Tuesday, August 30, 2016

7 Principles for Living a Successful Life from The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson

The Slight Edge is a way of thinking and processing information that allows a person to make choices on a daily basis that will lead to success. Some people dream but do nothing to make their dreams come true while they work for others, helping them to fulfill their dreams.   But if you want to learn how to  work on fulfilling your own dreams, this book can show you the way. 

In The Slight Edge, Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success,  2013, Success Books, Jeff Olson outlines his philosophy for how anyone can achieve a better life by taking small steps each day toward fulfilling his or her dreams.  Here are the seven core philosophies: 



(1) Show up. 


You have won half the battle if you commit to showing up every day. 


(2) Be consistent. 


Showing up consistently and doing the work is where the magic happens. 


(3) Have a good attitude. 


Having a good attitude will work in your favor when a selection is being made among candidates with similar abilities. Usually, people select the person with the better attitude. A good attitude toward life can help you to live longer, too.  Givers of good vibes and attitudes seem to brighten a room, whereas, those with a negative attitude can seem to dim the room.  Having a good attitude often starts with having a positive and happy outlook on life. 


(4) Be committed for a long period of time. 


In the book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell writes that it takes about 10,000 hours before a person has mastered his or her craft. Ten thousand hours is about 40 hours a week for five years. There is no short cut to success.  The reason why most 90-day programs do not work for the long run is because a 90-day run is not long enough for people to build up a strong belief in themselves to continue working beyond the 90-day mark. 


(5) Have faith and a burning desire. 


In Napoleon Hill’s famous, Think and Grow Rich, the number one quality that the 500 most successful people had in common was faith along with a burning desire to succeed. Successful people look at a problem and see an opportunity. Keep implementing small changes that improve your life and your life trajectory can change. 


(6) Be willing to pay the price. 


Anything worth having in life is worth working for and paying the price.  If you are not willing to pay the price, the cost of neglect is brutal compared to paying the price of commitment. If a person does not make the choice to become successful, that person will remain unsuccessful for life by default. 


(7) Practice Slight Edge integrity. 


Integrity can be thought of what you do when no one is watching. It is also doing the thing you said you were going to do long after the mood for doing it has passed. 

Once a person masters the Slight Edge philosophy, personal development will help the person to grow. Educating yourself through continual learning is essential.   

The Kaizen method of learning, plan, do, review incorporates Slight Edge principles in action. Students plan what they are going to learn.  Then they develop experiments and activities to study. And then they review their planning and activity to see if anything is missing.  Finally, they plug these new insights into their next learning plan and repeat the process.  The constant and consistent back and forth between doing actions and correcting those actions creates “continuous improvement,” which is called kaizen in Japanese. 

Spend time with the masters. If you want to become successful in business, find a way to spend time with others who are successful business people. 

In Napoleon Hill’s, Think and Grow Rich, one of the core concepts is to be a part of a Mastermind Group. Surround yourself with people of like minds with different talents and temperaments who will all commit to achieving a definite purpose of serving the goals of the group. 

There are no perfect plans.  A plan is merely a jumping off point. Do the thing and you will have the power. If you want twice the success, double your rate of failure. 

Take small, baby steps toward fulfilling your dreams and be willing to pay the price.  Wanting one thing often means having to give up something else. 

Work your plan every single day. 

Rating: $$$$$ out of five.  Excellent book 


Copyright @ 2016 Christine Esser

This book was purchased, not a gift.   


This book can be purchased on Amazon by clicking the first link below. Disclosure: We may receive a small commission from your purchase, but this will not raise the amount you pay. Thank you for reading this review. Comments are welcome.  We have not received anything from the author or publisher in exchange for this review. Comments are welcome.




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