“It can wait until tomorrow, right?”
If I had a nickel for every time I heard this phrase from my kids, my students, my business partners, and yes, even myself…. I'd be a millionaire.
This may be one of the most dangerous phrases in life.
Yet it seems innocuous enough — after all, it's just one day, right?
Wrong.
Let me explain.
Is Success Mostly Luck?
Have you ever wondered why some people fail and others succeed?
Why do two people given the exact same opportunities suffer such different fates?
Is it luck?
Financial state?
Social status?
You may want to argue these points, but you'd be wrong.
There are many examples throughout history of people born into poverty living in ghettos who end up as CEOs and millionaires.
For these people, their success was anything but luck.
What Is It That Determines Success?
So what is it?
What makes one person successful and another person struggle through life?
Let me tell you why I ask the question.
Yesterday, Rosemary and I packed up the car and headed out to Elizabethtown College in PA with our daughter, who will be starting classes in the Fall.
She's so excited and it's really fun watching her emotions run from amazement to astonishment to worry as she wonders how she'll fit in. She can't wait to start this new chapter in her life.
But I digress.
On the 4 hours drive up and back, we listened to an audiobook we just purchased called The Slight Edge: Secret to a Successful Life, by Jeff Olson.
I have heard great things about this book from my friend and fellow blogger, Rowena Bolo and was excited to listen to what Jeff had to say.
What is the Slight Edge?
The Slight Edge is the advantage you gain in life when you do the little things… those small things that are important to being successful in your finances, business, relationships and every other aspect of life.
Jeff gives many examples of places in life and business where The Slight Edge comes into play.
- It may mean saving 10% of each paycheck on a regular basis.
- It could mean making Friday nights “date night” with your wife, and never letting anything get in the way. Just the two of you, once a week.
- Or it could mean taking 15 minutes each day to improve your mindset so that your business can continue to grow and evolve.
The Slight Edge is doing the little things that make a huge difference over time.
The little things that are easy to do.
Why Isn't Everyone Successful?
If these little things that make a difference are so easy to do, why isn't everyone in life successful?
Because they're also easy NOT to do.
- It's easy to read 10 pages a day in a Personal Development book, but its also easy to skip a day.
- It's easy to check your credit card bill for errors each month, but also easy to blow it off and just pay the bill without checking.
- It's easy to eat an apple each day to maintain your health, but it's also easy to eat the cookie instead.
It all comes down to you and your philosophy.
What does this have to do with putting something off just one day?
It's not that one day will make that big of a difference, but it's the flaw in your philosophy that's the problem.
See, when you put something off until tomorrow, it usually extends to the next day, then the next until all of a sudden you realize you've gone a month or more without doing it.
And this is what will ultimately result in failure.
Here's what I mean:
- Putting off eating fruit for one day won't affect your health. You won't notice any difference. But failing to eat your daily portion of fruit for years on end will likely shorten your life.
- Not reading a few pages of a Personal Development book won't hurt your business the first day, or the next. But failure to develop your mindset over time will have a substantial effect on the growth of your business.
It's the little things that are easy to do — and easy NOT to do — that usually make the difference between success and failure.
Action Steps You Can Take Today
Want to be more successful? Think you should be more successful in your business but can't figure out why you're not?
Here are 3 Action Steps you can take:
1. Read The Slight Edge: Secret to a Successful Life
and adapt the Slight Edge Philosophy as your own.
2. Find a quiet place and reflect on what small things in your business and your life can make a huge difference if done every day.
3. Start the practice of doing those things each day… starting TODAY!
Because, you see…. It CAN't Wait Until Tomorrow!
Your Turn
What little things do you do (or not do) in your own life that make a difference?
LEAVE A COMMENT and join in the Discussion.
And if you enjoyed this post and found it useful, please SHARE IT!
57 replies to "It Can Wait Until Tomorrow, Right?"
I think that for some people…they are just at the right place at the right time and they take that success from that luck as truly knowing what they are doing when in actuality they were just lucky.
