The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success and Happiness by Jeff Olson (Greenleaf Book Group, 2013)

The trouble with having a very long "to read" list is that by the time I get around to reading a book, I'm likely to have forgotten who recommended it to me. That's the case with this one. But someone did, and I recently read it.

The Slight Edge is not a book I would necessarily have picked up on my own, especially not after having flipped through it. It has the feel of one of those self-help books that spend a lot of words reiterating things we already know. And really, it could have been a lot shorter; in this, it has the defects of a Presbyterian sermon, only worse.

And yet, it was Martin Luther, I believe, who when asked, "Why do you preach on justification by faith every week?" replied, "Because you forget it every week." Sometimes we need to be reminded of what we already know. And sometimes the 40th repetition finally gets through.

Most of what Jeff Olson says here can be summarized by referring to the ancient story of the rice on the chessboard. You've heard it before: small actions (good or bad), repeated consistently and persistently over time, can result in huge gains (or losses) that can change your life dramatically.

What's the purpose of still another book telling us what we should already know? Is The Slight Edge worth reading for you? I have no idea. It's not great writing, and, as I said, repetitive. But I was able to read it for free thanks to our library, and found it worth the greater cost in time. Sometimes even those of us who don't have that many more squares on our chessboards need reminding of the simplest strategies.

Also, I found the second half much better than the first, as Olson expands his ideas further. I still wouldn't call it good writing, but there are a lot of good ideas there.  Even if we've heard them a hundred times before. Martin Luther would understand.

I'll reproduce each of the chapter summaries here. I don't know as they'll mean much to you if you haven't read the book, but they may give you a taste. And if you have read the book (like me) you may find them helpful reminders of what you learned (again). (Click on a page to enlarge it.)

                              

Posted by sursumcorda on Wednesday, January 8, 2025 at 6:19 am | Edit
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