The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson

Book Summary

In his book "The Slight Edge" Jeff Olson beautifully discusses the power of small actions and presents their results before the eyes of his audience. Olson believes that these small actions can lead to significant changes, allowing individuals to achieve sustainable health in their personal and professional lives, as well as attain a very substantial income.

Olson wrote the first edition of this book in 2005 and then published an updated version eight years later for readers. The author speaks of a secret that explains why some people, despite their considerable efforts, have not achieved extraordinary results, while others have been able to realize their goals. The fact that 10,000 letters have been sent by individuals who have read the book and mentioned its vital role in their success speaks volumes about the value of this work.

Furthermore, the author himself states that he owes his current position to the mindset he has articulated on paper and marketed under the name "The Slight Edge." Olson is one of the youngest top managers in technology, known for achieving a 400% increase in revenue for a large company with a small team.

About the Author

Jeff Olson is a successful American author and entrepreneur born in 1958 in New Mexico, USA. He graduated with a degree in marketing and has held various managerial positions in different companies. Working with various companies in sales and marketing, as well as delivering speeches on personal growth and freedom that attract many audiences, are other notable endeavors of this influential figure. Another book authored by Olson is titled "LionHeart."

Who Should Read the Book?

Individuals who intend to start businesses and those who need guidance and practical advice on their path to success are among the audience for "The Slight Edge."

Book Quotes

Most people immediately feel defeated and give up when faced with problems and issues that are larger or different from what they have dealt with before. Many people view larger or different problems as bad and negative, polluting their lives with pessimism.

What they fail to understand is this philosophy: the size of problems determines the size of the person. You can estimate a person's life limitations based on the size of the problems that depress and sadden them. You can also measure the effectiveness of a person's life based on the size of the problems they solve.

The larger problems you can solve, the more you will be rewarded; because your income is determined by the size of the problems you solve. What many people refer to as a "problem" is actually a gap between point A and point B. And if you keep your mind open, you can bridge that gap.

The reason I spend time explaining and describing this gap is so you understand that this gap can work against you or for you. The gap between points A and B is not permanent and must be addressed; and of course, it will be addressed—either for you or against you. This is a law of nature, and you cannot prevent it. However, the choice of how to address this gap is up to you.

The first way to address this pull is to continually bring point A closer and closer to point B. Let the magnet of your imagination draw you toward itself and toward the future. Do you remember what pulled those who were stuck in the curve of failure? The force of the past. And what pulled those who were stuck in the curve of success? The force of the future.

I never could stick to working out regularly because I was so brainwashed into wanting instant results. After a couple weeks I would give up when I didnt transform into Brad Pitt overnight. This book gave me such an interesting perspective on life and a lot has changed for me by putting my focus on everyday getting a little bit better doing the mundane things right. I used to sleep in every chance I got and would lazily do the minimum required to get things done. I couldnt wake up early in the morning if my house was on fire.

A couple months later after reading this book and slowly waking up just 10 minutes earlier each day and working out 5 times a week and I feel like a completely different person. I got home from work sometimes at 10:00 PM at night exhausted and would still go workout because I wasnt discouraged about how weak I was at the moment, I just told myself I would do it to keep the habit going and get just a little bit better. That attitude has made me massively more productive. I wakeup at 6:30 in the morning now and write out my goals for the day, what Im grateful for, a positive experience Ive had, a little quote to remind of something in the Slight Edge book, I meditate, eat breakfast, and then go workout. By the time I go to work or college classes my day has already felt successful to the point where it carries on throughout the day like a snowball effect making my day better and better. This book hit home for me in talking about how happiness creates more success not the other way around.

In the book he talks about little habits to increase happiness and that in itself is worth getting the book. What you do to go from failure to survival is the same things that take people from survival to success if they would just keep doing them. I keep doing those little things each day now and feel like a compounding penny, changing unnoticeably initially but eventually compounding my value a hundredfold.

Bought it for a friend. One of my favorite books. Listening to it on Audible for the 3rd time now.
Motivates anyone to take control and make the best out of life.

The book is hard cover, very nice looking.

The beautiful thing about this book is it talks to you in very simple words. It cover straight forward concepts that most of us already know or have heard. The kicker of the book is the torch that it uses to throw light on those concepts. It tells you the effective and tested ways to implement those concepts. This does not mean that you can read and learn them and bring the change. There is sincere and dedicated work required from the reader as well in order for this to work. The reader has to improvise and come up with a plan to implement these concepts in a way that works for him/her. That is what I think is the most effective feature of this book. You can customize the learnings to your needs. And if you are sincere, dedicated, committed, you will see the improvement! However small it is, the improvement will drive you to be more committed and bring about greater improvements until it becomes a habit and before you realize, you are already on the path to success!

