Two weeks later, the author was sitting in the living room of Phil Murray's home. The whole place was elegantly casual, far more modest than a man of his means could afford. A wall of windows, however, offered an inspiring view of a deep, green valley ringed by rugged foothills.
"You said the key to overcoming the three reasons that people don't do what they know is repetition," said the author. "Could you tell me more about that?"
"I said repetition, repetition, repetition!" insisted the entrepreneur. "When I emphasize repetition like that, what I'm really referring to is what we call spaced repetition."
"Spaced repetition?" wondered the author aloud.
"That's right," said Phil. "Spaced repetition is a learning technique where you don't learn something in just one sitting. You're exposed to the information periodically over time, so that it sinks in."
"Tell me more," said the author.
"Some people call spaced repetition behavioral conditioning or internal reinforcement. My good friend John Haggai calls it 'the mother of all skills' and 'the mother of permanent change.' That's because one statement makes little if any permanent impact on someone. It has to be repeated over and over again. Not immediately, but after a period of time for reflection.
"Advertisers use this technique all the time," Phil continued. "They call these repetitions 'impressions.' They've found that it takes a number of exposures before people identify with what they are selling and become willing to take action."
The author thought about this as he gazed at a hawk flying high above the valley. "So a person who understands the power of repetition has a decided advantage, then," he said.
"No doubt about it," Murray replied. "It is difficult to change a belief, send a voter to the ballot box, or influence a person to contribute to charity through one interaction. We do not make people see, feel, or do something in one sentence. An important message almost always requires repetition over time if it's going to have its intended result."