Then you have those that really have to trudge through the mess and hold on before if they do finally get that break..
But you are right if everyone was successful obviously it would be easy to obtain.
Hey Onye, it’s true… sometimes luck plays a big part in our success, especially early on. But it often can’t be repeated.
Appreciate your comment!
A lot of people do associate other people’s success with luck. This is most likely associated again with our inherent flaw to blame, to point fingers, to find an excuse. From the bottom of our hearts, we all know that success is about hard work. Heaven knows how to put a proper price on its goods. One can either work hard to get it, or wait for luck to take action. More often than not, the latter almost always fails.
Hi Bob!
I agree, that many millionaires and billionaires are born from poverty. All people wants to have successful career in life (especially me). Success requires self-motivation, perseverance and determination that’s what I have for now. You really inspire me Bob, thanks much for this inspirational information. Keep inspiring!
Thanks for the kind words and support, Joshua. I’m glad you find our information useful!
Thanks for the tips I can apply it to my business as well because right now I’m having problem in ranking my site as a travel tour. I will recommend this site my friend as well.
Glad you can apply the information we provide here for your own business! Thanks for the referral!
Yes I agree that some businessmen and businesswomen are lucky enough in making their business successful even they are firstimers some are veterans but still they are not lucky in profiting their business. But for me its not about lucky or unlucky in making business its depend on how you handle your business or to handle your costumers, and also how dedicated are in doing your business. I’m also a businessman from Martsam Tour & Travel it was very hard to make an online internet but we all know that we have to dig it so that we can get more profits.
Thanks for sharing your experiences here, Benedicto…. I think its hard for many small businesses to compete (especially in the travel industry) without a large internet presence. Congrats on recognizing this and perhaps getting out of your comfort zone.
I’m sure your efforts will be greatly rewarded.
Procrastination is by far my biggest weakness. I have 2 jobs (and would like to eliminate one of them, a boyfriend I love spending time with, and a group of friends that most people would kill to have… It’s really EASY to blow things off, but I’m finding that I’m not accomplishing the things in life that are important to me. Restructuring my life has been a new priority for me and I really appreciate the help you offer!
Glad to help, Carrie.
As they say, awareness is the first step to improvement. You’ve become aware that,although you have some great people in your life you somehow feel that you’re not accomplishing things important to you. I believe that’s where planning and discipline come in. Decide what you want, make a plan and then enlist your boyfriend and friends to help you make it happen… and hold you accountable!
Thanks for sharing your story, Carrie. Great to have you here!
Another great post Bob! Darren Hardy’s latest book the Compound Effect is another great book that goes deep into the power of discipline and consistency. A great example is going to the gym to build muscle or get in shape. You can’t expect to go one day for several hours, miss a week and then show up again for a day or two and hope to be in shape. It requires conditioning.
Great example, Hans. I am a huge fan of Darren Hardy’s!
I love Success magazine and his book is next on my list to read. Thanks for the recommendation…. makes me want to get to it now!
Appreciate the comment, Hans!
But it’s so easier to just put it off until tomorrow right?? 😉 This is the article I need to read, especially before the weekend. I’m the biggest procrastinator out of my friends and I really need to snap out of it. I’m glad I stumbled across your blog and you provide great articles. Bookmarked!
Wow, thanks for the great comment, Jessica.
Action is the enemy of procrastination, so my advice is to just start doing it. Just the process of working on something will get you moving forward. Even if it isn’t perfect, you can improve on it later. The key is the just get moving!
Glad you found this useful, Jessica!
Hi Bob,
Wow, you are truly a massive action taker! I love the fact that you were able to listen to the CD with Rosemary and your daughter. I can just imagine how much your daughter has gained from that audio, which is just perfect as she’s starting a new chapter in her life.
Well, even before you purchased the CD, I can already tell that you are one of the ‘Slight Edgers’. I am always amazed by your results and how productive you are , even if you’re doing the business part-time. I have almost missed this post, as I was at several events the passed couple of weeks, and I admire how truly consistent you are with blogging, and putting out so much valuable content 2-3 times per week.
