The Slight Edge
I just finished reading a book called, you guessed it, “The Slight Edge”. Unlike most professional development books, it was straight forward with no mumbo jumbo horse shit that makes you want to throw the book out.
The whole premise of the book is that it is the little things that you do day in and day out that make the difference in the long run. I was thinking, wow I think I may have heard that before. Oh yeah, that was me! If you have been reading my content for any amount of time you know that I preach the fundamentals are the key to success.
Some memorable quotes from the book:
“There are two kinds of habits: Those that serve you, and those that don’t.”
“The journey starts with a single step — not with thinking about taking a step.”
“The right choices you make today, compounded over time, will take you higher and higher up the success curve of this real-time movie called “your life” ”
“Any time you see what looks like a breakthrough, it is always the end result of a long series of little things, done consistently over time.”
At the end of the day, it’s our habits, good or bad, that shape our destiny. It doesn’t matter if it’s our health, finances, relationships or happiness.
The New Year is around the corner maybe it’s time to take inventory of your daily habits and decide what changes you need to make. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. Ask yourself, is that you? Are you doing the same thing over and over expecting to have a better life?
The book had many more great insights but there is not enough time here to discuss but the one thing I think anyone who reads it could appreciate is the simplicity of it. We are living in a complicated world.
I am a believer in not just having a philosophy but living it. Too many people talk a big game but are complete frauds in real life. I am a fan of the Stoics and they preach this as well. If you had a philosophy of life that you stuck to how do you think your life would be?
There is a compound effect of everything you do over time. If you are doing the important things day in and day out down the road it will pay dividends. It is no different than compound interest with money. What you do today affects tomorrow and your future. Why not choose the things that will have a positive impact.
Daily disciplines make the difference. If you see someone who you think has it all together, they are most likely using the slight edge principles. And by the way, that doesn’t mean they don’t have struggles, they use the slight edge to get past them rather than sink deeper into the abyss.
