Don’t get it twisted. Just because something is easy to do, it doesn’t mean that it will get done. The problem with things that are easy to do is that they are also easy NOT to do. And, there is the rub! The easy to do things are not sexy. They don’t elicit a great response. Fireworks aren’t going off when you do boring, mundane, repetitive things. Jeff Olson, author of the acclaimed book The Slight Edge states that those things are what is required to achieve greatness.
Olson says (and many other studies bear this out as well) that only about 5% of people are thriving and will achieve their goals in life—and those people are knowingly or unknowingly applying slight edge principles. The 5% have mastered the mundane things.
When I took charge of #LWCWaukesha (Leadership Waukesha County), I was told that these busy professionals didn’t have time to read books, so they were assigned articles and snippets for them to read, if they wanted. I was appalled by this notion and realized that EVERYONE has 15 minutes per day if they want to read. My first cohort read two books by applying the 15-minute per day rule. I had a ton of pushback, but I pushed back as well and wouldn’t hear of it. Many people thanked me for making them read these great books. A few years later, my cohorts were reading five books over their eight-month stay with me.
Here is how we did it: I first had to convince them that they could read these books and still have time for everything else in their lives. I openly challenged anyone who said they didn’t have 15 minutes. They always found plenty of time to make reading a priority. Most realized that it was a matter of prioritization. Instead of watching that sitcom, they would read 15 minutes first. Easy to do and easy not to do. Next, I had to make them realize that they would not see visible results right away. In fact, others will see the positive change in them long before they saw the results. Finally, 15 minutes seems insignificant. Maybe, maybe not, depending upon your perspective. 15 minutes of reading per day will yield about 10 – 12 books per year. Most Americans will never read 10 – 12 books per year. If you do, you have entered the 5%. I challenged them to apply these slight edge principles to a goal and, voila, it worked for everyone who earnestly applied them (in my classes of 40 participants about 37 or 38 were taking it to heart and doing the hard work). They had achieved their goals.
Recapping Olson’s thoughts here about mastering the mundane:
1. They are easy things to do (and therefore easy not to do)
2. You will not see immediate, visible results. Depending upon the size of the goal, this could take a while, but over time you will see tremendous results.
3. Taking baby steps seem insignificant. Each one alone may very well be insignificant, but when you stack the totality of them all, they become life transformational!
You have all heard the challenge of would you rather have a million dollars now or have a penny today, two cents tomorrow doubling the amount each day for 31 days. I was in seventh grade when this was first posed to our class by our math teacher. I was one of two people who opted for the penny doubled over 31 days. All the kids laughed at me and the other fellow until the teacher wrote out the formula on the chalk board. Indeed, I would have amassed well over $10MM compared to their measly million. Some tried to rationalize that they didn’t have to wait, they had their million to enjoy now. True, but I had 10 times that amount by delaying gratification for a bit.
I challenge to apply slight edge principles to something significant you are trying to accomplish. Remember, consistent, daily action in mundane things over time leads to great accomplishments.