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The Slight Edge

Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success and Happiness

The Slight Edge(2005) explores the power of all the small choices we make every day. Far from being insignificant, they are a step in our journey toward success or failure.

  • To achieve the slight edge, we need to develop a life philosophy and master the mundane
    • Achieving greatness is often the culmination of years of making the right choices.
    • success is the result of simple, productive actions repeated consistently over time.
    • the life philosophy of Thomas J Watson, the founder of IBM: "The formula for success is quite simple: Double your rate of failure. What we don't understand is that the more we fail, the more chances we have to succeed.
    • "Successful people fail their way to the top."
  • In the long run, the choices we make every day work either for us or against us
    • Remember: there are only two destinations. If you're not on track for success, then you're heading toward failure.
  • People ignore mundane things in life because they are easy and seem insignificant -- and because the results are invisible
    • Success is gradual, just like failure. By the time your results are visible to everyone, your slight edge choices are history.
    • The mundane matters of life add up with the passage of time, but in the moment, they don't really seem to matter. The difference between success and failure is so tiny that it's very easy to miss.
  • Continuous lifelong learning and practice will help you benefit from the slight edge
    • Once you learn something, you need to put it into practice. This deepens your understanding of the knowledge you gain. As the Chinese philosopher Confucius said, "Knowledge without practice is useless, and practice without knowledge is dangerous."
    • You can also learn from others. Once you identify a person who has fulfilled aspirations similar to yours, you can observe and copy them.
    • To keep making good choices, you need to train your unconscious brain.How do you do that? You use your conscious brain to identify a practice you want to adopt, then you do it repeatedly until it enters your subconscious and becomes automatic.
  • Momentum, completion, reflection, and celebration are the four slight edge allies
    • Momentum is the irresistible force that can push us toward a goal.It takes energy and initiative to start a new activity. But once we get going, momentumtakes over and keeps propelling us forward. Once we're in motion, it becomes easier to make the positive changes needed to reach our goals.
    • Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.
  • Cultivate positive, productive habits that help you cope in any circumstances and achieve your dreams
    • The easiest way to get rid of a bad habit is to replace it with a good one.
    • There are seven key habits that can help us to stay on the path to success: show up; be consistent; have a positive outlook; be committed for the long-haul; cultivate a burning desire backed by faith; be willing to pay the price; and practiceslight-edge integrity.
    • Ask yourself: Am I fulfilling my commitments when no one is watching?
  • There are three steps to achieving our dreams -- write them down, look at them every day, and develop a plan

Actionable advice: Surround yourself with successful people​

You may have heard the saying, "Birds of a feather flock together." They do that because they're all heading in the same direction. Similarly, if you want to achieve success, look at the people around you and ask where they're heading. Those around us rub off on us. So if your closest connections are heading for failure, you'll end up there, too. But if they're on the path to success, that will also be your destination.