It’s easy to dream of great achievements when you’re young.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I mean, you probably had ambitious plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The world was full of possibility, a fairground of potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But fast forward, and if your dreams have failed to materialise, your outlook may have changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rather than the upward trajectory you’d always envisaged, life may be dragging you down instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You pay the bills, look after the family and see your friends; going through the motions, grinding through the gears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps it’s become a battle to simply get by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well according to The Slight Edge, there’s an explanation for this phenomenon (but more on that in a minute).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Slight Edge Summary<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Slight Edge starts with a story about a beach bum and a millionaire who were good friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They had a similar upbringing but chose different paths in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The beach bum decided to lift weights and chase girls, while in contrast, the millionaire finished at the top of his class before conquering corporate America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The big twist?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These two people are one and the same; Jeff Olson, the author of the book, at different times in his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When he was the beach bum, he mentions a moment of epiphany, when he made a conscious decision to transform himself into the type of person capable of making a million dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following that decision, he founded numerous successful businesses in the personal development and direct sales industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Slight Edge is an explanation of how he did it; A philosophy for success gleaned over the course of his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So What Is The Slight Edge?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Here’s a distillation of The Slight Edge in one sentence:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Simple daily habits<\/span>, multiplied by Time<\/span> [through the magic of compound interest] = Success<\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Is it that simple? Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is it that easy? Not necessarily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like most self-improvement advice we know to be true, the core concept can be difficult to action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Which is where the book steps in to distil practical advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Little Choices<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Every day, you make a million little decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Toast or cereal<\/li>
Orange juice or coffee<\/li>
Red pants or yellow pants<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
At first glance, these choices don’t seem like much and appear of little consequence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And taken as stand-alone events, they aren’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But when you analyse the cumulative effect of these little decisions, they start to resemble something bigger, a gestalt that could significantly impact your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s take the decision between fast food for lunch or a healthy salad…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One day won’t hurt, you think to yourself, before devouring a juicy burger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But if you multiply that little choice by all the times you’re wooed by the perfect, sexy, meaty patty and fast forward a year…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You’ve eaten burgers a couple of times a week and you’re suddenly larger. Much larger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The worst thing about these seemingly innocuous little choices is that they begin to occur on autopilot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You’ve made the decision once and it becomes a slippery fish of a choice, not worth even thinking about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it’s not just with food that we face these decisions. It’s the same with your relationship, social life and career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But their effect is so insidious in our push button, instant gratification society, that we’re unable to zoom out and appreciate the bigger picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our reptilian brains only recognise the cookie at arm’s length, unable to interpret the effect of that cookie, and all it’s little brothers and sisters, in five years time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That’s where those dreams can go unrealised, all of the daily mini-choices you’re making potentially contributing to your struggle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, what’s the solution?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Slow and Steady Wins the Race<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
We all know about overnight successes; the Gates’, Jobs’ and Zuckerbergs’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What we don’t see is the years of committed, steady, persistent action they’ve taken to arrive at their night of success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These people understand the slight edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They know their future is determined by the sum of the small, seemingly unimportant choices they make in each present moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The unglamorous decision to complete that final job of the day, when their eyelids are heavy with fatigue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They make the right decision<\/span> now, which transforms them into the right person<\/span> later on.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
That’s the foundation of the slight edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your Goals<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
You still have your goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even if they’ve been buried under the responsibilities of life, they still exist, waiting to be discovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And deep down you likely already know what actions are required to reach them. You might not have an exact plan, but probably a good general idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Want to write a book? You need to get some words down on paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Want a new job? You’ve got to fire off some CV’s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s not rocket science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What small choice can you make today, that through compound interest, will snowball into the attainment of your goal?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It doesn’t have to be much. You just need to start with one item and take action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The best part?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you make the right choice enough times, it subtly transforms into a simple daily habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just like eating the burger in our previous example became a learned, automatic response, so will your positive action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through the science of consistency theory, you’ll start to mirror that behaviour to maintain its image; an image of someone who makes the right choices in the right moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With enough effort, you make progress, gain momentum and eventually, success begets success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember…<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Simple daily habits, multiplied by Time [through the magic of compound interest] = Success<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Annie Dillard famously said,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“How we spend our days is of course how we spend our lives”<\/span><\/div><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Choose positive daily habits, focus on the system, and as if by magic, your dreams will take care of themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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