I got nothing to add here, as you have beautifully summed up the Slight edge philosophy. My only wish is that people who got to read this post, will take action, just like you did! I can’t wait to see how the audio will further boost your already awesome productivity level 🙂
– Rowena
We are grateful that you steered us towards this great book, Rowena. I had heard of it before, but your recommendation pointed me back towards it and it was a real eye opener.
Thanks for your kind words and support, Rowena!
Great topic Bob! I can definitely get into the “lazy routine” and putting things off until the last minute. Especially now since it’s the summer time and the sun just adds to my procrastination! Thanks for your advice and I need to be proactive in order to see success. Thanks for the motivation and also letting me see that I’m not alone.
You’re welcome, Kris… glad you found this post inspirational.
You’re so right about summer…. everything get’s a bit harder, right?
Procrastination is indeed one of the reasons why most people postpone success. I myself can’t help but postpone things especially when I don’t feel like doing them.
Postponing things is not just about success, but also about life.
I once watched a video from TED, it’s about a guy who survived from a plane crash. He discussed how he thought that that moment was his last minute. He suddenly have thought of things he should have done. It was like a flashback of things that he regrets because he hadn’t done them on his life.
Since that incident he never had a fight with his wife, and he appreciate life more. He said that he wouldn’t ever postpone a thing in his life ever again.
It’s a shame that it takes a major incident like a plane crash to bring us to such realizations, but it usually does, myself included.
We ALL procrastinate to some extent, but the key is to at least do the things now that truly make a difference.
Thanks for the comment, Gian!
Hi Bob,
These are certainly neccesary tips for self employed people. If you are not told what to do, as in a regular job, the human tendency is to do less and less. For many, that’s the definition of success, to be able to do little or nothing and still have an income. For most entrepreneurs, there has to be things to be done each day, and that person needs to stick with his to do list.
Lou
That’s very true Lou. Self employed people require a similar structure to that of a regular job.
I hadn’t thought of it in those terms, but you’re absolutely right.
Thanks for the insights!
You’re completely right. Life doesn’t wait for us! It’s easy to complain and wait for something to happen, but then we’re waiting and waiting..and waiting. Great article for motivation. Thank you!
Well said, Diane.
I love it… “life doesn’t wait for us.” If we all put that on our bathroom mirror to see first thing in the morning, we’d all be a bit more motivated, right?
Thanks for your insights, Diane!
Hey Dr Clarke,
Just like you and our friend, Rowena, I absolutely love this book and live by it!
If you want to achieve your goals and become successful, you’ll have to do small and simple tasks every single day, without fail.
Thanks for the inspiration and for sharing your personal experience with your daughter.
Have a great weekend!
Mavis
HI Mavis,
Thanks for your kind words and your continued encouragement. And Thanks to Rowena Bolo for reminding me that I needed to get this book. I am still devouring it, second time around and love each and every concept.
Thanks for stopping by, Mavis!
Hey,Bob,
I know for one philosophy and wisdom saying that you should not leave for tomorrow whatever you can manage to do today…Ghandi also said that what our future looks like depends of what we do in the present.So,that is pretty much the same message.
If we want to succedd, we have to be dedicated and never leave problems to be solved for the next day.
Hi Kristina,
Welcome! I guess if Ghandi is sending the same message, we must be on the right track, right?
To clarify one point — I am not saying you should never leave something for a later date. What I find most useful is to prioritize, then do things in an order that makes the most sense. it’s a fine distinction but one that must be made, otherwise we are doing far less important things first, only because they showed up on our radar earlier than a truly important task.
Make sense?
Thanks for your comment, Kristina!
Bob, I may just have to get that book now that you and Rowena are both speaking so well of it. I do love the idea of daily tasks paying off over time. That is especially comforting with things like family traditions, healing techniques my family & I use, and blogging.
But I still need to think about the things I might be neglecting, so I really appreciate this post!
