has been breathlessly waiting for? Obviously the *an education is worth X million dollars* people are onto something!

But, wait: where do both wealth and skills come from? Our social network! So all those college parties and trips to India have a grand purpose. If you’re well-connected and likeable, opportunities will flow to you. There’s no need to optimize for wealth or skills: those are just a downstream side effect of the people you are connected to!

However, maximizing your health and energy *also* gets all three of the others. You will have more energy (and intelligence) for pursuing wealth and skills, and spend less money on doctors’ and psychiatrists’ bills, and be a better friend: more attractive, more energetic, less of a burden, and happier.

So, here’s a question: are each of these paths to success and happiness equal? Do each of these compound the others at about the same rate? And, is it more effective to zero in on one, or to diversify?

As a generalist, my thin-slice is *diversify!* However, in some cases, where there are thresholds and superlinear returns involved, monomaniacal focus — *if successful —* might pay off more than diversifying. But that is more of a gamble.

Common sense, to me, says: focus on your chosen compoundable variable, but not to the point where it negatively impacts the others. Of course, every minute spent learning is a minute we aren’t running (though zone II on an exercise bike is an option), and every minute spent socializing is a minute we aren’t earning (unless we’re buttering up an heiress). However, there is, generally, a limit to how much we can learn, earn, move, or visit in a day without getting exhausted. And, in many cases they’re even synergistic.

(Side note: according to Buddhists, even *doing nothing* compounds!)

So perhaps the only solid advice is, *don’t spend time on things that don’t compound, or compound negatively.* What are those things? What is really and truly pointless, or *actively* sabotages one of the compoundables?

- Complaining
- Watching TV more than some very small amount (unless you’re a screenwriter)
- Doomscrolling (unless you’re a social media influencer)
- Smoking/drinking/doing drugs
- Being mean / unethical
- Getting sucked into ideologies that warp your view of reality
- Going into debt