The Slight Edge- turning simple disciplines into massive success and happiness, by Jeff Olson is about how you can have the edge over someone/something. Whether it be your health/ mental state/ business/ relationships, The Slight Edge will help you to understand what it really takes to flourish in all areas of your life. There are so many references to Jim Rohn (someone who lived these daily disciplines) and his teachings mentioned in this book. So let's start dissecting the book.
The book starts with the life stories of two friends who went to the same school and college, where one friend dropped out of college, started cutting grass on a golf course, then ventured into a business that failed, and became a beach bum. And the other graduated as an A-student, went to business school, and got recruited by a gigantic firm; leading a charming life, rich in every way.
As I was reading, I was fascinated by how the two lives came to be, except that it turns out, they were both the same person- the author himself. The rest of the book talks about how he transitioned from a beach bum to a millionaire, and the epiphanies he got along the way to attain and keep his success. So what happened? Is it possible for a failure to become a success? Is it possible for a beach bum to become a millionaire? Keep reading and we'll see.
Change is often triggered by inspiration/desire and disgust. Where you don't want to be the person who you were anymore- you don't want to be a failure, you don't want to suffer or be the victim of your circumstance. And/or you are pulled by a deep desire to change for the better. These driving forces are what allow you to finally say enough is enough. I will not be living this way anymore. I don't want to ever go back to who I was.
Though every action is initiated by either of these two emotions, to successfully metamorphose into your ideal person, you need to start doing things that a successful person does and stop doing those that an unsuccessful person does. In short, you need good habits to take you where you want to be. Good habits practiced over a period of time, compound, and give you massive results. The easiest way to achieve success is to practice those good habits day in and day out, consistently.
As most of us experience the roller coaster of going from broke to rich, back to broke again, the author hit bottom after 14 years on an upward trajectory. And it all boils down to whether you continue to practice good habits after achieving success. Most of our lives are like a series of mountains and valleys. Not that success is from plateau to plateau, but we often stop practicing the habits that lead us to success in the first place. And life does not work that way.
For instance, when you love a person, you make sure your behaviour pleases them, and when you get married. if you stop doing the things that lead to her marrying you in the first place, even worse if you take the person for granted, your marriage is going to be on the rocks. One thing leads to another and now you are divorced, and because of the stress of a divorce, your business is suffering. Now, you are financially and emotionally broke.
This leads me to the next principle in the book, which is "every discipline affects every other discipline". For example, if you include 30minutes of workouts each day, this habit will eventually trickle into your desire for adopting healthy eating habits. And your vibrant health trickles into your performance at work, which in turn improves your income, your marriage, and your happiness. This gives you a very well-rounded life.
Our lack of awareness about the significance of habits/disciplines and the power it holds, is what engulfs us in this curse of the roller coaster. Most of us cringe at the thought of the word discipline because it sounds harsh, uncompromising, and downright mundane. But in reality, it's a life saver. Disciplines stabilise your life and gives you freedom like no other. It helps you to achieve any goal you desire. For lack of a better term, it's magical.
"The secret ingredient is your philosophy"
Your philosophy is how you view yourself and the world around you. A positive philosophy helps you create a positive lifestyle. So what's your philosophy? What do you believe? Do you believe that you can make it? Do you believe that you deserve success and happiness? Do you believe that you can realise your dreams? Because most often in life, you get what you believe and not what you want.
"Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do"
The best way to start building good habits is to model someone who is already successful doing what you want to do. Us humans are visual beings and give ears to the people we admire. Therefore, we learn quicker by observing and analysing others. For instance, if you want to excel in academics, why not follow a study YouTuber and model their good habits? It's always much easier to model someone by repeatedly listening to their podcasts and viewing their vlogs.
"He who would accomplish little must sacrifice little; he who would achieve much must sacrifice much; he who would attain highly must sacrifice greatly" -James Allen
So it all comes down to what Jim Rohn says "we must all suffer one of two pains- the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces and regret weigh tons". Your daily disciplines such as working out for 30minutes, eating one fruit a day, reading 10pages of a good book, outworking your colleagues, and spending quality time with your family will compound over time and ultimately give you the freedom that you much desire- health and vitality, high income, loving family, happiness and peace of mind.
"The slight edge is working right now, either for you or against you"
Have you heard of the fable of The Water Hyacinth? The water hyacinth, which lives in a pond, doubles every day by sending short runner stems that become daughter plants. Initially the water plant is so insignificant and almost invisible. On D15, it covers one square foot of water surface. on D20, it appears as a little patch of foliage, on D29, half the pond's water surface was still uncovered, but on D30, the water surface totally disappears and you see a rich blanket of purple pink water hyacinth.
So what happened here was the magic of compound effect. The compound effect is truly deceiving as it almost feels insignificant and the results invisible. But if you keep doing it long enough you will see the monstrous results it brings. Compound effect benefits with time; time can be your ally or your enemy. When you practice good habits, time becomes your ally and when you practice bad habits, time becomes your enemy.
For instance, if you ate one cupcake each day, it will not kill you today, but it will later on. Or if you exercise 30minutes each day, you will not be fit today, but you will later on. Not only does every discipline affect every other discipline, every discipline cumulates over time. This is why it's important to master the mundane everyday simple disciplines to achieve massive success.
"Here's how real success is built: by the time you get the feedback, the real work's already done"
By the time you lost the pounds by exercising and eating healthy, and people complement you as fit and beaming with health, the work is already done. You've already put in the simple daily disciplines that compounded over time and you did it long enough that the results are obvious.
"You supply the actions, the universe will supply the time"
Your work is to adopt the simple daily disciplines that work in your favour and not against you, and then simply giving it time; time for it to allow the magic of the compound effect. Your miniscule contribution over time can give you gigantic returns. Like the trenches of The Great Canyon which are formed by the waters running along the ground for long enough (six million years) that it erodes the rocks to form these breathtaking sights.
"Your success is inevitable. You just need to stay in the process long enough to give it a chance to win"
Your simple daily disciplines over time builds momentum and crosses the critical threshold, beyond which you start seeing significant results. Like when you keep water for boiling, at 99degrees it's still not boiling, but when it reaches a 100degrees, it reaches it's boiling point. In the same way continuing your daily disciplines day in, day out is critical to see the massive results you dream of.
In conclusion, get inspired by setting goals for yourself, adopt the simple daily disciplines that will skyrocket your success over time, keep doing it day in, day out, don't neglect any area of your life as every discipline affects every other discipline, which again compounds over time to give you either the results you dream of or dread of. If you put these disciplines to work for you, there's no stopping you. Your success is inevitable.
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