By the way, your story about your daughter really brings back memories of how it felt for me to anticipate going to college and then, what the 8-hour drive with my parents was like, then unloading the car, etc. Nice memories!
Jeanine
Hi Jeanine,
I definitely recommend The Slight Edge, Jeanine… it has become something of a bible for me in the way I run my business and my life. As you say, its not only good practices to follow for your business but also makes sense for life in general and growing relationships.
Appreciate your insights, Jeanine. Great to see you here again!
Great post, Dr. Bob! I could not agree with you more about this great book! There are times that I’ve fallen off the wagon, but things have just felt wrong when I did. This tells me that I was definitely onto something when I followed these patterns. I know that it might seem futile at first, and that discourages some, but there comes a point when these slight edge disciplines start to kick in, and we find out just how far we have come. It seems overnight to some, and luck to others, but there are definitely ways to increase our luck, and the Slight Edge does that.
The Slight Edge philosophy is no quick fix, its a life long learning process, right Steve? I can tell from your comment that you understand it, but many are looking for quick results and are disappointed.
I like your insights about luck. I feel exactly the same way.
Thanks for the comment, Steve!
Hi Bob,
This is a very timely post for me. I was in the process of establishing the routine of getting up at 4am every day and working out, meditating, and reading before heading off to the daily grind. This week, however, our 2 year old grandson stayed with us, and woke us up at all hours of the night.
Routine destroyed.
I’m trying now to reestablish that routine, but it’s difficult. I know my day will flow much smoother if I get back on track, but that little voice says, “Let’s just skip today. We’re too tired. Let’s eat some ice cream.”
Great information, Bob. Thanks for sharing!
Gregory
It happens to all of us, Gregory.. sometimes life just gets in the way of our best laid plans.
The key is what you said… get up, dust yourself off and start on your plan now. It’s important to get back on your plan as soon as possible.
Thanks for sharing, Gregory!
Hi Bob,
You are right on. I completely agree that the biggest reason we don’t achieve success is lack of action. And it isn’t the big things that are the problem, it is the little things that we put off and keep putting off until it is too late. Action is the key, but it must also be smart action!
Well said, John…. absolutely!
Sounds like I was preaching to the choir here! Glad to hear you’ve got a great grasp on these concepts. Success is sure to head your way, if it hasn’t already.
Thanks for your insightful comment, John.
Hey Bob,
In as much as I pride myself in being an action-taker, I sometimes find myself procrastinating sometimes. But the good thing for me is that alot of the time I catch myself and go ahead to correct myself eventually. It’s something we must continually improve upon.
Heard of Slight Edge, but have not read it. Rowena also talked abut the book. Would have to put the book on my August booklist since my July list is set already.
Little things make huge differences in the longrun. It’s like compound interest.
Thanks Bob!
~Tosin
Hey Tosin,
It’s exactly like compound interest! Another great book to put on your August list may be “The Compound Effect” by Darren Hardy. He writes about exactly what you’ve discussed here.
Thanks for your insights as always, Tosin. Great to see you again!
Ah procrastination. I remember the first time I actually admitted to myself that I had a tendency to leave things to another day… “I am just too busy today…” I would say to myself. When my wife suggested that I might be procrastinating, I actually thought about the reasons I was routinely giving myself to do tomorrow the things I really ought to have been today.
I am not all cured, but I know my frailties and I also I don’t have any excuses.
Thank you for this great article Bob,
Keep the Smiles,
Stevie
HI Stevie, welcome!
Your last statement – “I also know I don’t have any excuses” is the most important one. Once you take ownership of your bad habits and stop making excuses, the rest comes more easily.
I am also a closet Procrastinator… as much as I try to prioritize and complete tasks when needed, I still fall into bad habits once in a while. We all do, it’s a work in progress.
Thanks for your comment, Stevie!
Good and true article Bob. It all comes down to being lazy.
Having the discipline to do whatever it takes is an important aspect of succeeding and development. Unfortunately many people lack discipline and prefer to sit in front of the television to say, exercising.
Well said Caterina… discipline is certainly a character trait of the successful.
