The-Slight-Edge

Turning Your Dreams into Reality 167
Until one is committed there is always hesitancy, the chance to draw back,
always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans;
that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All
sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A
whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner
of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man
could have dreamt would have come his way.
I have learned a great respect for one of Goethe’s couplets:
Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
— W. H. Murray, The Second Himalayan Expedition
A whole stream of events ... which no man could have dreamt would have come
his way. That strikes me as a very good description of how our German sales force
came into being.
Don’t try to figure out the whole race. Just figure out where to put your foot
for the starting line. Just start. The result looks incredibly complex, but it’s not;
it never is. It’s always the simple little things that take you there.
Everything you do, every decision you make, is either building your dream
or building someone else’s dream. Every single thing you do is either leading you
away from the masses—or leading you away with the masses! Every single thing
you do is a Slight Edge decision.
Our strategy for opening Germany seemed so ridiculously simple. What
made the difference was that we did it every day. Did we have success in Germany
after one day, one week, even one month? Of course not. We had nothing ... just a
few names. And suddenly one day, those few names had blanketed Europe with
a financial empire.
Just like the water hyacinth.
KEY POINTS OF CHAPTER 11
They are the four universal truths of reaching for a big dream.
For a goal to come true: