The-Slight-Edge

Three Stories 21
And today, the boy who chose the penny was worth more than ten million
dollars—$10,737,418 ... and twenty-four cents.
A Question
Two boys. Two frogs. Two powerful choices. Riches or poverty. Life
or death.
You are making those same choices, every day, every hour, and the choices
you make are spreading out through your life, just like the water hyacinth. You
may not see the results today, or tomorrow, or even next year. In fact, by the time
you do finally see the results, the process will probably be so far along that the
surface of the pond will be completely covered.
The question is, covered with what?
When the wealthy man spoke to his sons, the second boy thought he was
offering them a choice of which money to take. But the first boy listened more
carefully. He remembered that money was only the second gift. He understood
that the choice was not whether to take the penny or the sheaf of bills—the choice
was whether or not to take the third gift.
Wisdom.
The lesson was not about money: it was about wisdom. It was a lesson about
compound interest, leverage, geometric progression and growth. It was a lesson
about the Slight Edge.
The choice the wealthy man offered his two sons is the same choice the
world offers you, every day, every hour: sickness or health; sinking poverty or
abundant wealth; deepening loneliness and alienation or a rich and growing
circle of friends.
The Slight Edge will be your guide to the wealthy man’s third gift; it will help
you learn habits of thought and action that will allow you to choose the penny
doubled, every time. It will keep you paddling until your cream becomes butter.
It will give you the power to choose what to plant in your life, so that you will end
up completely blanketing the surface of the pond with the blossoms of your choice.