Are you in the midst of a crisis right now? If you are having problems, you know deep inside that you cannot stay in that state forever. Life goes on and it will not stop and wait until you are ready. Many people were able to rise above the storm. You believe deep inside that you too have what it takes to do the same. You are just not sure on where to begin. The lessons from The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson might just be your first step toward success and happiness.
There are things that you need to do in order to overcome the problem you are facing right now. First, you have to embrace your pain and take control of your emotions. Only by doing this will you be able to begin to take responsibility for your life. It would help if you have set some goals to define where you want to be in the future. Your goals need to be S.M.A.R.T in order to succeed. Remember that success always starts with a vision.
Once you have a clear idea on where you want to be and what you hope to achieve, you are now ready to take your first step. However, the road towards the attainment of your goals is not as easy as it sounds. Goals and dreams can be overwhelming. Most of the time, people get discouraged just by merely thinking about them. If you already have a clear vision, yet are still confused on how to go about it, then the book The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson is for you. The book has powerful lessons that you can use as your first step towards success.
The Slight Edge Philosophy talks about how simple everyday choices can lead to massive success and happiness. It is not about the big decisions but rather the small ones that create powerful results in all areas in life. This is the reason why diets don’t work. This is also the reason why many famous movie stars and athletes and lottery winners go broke after some time despite receiving millions of dollars.
Lessons From The Slight Edge
Here are some excerpts from the The Slight Edge that contain powerful lessons that you can use on you journey towards success:
1. You have complete control over the direction that the rest of your life takes.
You are a product of your decisions. Where you are and who you are right now is a result of all the decisions that you have made in the past. Your success is all because of you. In the same way, you are also miserable not because of anyone else but because of you. It is not the fault of your parents, partner, boss, government nor anyone else for that matter. Thus, you need to take control of your life. Your future happiness and success all depends on you alone.
2. Your philosophy creates your attitudes, which create your actions, which create your results, which create your life.
Your philosophy is how you look at life. The decisions that you make everyday are largely influenced by the way you look at things. And soon, this will manifest itself in your life. If you think the world is beautiful, then your life will also be beautiful. If you look at life negatively, then your life will be miserable. In short, what you focus on expands. So, what do you focus on?
3. Simple daily disciplines – little productive actions, repeated consistently over time – add up to the difference between failure and success.
Our success or failure is the result of simple everyday choices that seem harmless, but taken together over time will lead to failure or success in the future. For example, you go to a restaurant and you order soda instead of water. It is harmless, right? But if you do this each time you go out and you have been doing it for decades, soon you will have health problems. You don’t get sick just by drinking a can of soda, it is the accumulation of all those cans of sodas that you have been drinking for decades that made you sick. This is true not just with health but also in relationships, career, money and all other aspects in life.
4. People don’t consistently do those simple things for three reasons:
a) While they are easy to do, they are also easy not to do;
b) You don’t see any results at first;
c) They seem insignificant, like they don’t matter. But they do.
All of us are capable of doing little things to become successful but the problem is we don’t do it. It is not because it is hard but because it is easy not to do. All our daily, hourly and even minute choices, no matter how small, will all lead to our success or failure in that particular aspect in life.
So if you want to do good in one aspect of your life, think about the little things that you can do each day towards the attainment of that goal. For example, if you want your marriage to last; ask yourself, what small thing can you do for your spouse each day? It can be a kiss, a hug, a text message, help in the household chores, etc. The point is it needs to be consistent every day.
5. No genuine success in life is instant. Life is not a clickable link.
Success takes time. In this day and age, people are used to getting what they want in an instant that patience is no longer a virtue that everyone has. That is the reason why many people fall prey to ‘get-rich-quick scams’. True success involves consistent daily actions repeated over time. First you plant, then cultivate and then you harvest. That is the natural progression of things.
6. Success does not lead to happiness, it’s the other way around: more happiness creates more success.
Have you heard people saying “I’ll be happy once I’m rich” or “I’ll be happy once I’m married to that person”? What these people failed to understand is that happiness comes first. If you cannot be happy with the blessings that you have right now, you can’t be happy once you have more in the future. Why do you think many famous, powerful and rich individuals died of overdose from drugs and alcohol or committed suicide despite the fact of having it all? Happiness is not something that you chase. It is a state of mind and sense of well-being. It is the feeling of being grateful for the moment.
7. Greater success also creates a greater responsibility to share that success to others.
Your success is not just for you alone. It is for you to share your blessings with others. The more you share, the more blessings will come your way. Think about it, if you can help one person, you are sending a positive signal to the world. The person that you helped will be inspired to help another one too. This is what you call the ripple effect.
8. Greatness is not something predetermined, predestined or carved into your fate by forces beyond your control. Greatness is always in the moment of decision.
You have what it takes to succeed. All the great people out there are not great because they are destined to be great. They are great because they choose to be great. You are no exception. Make the decision to be great.
Are you ready for your metamorphosis? Read the book if you want to learn more practical lessons from the Slight Edge Philosophy, your first step towards success and happiness.
First published in Pinoy Smart Living 10.05.2019