Agency and Leverage: Building Compounding Systems

There are two kinds of work in the world: work that compounds and work that doesn't.

Most work doesn't compound. You do it, you get paid, you do it again tomorrow. There's nothing wrong with this—it's honest and necessary. But it has a ceiling. Your output is limited by your time, and time is finite.

Compounding work is different. When you build something that keeps working after you stop, when you create systems that improve themselves, when you invest effort that pays dividends forever—that's leverage. And leverage is how you escape the linear trap.

Agency as Foundation

But here's the thing about leverage: you can't use it if you don't have agency.

Agency is the belief that your actions matter. That you can change things. That the future is not predetermined but malleable. It sounds obvious, but it's surprisingly rare. Most people, most of the time, operate as if the world is fixed and they're just responding to it.

Without agency, you can't build leverage. You're too busy reacting to circumstances to create systems that transcend them. You optimize locally instead of thinking about what compounds.

The first step, always, is to recognize that you have more control than you think.

Forms of Leverage

Once you have agency, you can start building leverage. The main forms:

• Capital: Money that works while you sleep. The oldest form of leverage, still powerful.
• Labor: Other people's time and effort. Powerful but expensive and coordination-heavy.
• Code: Software that runs infinitely at near-zero marginal cost. The most accessible form of leverage in the modern era.
• Media: Content that reaches millions while you do other things. Writing, video, podcasts—all forms of leverage.
• Reputation: Trust that compounds. When people know you deliver, opportunities come to you.

The best careers combine multiple forms of leverage. An entrepreneur with capital, a team, software, and a strong reputation has more leverage than someone with just one of these.

The Compounding Mindset

Building compounding systems requires a different way of thinking:

• Think in decades, not days. What will matter in 10 years? Most of what feels urgent today won't.
• Invest in skills that compound. Writing, coding, selling, leading—these get better with practice and remain valuable as technology changes.
• Build assets, not just income. A business, a body of work, a network, a reputation—these are assets that keep paying.
• Document and systematize. Every time you solve a problem, ask: can this solution be reused? Can it help others?

The goal is not to work harder. The goal is to build systems that work for you.

The Agency-Leverage Loop

Agency and leverage create a virtuous cycle. When you have agency, you build leverage. When you have leverage, you have more capacity for agency—more options, more resources, more freedom to act on your beliefs.

This is why the rich get richer and the powerful get more powerful. Not because of conspiracy, but because of compounding. The same dynamic works for individuals who consciously cultivate agency and leverage.

Start small. Build agency by taking ownership of something—anything. Use that agency to create something that compounds. Reinvest the returns. Repeat.

The math of compounding is unforgiving in both directions. Start late and you lose decades of growth. Start early—even with tiny amounts—and time works in your favor.

The best time to start was ten years ago. The second best time is now.