Discipline
The Slight Edge Philosophy
And how it works for high-performance

The Slight Edge is a book by Jeff Olson and is a partof a handful of books that really changed my entire outlook on what it takes to be successful.
A slight edge philosophy is something that I have since adopted after reading Olson’s work and it is simply this:
“A slight edge philosophy is that simple things compound over time. A small investment, a few minutes of walking, or piece of dessert every night after dinner. Positive or negative, these small things compound into big things.” — Jeff Olson
The interesting thing about the philosophy is that it doesn’t direct your effort. For example, I am really good at collecting information. I can gather books, and pour oversites, join forums, and subscribe to newsletters about a topic that I find interesting. What I am bad at doing is following through on what I read and learn, transforming the knowledge into action, which is counterproductive to success and a life of high performance in general.
In this instance, reading is almost as valuable as doing nothing at all — action is the key. The slight edge helps to provide a framework to address this issue and others like it. Diets work, business plans work, and how-to books work, the problem is that no one ever sticks with any of it long enough. When the diet ultimately fails, statements like, “diets don’t work” becomes all too commonplace.
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (attrib.)
How to Adopt the Slight Edge Philosophy
You already know how to be successful. All you have to do is to keep doing the things that have worked thus far. This makes me think of the many times I have been successful in the past, only to eventually lose whatever I gained. I figured it was just the natural progression of things but I never realized it was because I simply stopped doing the thing that made me successful at the get-go.
Do the little things that seem insignificant. When compounded over time, those same little things will yield big results.
The key is to establish a process of productive actions that you can repeat consistently over and over again. These little acts of daily practice will strengthen your willpower. It will make you effective at doing things and can lead to the accomplishment of harder things over time.
“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.” — Jeff Olson
A Triumph of the Mundane
It is important to make the choice to be successful — it is a deliberate decision to commit to the slight edge philosophy. The reason is that the slight edge is relentless and it works both ways: success or failure. The simple daily disciplines or simple errors in judgment, repeated over time, make or break you. They always add up, regardless of the end result.
If the philosophy is so simple, then why is it so hard to do? The answer lies in the fact that it is a simple action done over and over again. In short, it can become boring and we tend to look for more novel things that we think can get us the results we want. Only five percent of all people achieve the success they hope for. They are masters of the mundane, the simple daily disciplines that add up over time.
The other 95 percent of the people that fail don’t do the simple things that add up to success for three simple reasons:
- They are easy to do but they get boring over time.
- They don’t see any results immediate results (i.e. long-term sustainable diet versus a crash diet).
- They seem insignificant like they don’t matter or won’t have any effect (like going for a walk every day).
The slight edge philosophy reverses the thinking of goal attainment and success. Things that create success in the long term don’t look like they have any impact in the short term, yet the things you can do consistently have the biggest impact in the long term.
“Greatness is always in the moment of decision.” — Jeff Olson
It Starts with a Simple Choice
Like all things, greatness has to start from somewhere. Think of great fortunes that start with a small contribution, compounding over time into millions of dollars. If you add 1% of anything — skill, money, knowledge, effort — per day, in a year it has more than tripled.
Greatness is not a destiny or fate or luck. Greatness is always in the moment of the decision. If you choose to start today, you are choosing to be great.
Life is in constant motion. Everything is always in motion. Your life is either curving upward or curving downward. Remember, the slight edge works both ways. People on the success curve are pulled by the future. People on the failure curve are pulled by the past. They think, “if only things had been different,” or “when this happens, I will be happy.”
“No matter where you are, you can choose to reenter the success curve. Every day you have a choice. How you spend the next hour can be how you spend the next 40 years.” — Jeff Olson
Mastering the Slight Edge
Mastering the slight edge is mastering yourself and your daily habits. What you do every day becomes who you are, your identity in a way is tied to your actions. The path of mastery requires nothing less than persistent effort.
Invest in yourself and the concept of continuous learning. Learn by studying and by doing. Program your subconscious to be an ally and make it work for you. Do not let your subconscious be programmed by an external source like TV, the media, or standard education systems.
On the path to mastering the slight edge you have four allies:
- There is a power in momentum: the basis for the slight edge philosophy.
- There is a power in completion: getting stuff done empowers your resolve.
- There is a power in reflection: constantly asking yourself, “Did I continue my momentum on the success curve?
- There is a power in celebration: recognize your journey, the accumulation of mastery, and the person you have become and are becoming.

Greatness is always in the moment of decision.
You can apply the slight edge philosophy to any aspect of your life: finances, health, business, self-development, relationships, skill acquisition and education.
You can become better at any and all aspects of your life. When you do, you are choosing to be great.
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