The-Slight-Edge

116 The Slight Edge
very beginning. According to George Leonard, author of Education and
Ecstasy and The Way of Aikido, mastery is the act of setting your foot on the path.
As a fifth dan black belt in Aikido and an award-winning writer on
education, fitness and personal development, Leonard has more than a passing
acquaintance with mastery, and what this master has to say about the subject is
remarkably liberating.
There are no shortcuts, he says, no special tickets needed, and none available
even if you wanted one. You don’t need to be born with exceptional abilities to
enter into mastery, nor is it reserved for the supertalented. You don’t even need
to have gotten an early start.
The upward journey of success on the Slight Edge curve is available
to anyone who is willing to get on the path and stay on it. But it’s only
by being immersed in the process, the day-by-day
progression, that you will come to know the road.
That’s how you will acquire and refine the skills and awareness you’ll need to
master the Slight Edge and, therefore, master your success and your life.
All that’s required is taking the first step.
Baby Steps
When you were a tiny child, you made your way around your world on your
hands and knees, crawling. Everyone around you was walking, and one day you
got it into your little head that maybe you could give that a try. And once you had
that thought, you had to give it a try. It was simply the next frontier; there was no
way you weren’t going to master it.
So, step by step—literally!—you worked on developing the skills you needed
to walk.
You grabbed onto something above you and pulled yourself upright. You
stood up, holding on to a playpen or chair or some big stuffed animal. You were
wobbly and unsure. You let go, either on purpose or by accident, and it didn’t
matter which, because the result was the same—Crash! You fell down. And then,
either right away, or later that day, or the next day (and it didn’t matter when),
you tried it again. And then you tried it again, and again ... until eventually, you
stood up all by yourself—no hands.
Then you took a step—and in that step, according to George Leonard, you
assumed the mantle of mastery ... even if external appearances didn’t entirely
confirm your new status. (Remember, appearances can be deceiving—and
almost always are.)