I want to tell you what happened to me while taking time off from marketing. I had an epiphany. Coming from Eastern part of this country, we have had a lot of snow and it is only February 3rd. I can remember the first snow storm of the season and just the idea of shoveling was daunting. Then getting out there and looking at all the snow that needed to be shoveled was even more depressing. It took me forever to shovel because I didn’t use the slight edge approach; I would look up and see how much more snow was left to shovel. During all of these snow storms I used autosuggestion, prayer and rationalization “I am getting back into shape”. “I can do this” It was hard shoveling period and I was so negative internally about it. I think it was during the second storm, that I was reading Jeff Olson’s book The Slight Edge. It was a bright sunny day and I can remember going out to shovel and focus on what was right in front of me and not was ahead of me. It was twice as easy not because I just focused on what was in front of me, but I was doing it for a reason, sure the sun could have easily melted some of it, but I did it with meaning and I had a better attitude. I learned that day, Jeff Olson’s true meaning of the slight edge approach. I am a better person, I am more positive when it comes to snow storms and disciplined better. My daughter Melanie is in a wheelchair and her ramp has to be clean so she can go down the ramp by herself. It was also because I need my driveway to be safe for driving in and out. Then there was the mailman who walks everyday delivering me my mail. So it was and is important to me to focus on what is right in front of me and not what is ahead of me. In conclusion to my little story of my snowy slight edge story, the point I am trying to make is you have to be positive, disciplined and focus on what is right in front of you by taking baby steps. Take baby steps and it when you do take baby steps, you learn how to master the slight edge philosophy. “Learning how to learn”. You will find if you use the slight edge approach, you might be shoveling your neighbor’s driveway.
Because I took some time off from marketing, I had to take along hard look and step back at what I had been doing for the past two years. Is network marketing my passion? My passion is learning, teaching, networking and people. These last two years have not been wasted but I know I could have been more focused and if I understood things, followed through more efficiently took the slight edge approach more seriously, and disciplined myself better, things would and probably be different today. It’s not just about doing a little bit every day. It’s about DISCIPLINING YOURSELF to focus and do something with meaning and to learn “how to learn”. It doesn’t have to be huge; it just has to be meaningful. When I read Jeff Olson’s book called the Slight Edge, I read it too quickly the first time and I didn’t get the flavor and meaning that it means to me today. My understanding is that when I do something every day with meaning and continue to do it, you begin to discipline yourself and understand what you are doing, and it keeps me moving forward.
I can say today, that my passion is to teach, network and learn; my passion has and will always be to help others.
If there is a part of Jeff Olson and his book that I want you to take it is to remember when you were in the process of learning how to walk, you crawled, and how many times if you can remember; which you probably can’t, did you fail but you kept trying to get up and walk. Aha! But you learn how to walk, how miraculous.
What is different today is people want to run; they don’t want to take baby steps with any goal. When did you lose the ability to make a goal, go for it, and get it?
Somewhere along the way in your/our lives, we were conditioned. You and I became unwilling to take baby steps. You and I lost faith in the universal truth that the simple little disciplines done over and over, again and again over time would move mountains and be profound.
The Slight Edge philosophy is based on doing things that are easy-little disciplines (baby steps), in which, over time done consistently, add up to the biggest achievements. The problem is that all those things that are easy to do are just as easy not to do. Why is something easy not to do? If you don't do it; it won't kill you TODAY. But, that insignificant error in judgment, compounded over time, will d destroy you, kill your dreams and desires and ruin any chance for you to have success, you can count on it. If I am wrong, I will shovel your driveway.
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