The Slight Edge

According to U.S. News and World Report, 80 percent of all New Year’s resolutions fail by the second week of February! When we fail, we may think that we simply didn’t try hard enough or desire our goal enough. 

However, the truth is that success is the result of simple, productive actions repeated consistently over time. This is known as the slight edge.

The key message here is: To achieve the slight edge, we need to develop a life philosophy and master the mundane.

When we look at successful people, it’s easy to think that they’re just exceptionally brilliant or have special skills that we don’t. But more often than not, that’s not the case.

Thanks to the abundance of self-help books, information about how to succeed in life is more widely available than ever before. But to really benefit from it, we need to apply it effectively.

That’s where developing a life philosophy comes in. A life philosophy is your view of life. It influences your attitudes, feelings – and, ultimately, your actions. And it’s powerful because it can change the way you think about simple, everyday tasks.

Consider the life philosophy of Thomas J Watson, the founder of IBM: “The formula for success is quite simple: Double your rate of failure.” Yet, many of us don’t consider failure an option. What we don’t understand is that the more we fail, the more chances we have to succeed.

Today, Abraham Lincoln is remembered as one of the most notable U.S. Presidents. But did you know that he suffered numerous election losses and public-office failures? For him, failure wasn’t just an option, it was his specialty. Doubling his rate of failure ultimately led him to the highest office, where he had a profound impact on the country that the United States is today. 

Another way we can achieve the slight edge is by focusing on the mundane matters of life.

For example, Steve Martin is known as the single biggest audience draw in the history of stand-up comedy. But as a teenager, Martin couldn’t sing, dance, or act. So he worked at it. Day after day, he studied magic tricks, taught himself the banjo, and tried out lines on anyone who would listen. The things he did were neither complicated nor exciting. In fact, they were rather boring. But by mastering the mundane, Steve Martin became a star.