10 tips for life success from Jeff Olson's book The Slight Edge

Incredible effort produces incredible results, but unfortunately it’s unsustainable. As soon as efforts reduce, it’s a slow but steady drift towards failure. The cycle of failure, survival, success is an emotional rollercoaster that can be exhausting.

Rather than waiting until times are desperate enough to inspire action, the most sustainable way to produce lasting results and changes is to do the most important and result-generating actions consistently over a long period of time.

Over time, simple, easy-to-miss daily practices like saving money regularly, exercising daily and communicating can all add up to something big. These small acts can eventually become a “slight edge” which can be a massive advantage.

When it comes to taking action, waiting for motivation is a dead end. Ever shifting emotions are not going to be a firm foundation for consistent actions and long term results. Learn what best practices and actions must be done and then simply do them regularly.

The idea that “someday” you will have the money, skills, body, relationship, job or finances that you want is a myth. Your future is entirely knowable based on what you are doing or not doing today. Success is built hour by hour, day after day, not through occasional epiphanies.

Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Success is simply about constant action towards goals. Too often people are thrown off by a lack of immediate rewards so they don’t stick to the good habits that are proven to have great results.

The philosophy of “what I do right now doesn’t really matter” is the biggest hindrance to a life that you love. It all matters, even if it’s not immediately clear how your actions are having a positive effect.

Recent studies show that happier people are healthier, have better relationships and better finances than those who do not. Believing that only certain conditions produce happiness is backwards. Deciding to be happy first is the key.

Most people are more interested in happiness than high levels of success. Paradoxically simply being more happy makes success more likely. Happy daily habits like expressing daily gratitude, acts of kindness and meditation can all increase happiness and therefore success.

Achieving what you earnestly desire boils down to a simple formula: Good daily habits + Thinking Long = Unusual Success.