The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson

One Sentence Summary:

Our life and future is a product of the small and seemingly insignificant decisions we make every day; so do positive things daily that over time will compound into a successful and positive life.

Key Takeaways:

• The seeds of both the bum and the millionaire lay in the simple actions done daily.
• If you continue doing the things that in the past have gotten you from failure up to survival in the first place.  The things you already know how to do and were doing already, then eventually it would lead you from survival to success.
• These things are simple to do and successful people will do them while unsuccessful people only look at them and don't take action.
• Good information without having the right catalyst, the tool that will allow them to apply the information effectively, is useless.
• You have to change how you think about the simple everyday things because simply knowing the information will not get you anywhere.
• The little things that you do every single day while they may seem like they may not matter or make any difference, in fact are the things that make ALL the difference.
• The simple things that lead to success that are easy to do are also easy not to do.
• Every choice you face daily is a choice to take a simple positive step in the right direction or a bad decision that will send you in the wrong direction.  When these all add up you are either trending down or up based on the accumulation of the simple decisions you've made.
• The results are invisible and seem insignificant in the moment, but the key is to realize that while this is true the compound effect of "invisible" and "insignificant" results turn into massive success or failure.
• Happiness can also be attained through simple daily actions that will put you in a state of happiness and from this success will follow.
• Happiness precedes success, health and happy relationships.  You can't flip it and work on success, health and relationships in the hope that they will make you happy... it's the other way around.  
• The right life philosophy leads to the right attitude which leads to the right actions.
• Routines that lead to happiness: Each morning right down three things you're grateful for, mediate daily, journal each day for a few minutes about a positive experience you've had in the past 24 hours, do a random act of kindness each day, exercise for 15 minutes daily.
• Don't set out to build a wall (or whatever other huge task) but instead set out to lay the first bring (or take the first step in achieving the huge task).
• A 1% improvement daily leads to 365% improvement over the year.
• No matter how many times you fail, you are not a failure until you start to blame someone else.
• What you think will turn into actions, which over time will create the person you become.
• Treat success like a baby treats walking.  It is a necessity and not an option.
• Most of your life is made of things done on autopilot (i.e. habits) so it is important to take control of the autopilot and make sure those habits are putting you on the success curve.
• The fastest way to get to where you want to be in life is by associating with those who have accomplished what you'd like to accomplish.
• There are 4 main forces that will help you achieve your goals using the slight edge.  They are momentum, completion, reflection, and celebration.
• Ask yourself what are the critical, simple things that are easy to do, and easy not to do?  Did I do them?  Did I move forward? Did I ride the success curve?
• Don't focus on an unwanted habit and try and remove it because by focusing on it you will more than likely increase it.  The better solution is to replace the unwanted habit with another habit that you do want.
• You must make the goal specific, give it a deadline, and write it down.  You must look at it every day.  You must have a plan to start with.  Doesn't have to be a plan to complete goal, just a plan to start and then you can adjust accordingly.
• Write out your goals and dreams, a simple starting plan, and a single daily discipline that will help you achieve success in the following 7 areas: health, happiness, relationships, personal development, career, finances, and your impact on the world.

---

---

Favorite Quotes:

• "You have complete control over the direction that the rest of your life takes."
• "If 'how to do it' were the answer, it'd be done.  It's how to do the 'hows' that's most important."
• "If access to the right information were the answer, we'd all be rich, healthy, happy, and fulfilled."
• "A positive philosophy turns into a positive attitude, which turns into positive actions, which turns into positive results, which turns into a positive lifestyle.  A positive life."
• "Successful people fail their way to the top."
• "There is a natural progression to everything in life: plant, cultivate, harvest."
• "Most of us are literally digging our graves with our teeth." (our daily eating habits are killing us)
• "It's just a matter of mastering the mundane--of repeating simple little disciplines that, done consistently over time, will add up to the very biggest accomplishments."
• "Time is the force that magnifies those little, almost imperceptible, seemingly insignificant things you do every day into something titanic and unstoppable."
• "The difficult is what takes a little time; the impossible is what takes a little longer."
• "To grasp how the slight edge works, you have to view your actions through the eyes of time."
• "Greatness is not something predetermined, predestined, or carved into your fate by forces beyond your control.  Greatness is always in the moment of the decision."
• "For things to change, you've got to change.  For things to get better, you've got to get better."
• "The size of the problem determines the size of the person."
• "Mastery begins the moment you step onto the path.  Failure begins the moment you step off the path."
• "A surefire way to be forced to live as a prisoner of your past is not to complete things."
• "Doing things won't create your success; doing the right things will."
• "Your life is an Apollo rocket headed for parts yet unknown, and there is no one at the help but you."
• "The most critical skill for achieving success in any area whatsoever...is the skill of envisioning."
• "The power of a plan is not that it will get you there.  The power of the plan is that it will get you started."
• "Taking control of your health/life is just a few daily actions away."
• "You will become as small as your controlling desire, or as great as your dominant aspiration."

---

---

Conclusion:

This book is very similar to another book I've read called The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy.  But aren't most of these books similar or tell you simple things that you could find yourself or know already.  The reality is that even knowing something does not mean that you believe it or apply it in your life.

The primary focus of the slight edge could be condensed to a small booklet explaining and reiterating the idea that your life is a result of the small actions taken daily.  You rarely if ever wake up one day suddenly rich, poor, fat, fit, healthy, unhappy, etc...  These are all the results of actions you've taken in the past that lead to where you are today.

You can change your life, of course, but it will require you understanding that you have to take the small consistent steps needed that will take you from where you are to where you want to be.  These small steps are easy to do..... and easy not to do.

It resonated with me because in areas of my life that I've struggled with the most and fluctuated between success and failure, I became successful by committing to taking actions consistently over time.  I would then become complacent and stop doing those actions and then would of course "wake-up" one day to find that I had fallen back to square one.  

I'd like to end with a perfect summary provided at the end of the book with how to take the information from the book and apply it towards your life:
"Sharpen yourself and pursue your path through those simple, small, easy disciplines, and compounded over time, they will take you to the top.  If you will: Do one simple, daily discipline in each of these seven key areas of your life-- your health, your happiness, your relationships, your personal development, your finances, your career, and your impact-- that forwards your success in each of those areas; and Make a habit of doing some sort of daily review of these slight edge activities, either through keeping a journal, a list, working with a slight edge buddy, a coach, or some other regular, consistent means, and Spend high-quality time with men and women who have achieved goals and dreams similar to yours; in other words, model successful mentors, teachers and allies, and do it daily, weekly and monthly..."

Rating:

---