Jeff Olsen's book "The Slight Edge" is one of the most IMPACTFUL reads of my life. Why? Because its premise is simple and effective. Essentially, SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF and do little things... like every hour of every day and watch them add up to MONUMENTAL progress over time.
Spoiler alert... this is also why so many of us struggle and fail. We set ourselves up with lofty and often unrealistic expectations of what "success" or "progress" should look like. Because of this, we never really get traction or usually struggle to build momentum. And let's face it, when you aren't seeing "results," it's easy to lose motivation, confidence, and commitment to the little things that will set you up for big-time success. With the Slight Edge, the key is identifying the small things that -- when done consistently over time-- can net significant results.
So... what are some examples?
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Dedicating 15 minutes every day to post to social media and interact with your followers. This will help you establish your audience and build community and familiarity with those who are already within your network.
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Spending 15 minutes each day at regular intervals (i.e. 7am, 1pm, and 7pm) to read, respond to, and organize your emails. This would keep you "on top" of things and prevent you from missing important communications. OR...
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Scheduling (and following through) on taking 1 hour at the beginning every day to focus on your physical, spiritual, and/or mental well-being. This would help you maintain balance and be more stress-tolerant.
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Committing to saving or re-investing 5 cents out of every dollar that you earn into growing YOURSELF or your business. So if you earn $5,000 a month, setting aside $250 a month to cover the cost of additional tools/tech, training, or an assistant (P.S. personal assistants ROCK) to help you spend more of your time doing what you love AND what can earn you the most for your time.
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Reading 5 pages of a book every night (that's like 10 MINUTES) so that you can always be taking in new ideas and stay committed to your own development.
You see... there are LOTS of ways to apply the principles described in The Slight Edge... but the secret (or not secret) is that you have to actually STOP THINKING and just DO! Failure is not the opposite of success. It's all of the excuses that we make to justify our LACK OF COMMITMENT. So... let's break the cycle and start with small wins that can powerfully shift our current mindset, finances, interpersonal relationships, and prospects for the future.
HOMEWORK: As you look forward to the new week, ask yourself... "What is the one little thing that I can commit to that will keep me moving in the RIGHT direction?"
Once you identify it, post it here. We will help one another stay accountable to OURSELVES. Scary, right? Yeah... that's usually what happens with the good stuff.