If it were up to me, every teenager in America would be required to read this book. Like most great reads it is well organized and flows from one topic to the next. Some may say that the advice given in this book is common sense and it is; though it is presented in a way that I believe spurs you into action. The steps to follow are easy, practical and will actually make a real positive difference in your life.
I applied most of the lessons of this book this year and it has lead to less stress, greater health (considerable improvements in blood work with a leaner and healthier body) more enjoyment of life and deeper relationships particularly with my spouse.
Whether or not a book is meaningful to you depends often on where you are in your life. Many of us have had a book recommended to us by someone, read it and thought ehhh it wasnt that great. However, I cannot imagine that someone would read this book and not come away with a changed perspective and tools to enhance the quality of your life whether it is your health, your finances, your relationships, etc. If you dont read this book, you are missing out on a wonderful opportunity to learn how to become better than you were the day before.

The Slight Edge is one the Best Books I have ever read. After reading The Slight Edge, I now understand why I am where I am in my life. The book was an easy read and simple to understand. I now know that with each step and decision I choose to take or make, how it ultimately landed me where I am now in my life. I have been making daily small steps in my life since December 26, 2015 and as Jeff Olson shares it is Easy To Do AND Easy Not To Do. In just two months I feel myself changing in my thoughts and actions. It has not been easy and I have had some challenging situations, but the difference is now that I am aware of the slight edge and how that each and every thought and action has everything to do with our future. I am working on not reacting, but responding in a positive way. I am learning and understanding that it is life and with each step and decision I make - effects my future.

I have shared with my friends what I am doing and how I am working on changing my life. This Book is at the top of my positive transformation along with my health. I will purchase this book for my daughter and her friends that are in college or starting as a Freshmen in college. I will highly recommend that my colleagues purchase and share this book with their loved ones and friends!!

An amazing book and I am excited to see as I move forward the positive changes to my life and my own ripple effect.

Outstanding. If I had to choose only one self-help book, this would be it. Really glad I picked this up and read it. Some will argue this book is little more than a re-formulation of a lot of the other self-help that is out there. Jerry Rice: “Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can do what others can’t.” For me, the way Olson puts his argument really resonates. Where this book really outshines others is it is really concrete, a lot less abstract and philosophical, and a lot more actionable for me. The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People was really hard for me to work my way through. I found the concepts Covey develops to require a lot of mental and emotional chewing on, like quicksand you had to wade through (“…. We knew that social comparison motives were out of harmony with our deeper values…”). Olson challenges you without the quicksand. The emphasis is on choices and time, with the language being much more accessible. The way Olson constructs his paradigm has really helped me think and act more positively and productively. He can be a little wordy, it can be a little repetitive. That is about the worst thing I can say about it. The best things I can say is it is an easy, compelling read, and it’s already improving my life.

I first read this many years ago and I revisit it from time to time.

Essentially the book talks about how our daily consistent actions, compounds into astronomically results with time. Each day we do the simple acts, they are completely insignificant. Its easy to do, but also easy not to do. Each day it makes no difference. However, after a 1 year, 2 years... 10 years or a lifetime, the results are truly amazing.

Having recommended this book, the only 2 cents that I would add of my own is to do any sort of action to get started. Ive heard this mentioned by many successful leaders as MIA - Massive Imperfect Action.
It doesnt have to be perfect to get started, just start. Once you get momentum, you can correct and adjust.

The book covers many examples on the power of the compound effect.

Highly recommend this book.

I read this book 3 years ago and without me even knowing it, it set me on a path of personal growth and exploration that I could have never dreamed of. As a result of reading this book, I committed to reading 10 pages of a good book every day. From there, other little changes started flowing.

Now, 3 years later, Ive read (or listened to) over 40 great books, transformed the relationships I have with my friends and family, and has even inspired me to create my own Rise Up movement to pay it forward.

So many people Ive shared this book with tell me its too repetitive, he just says the same thing again and again... That may be true, yet if you read it the way I did, one day, one chapter at a time, you will find that theres more than just knowledge in this book. Used that way it is a catalyst for action.

One final note, this book came to me as a result of a friend giving it to me. He read it and thought it would be helpful for me. My transformation is the ripple effect of another mans transformation. That, and the slight edge change over the pastcouple3 years is enough of proof for me to know the power of this message and stick with it for the rest of my life. Im 23 now... I got a long way to go.

I was introduced to this book on an audio CD. I was I liked it so much I ordered a paperback. Ive read the paperback so many times that its held together with paperclips and a rubber band. Of course I could buy myself another book, but is something about the appreciation of the original one that makes me keep the tattered book. What is great about this book, the fact is you know absolutely EVERYTHING this book is going to share with you. But the way the author writes it so eloquently it somehow pushes another charge under your feet. The perspective of what you already know then turns into a burst of empowerment and youre ready to takeoff and implement the "Slight Edge" into your daily life. You finally make it work for you, and you see it works.

So after knowing how empowering the book was for me, I buy this book in HARDBACK, and share it with special people. I buy the hardback with hopes they will continue to read it and hopefully it will not fall apart like my paperback.

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Enjoyed the overall idea of this book! It was a super easy read and I loved getting to apply some of the ideas to my life. Would def recommend to any first time personal development readers.

There was a section about happy habits that I enjoyed and the overall main point about compound interest in our lives adding up.