The-Slight-Edge

30 The Slight Edge
craps table and roulette wheel. I don’t believe they’ll ever find it. I’ve had colossal
failures, and I’ve had remarkable successes, and my experience is, neither one
happens in quantum leaps. They happen through the Slight Edge.
The purpose of this book is to have you understand the Slight Edge
philosophy, to make it part of how you see the world and how you live your life
every day. To understand patience; to understand that little steps, compounded,
do make a difference. That the things you do every single day, the things that
don’t look dramatic, that don’t even look like they matter, do matter. That they
not only make a difference—they make all the difference.
Throughout this book, if you look carefully, you’ll find at least a dozen
statements (and if you look really closely, many dozens!) that embody this
philosophy, statements such as “Do the thing, and you shall have the power.”
Here are a few more examples that you’ll come across in the following pages:
Success is the progressive realization of a worthy
ideal.
Successful people do what unsuccessful people
are not willing to do.
There is a natural progression to everything in
life: plant, cultivate, harvest.
Here’s a suggestion that can maximize how much you get out of this book—
that is, not only reading it, but also absorbing it and applying it in your life: every
time you come to a fundamental statement of philosophy, highlight it. Then
go back regularly and read through just those highlighted sections: your own
personal guide to the Slight Edge philosophy.
The Slight Edge is also the philosophy embodied in the three stories you read
in the beginning of this book. It is understanding the tremendous potential of
something as seemingly insignificant as a penny. It is knowing how to recognize
and harness the power of the water hyacinth. It’s having faith in the process of
simple, positive actions repeated over time, the faith that miracles do happen—if
you know when to trust the process and keep churning the cream.
Just Add Life and Stir ...
The Slight Edge philosophy is the missing ingredient you need for all the
personal-development books, how-to’s and life guides to work.
If you don’t grasp the truth of the Slight Edge, then no matter what health
books you read, you’re not going to be willing to do the little things that lead