Slight Edge
Jeff Olson
Who is the Author?
He is the beach bum. (Pg. 3-4)
Started in Solar Energy
Wanted the shoe-shine woman to read 10 pages
of a self-help book each day as opposed to a
novel.
The Penny
• A penny doubled every day for a 31 day
month will grow to over 10 million dollars
even without interest.
• -Discover through the power of compound
interest.
The Secret Ingredient
 It isn’t that actions are wrong, it’s that people
don’t keep doing them
 The secret ingredient is a person’s philosophy
 Your philosophy creates your attitude, actions,
and results which creates your life
Two types of attitudes
 Entitled: What have you done for me lately
 Value-Driven: What can I do to help you
Formula for Success
• Double your rate of failure
3 main points of success
 Success is the progressive realization of a
worthy ideal
 Successful people do what unsuccessful
people are not willing to do
 There is a natural progression to everything in
life: plant, cultivate, harvest
The Slight Edge
• The slight edge is always:
• Easy to do and Easy not to do
• 5% successfully live the slight edge
Starting and Waiting
• It’s never too late to start
• It’s always too late to wait
• There are 2 kinds of habits: Those that serve
us and those that don’t
Time
• Time is the most powerful force there is in the
world for change.
• Position your actions so that time is working
for you, not against you
• Plant, cultivate, then harvest. Don’t skip
cultivate.
Habits
• Successful people form habits that feed their
success instead of habits that feed their
failure.
• Stay in the process long enough to give it a
chance to win.
Past, Present & Future
• The slight edge is found in the present, not in
the past and not in the future.
• People are generally fooled by the words,
“right now” because they want results now
(skipping the cultivate). Living in the present
does not mean getting what you want now.
Twice
• You will be twice what you are today in one
year if you:
• -apply only three-tenths percent effort per day
more than the present.
• (Compound Interest Again)
Some Day
• Some day doesn’t exist, never has, and never will.
There is no “some day.” There’s only today.
• No success is immediate nor is failure
instantaneous. They are both products of the
slight edge.
• Believing in the big break is worse than futile. It
can be dangerous because it can keep you from
taking the actions you need to take to create the
results you want.
The 7 principles
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Show up
Be Consistent
Have a good attitude
Be committed for a long period of time
Have faith and a burning desire
Be willing to pay the price
Practice integrity
The Path
• The slight edge path is a curve upward or
downward all the time.
• If you are doing the few simple errors in
judgment, time will expose you no matter
how well you appear to be doing right now.
Time is the great equalizer.
Blame and Responsibility
• “A man can fail many times but he isn’t a
failure until he blames someone else.”
• Difficult not to blame:
• -8 no’s to every yes growing up
• -11 negatives to every positive growing up
Mastery
• Mastery is not an exalted path that lies at the
end of the path; it is a state of mind that lies
at the beginning of the path.
• The impact of a person’s life can be measured
by the size of the problems he or she solves.
Truth
• All truth passes through three stages:
1. First it is ridiculed
2. Second it is violently opposed
3. Third it is accepted as being self-evident
Funerals
• The number one factor as to whether people
go from a funeral to a burial is:
The weather
The Faces
• The faces of the slight edge are:
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Momentum
Completion
Habit
Reflection
Celebration
The Race
• Steady wins the race.
• Results come last, but steady will usually win.
Kaizen
• Kaizen means continuous improvement.
• The key to Kaizen is to Plan, Do, Review
• Spend time with the masters
• Law of Association: you are the combined
average of the five people you associate most
with
Dreams-Reality
• The first step to turning dreams into reality is to write it
down. Write down the goal, the dream, whatever it is.
• Goals are dreams with deadlines.
• Whatever the dream or goal, there is a price to pay.
This means there will be something that will need to be
given up or sacrificed.
• Finally, look at it daily.
Health
• “Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you
are.”
• Exercise 20-30 minutes per day, 4-5 times per
week and you will be in the top 10% fitness in the
nation.
• One hour per day, 5 times per week will put you
in the top 2% in the nation.
• Smoking will automatically cut your lifespan
expectancy by 7 years. The health risks on top of
the shortened life span speak for themselves.
Two Paths
• One path leads to fulfillment.
• One path leads to regret.
Greatest Gift
• The greatest gift we can give ourselves is our
own Personal Development.
Final Health Check
• Obesity has doubled in the past 20 years
• Adolescent obesity has tripled.
• Obesity is responsible for 300,000 deaths per
year.
• Obesity costs society 100 billion dollars per
year
Final Financial Check
• Average household credit card debt is $16,000
• There were 1.4 million bankruptcy filings in
2009
• 43% of Americans have less than $10,000 in
savings
• Only 16% of Americans feel like they can save
for retirement.
Slight Edge Final Thoughts
• Each decision you make compounds itself on
the next on.
• Small negative actions won’t kill you but
added up over time, they can make or break
your life.
• Small positive actions over time won’t save
you and maybe might not even be noticed,
but over time they can bring you a satisfied,
healthy life.
Slight Edge Essay
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Write a 5 paragraph essay fully discussing The Slight Edge in detail.
The first paragraph should be an overall summary of the slight edge, a basic
description and explanation of what it means.
The second paragraph should include three general concepts that the slight edge
gives that are useful for the entire public. Be sure to explain what these concepts
mean.
Paragraph three should give one example for each of the above concepts to make
it more specific.
The fourth paragraph should give one real life positive slight edge action for
someone you know and one real life negative slight edge action for someone else
you know. Be sure NOT to use these people’s names.
The fifth and final paragraph should wrap up your essay with concluding thoughts
and re-summarize the slight edge in short order.
D
Your essay should be between 1.5 - 2 pages. You should write on the back of the
paper. (Always write on the back, but never type on the back).