5 Reasons To Add “The Slight Edge” To Your Reading List
280 pages detailing the culprit behind our deterioration and cause of triumphs;
Overview
1. Concept of negative compound interest.
2. Happiness doesn’t come from success.
3. Responsibility or blame.
4. “The Slight Edge” — Jeff Olson’s experience.
5. Personal philosophy.
Ever heard of flipping books on Amazon? The moment it entered my reality, skepticism mixed with intrigue flooded my being (slightly excessive description, it’s ok though). On my journeys to thrift shops and Value Villages, the serendipity of life never ceased to amaze me. While scanning barcodes, checking bestseller rankings, profit margins, fulfillment by Amazon fees, “The Slight Edge” happened to get grabbed out of the myriad of books, literature, comics, and textbooks. With the utmost honesty, this book altered my approach with life. It’s alongside Steven Pressfield's The War of Art, Napoleon Hill's Think & Grow Rich, Paulo Cohelo's The Alchemist, Viktor Frankl's Man’s Search For Meaning, and Micheal A. Singers The Untethered Soul — to name a few. (P.s, read these, you won’t regret it).
| 1. Negative Compound Interest
“1 person in 20 is achieving a significant measure of his or her goals in life” — Jeff Olson
It’s mundane to do the tedious things we know we need to do and guess what? Every time we avoid them we reinforce a negative habit. A ritual that engrains itself into our life and causes some of us to say “it’s my genetics”. There are predisposed ailments that hinder people to an extent. Other than those few anomalies, it’s all personal volition. These decisions compound over time. The beauty of this is that positive compound interest follows the same process. All we have to do is begin applying it, the exact same way that we began to apply negative compound interest; doing the right choice over and over again.
| 2. Success Is Dependent On Personal Happiness
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success” — Albert Schweitzer
Every single person in my immediate circle that is an absolute hustler is so far from miserable it’s contagious. Their success reflects it too. Personally and financially. This is one of the many golden nuggets Jeff touches on. We have to rewire our attitude. How we perceive the present moment can get coupled with negative compound interest. Becoming intimate with life, enjoying the moment, making progress in the now is what gives every successful person their slight edge. The reason we are happy eating shit (not literally), is because we know it’s temporary and that ultimately our life intention will be reached. It’s hard not to be happy knowing that.
| 3. Responsibility Curve Versus Blame Curve
“They know instinctively that there are only two ways to make their building the highest structure in town; build an even bigger one, or tear down all others” — Jeff Olson
Know anyone who constantly blames their surroundings, their boss, their past, oligarchs, and the Illuminati for the position they’re in? There are fixed and growth mindsets. Those that flourish are those who have taken responsibility. It’s quite simple to see our current standpoint. Peer at our actions and outcomes — are things getting better or do they stagnate? If they seem to be flatlining, life is actually on a decline. All our actions can be analyzed and graphed. An upward curve is affirming results that incrementally benefit us and those around us daily. A downward curve is one that’s devoid of accountability, lingers around survival, and has a crash course with rock bottom. Pick which curve gives the better life, it’s that simple. Notice how many of us tear down others aspirations because we’ve given up; don’t be that person.
| 4. Experience Is Knowledge
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
David Goggins made a statement in his book Can’t Hurt Me in regards to an MIT professor lecturing on mental toughness. He was invited, listened, and disagreed with the professor about all of us having genetic limitations.
“There’s something to be said for living it instead of studying it,” I said, then turned toward the professor. “What you said is true for most people, but not l00 percent. There will always be the 1 percent of us who are willing to put in the work to defy the odds.”
I went on to explain what I knew from experience. That anybody can become a totally different person and achieve what so-called experts like him claim is impossible, but it takes a lot of heart, will, and an armored mind.- David Goggins
Over the course of my own life, this realization has slapped me in the face. Knowledge is only theory without being a practitioner. Goggins was talking about running 250 miles, I’m referring to reading and not applying (it’s kind of the same right?). Jeff Olson did the same thing. He was a beach bum, an entrepreneur that lost everything, and currently is a multi-millionaire. All his insight comes from going through it firsthand. To me, that’s someone worth giving my time to learn from.
| 5.What’s Your Philosophy?
“By “your philosophy”, all I mean is changing the way you think about simple everyday things” — Jeff Olson
This is “the first ingredient”. Every choice we set an intention to is founded on the basis of what impact it will have on us, others, society, and the planet. Even if we don’t believe we have a philosophy, we do. My philosophy at one point was “I’ll get to it later” or “Don’t go towards the discomfort”. A personal philosophy determines our attitude towards experience, which in return forms results. It’s the reason successful individuals are indifferent about failing or making mistakes, while many of us dwell on them. The moment we decide to have a grounded philosophy to live by, becomes a recognizable milestone in taking control of our life.
If you are having trouble formulating, ask: how do I enjoy being treated? what personal limitations are hindering my potential?. It’s iterative, when you find it you’ll know.
Here some examples:
⁃ Go towards fear to understand it
⁃ Experience is knowledge
⁃ Today creates tomorrow
⁃ Speak from the heart, not the mind
This is only a small portion of wisdom in The Slight Edge. Finding a copy at a thrift shop might be more challenging to do than getting it delivered to your home. If you’re up for it, all the power to you. If you’d rather have two-day shipping with prime, here’s a link, every dollar for Jeff’s book is worth it a million-fold: The Slight Edge