Great article Bob. This is the first I’ve heard of the Slight Edge, however it sounds like the same or similar principles as in John Maxwell’s book Today Matters. Such an important message and as far as I’m concerned my most important take away from the whole Law of Attraction movement – where we are today is a result of a decisions from a lot of yesterdays. We all have the same number of hours each day, so I guess it all boils down to priorities. Thanks for the inspiration!
Hi Marquita,
That may be one of the very few books by John Maxwell that I haven’t read, but you’re right, they do sound like they are sending the same message. I’ll have to pick up that book, as well. Thanks for the recommendation.
I love your statement – “Today is a result of decisions from a lot of yesterdays”. That’s awesome and so very true. If you don’t mind, I will steal that one.
Thanks for your insights, Marquita!
Hi Bob,
awesome insights. Just like you and Rowena, I love this book. It has become kind of a bible in our mastermind group…
So your daughter got the right food for thought…that’s awesome.
The problem with tomorrow is: There’s no such thing as tomorrow. Tomorrow doesn’t exist, just like yesterday doesn’t exist anymore. Tomorrow – or even “some day” – is the day that never comes, sad but true.
Thanks for sharing your wisdom.
Take care
Oliver
Hi Oliver,
I am still reading The Slight Edge and am amazed at how much I’m getting out of it. Many thanks to Rowena for putting it out there for me to discover. That’s why I love to read other blogs from people who are truly in to improving themselves and their world. Rowena is awesome.
I love your statement about tomorrow. We are all guilty of the “wait until tomorrow” syndrome, but if you minimize it and set your priorities straight, your productivity will shoot through the roof.
Thanks for your insights, Oliver!
Hi Bob,
Awhile back before I took control of my life procrastination was my middle name.
Man did I put things off for the next day…
As you pointed out little things form habits either good or bad.
Thanks for the post.
Cheers
Bryan
Haha Bryan, glad you straightened yourself out!
Some people never even recognize it as a problem and go through their entire lives not living up to their potential.
Thanks for the comment, Bryan!
Bob – It’s ALL about the little things. I like to think of it this way to give myself the impact: every single decision I ever made from birth until this very moment brought me to this very moment. If I could go back and change any decision, no matter how trivial (brush my teeth, don’t brush my teeth one day), it may have an immense impact on me today.
Each moment builds on the previous. Each decision spills into the next and so it goes for the remainder of our days. The better the choices we make, every time we can make them, the better off we’ll be down the road. We have to treat even the small things seriously or the big stuff won’t turn out so pretty.
Thanks for bringing up this important concept.
Well said, Jon. I am also a true believer in this concept.
I saw a movie once (don’t remember the name) where they started with some major event that occurred and worked backwards, showing how every small decision made that day led up to that event. Even changing the smallest detail of the day would have changed the outcome.
Tnanks for your insights, Jon.
Although luck plays a great role upon everyone’s success, we must always keep in mind that it is not all about luck. Success does require a lot of efforts in order to achieve it, and I think luck is what makes it a little bit faster to gain. Moreover, the chemistry between hardwork and luck do works best towards success though.
Hi Argie,
I’m not a great believer in luck. Certainly it does occur in some form, but I’ve found that what appears to outsiders as luck is actually hard work turned positive. For example, if I get in a situation where a “heavy hitter” in the industry decides to promote my post online and it goes viral overnight, some might say how lucky I was to have that happen. But what they don’t see is that I spent months prior to that building that relationship with that industry giant, spending time on their site, buying their products and getting results and sharing them with the owner. I cultivated that relationship and it paid off later. But it wasn’t luck. This actually happened to me in this way.
Sure, there can be some luck involved, but for the most part I feel we make our own luck in life.
Thanks for your insights, Argie! Great to have you here!
Great article. I like to say that I do things when I think of it, but procrastination definitely overtakes me. It’s not a sense of laziness, but more so of the thought that “it will be there tomorrow”. For example, if I have to make a deposit, or pick up some Tylenol. The bank will be there tomorrow, and the pharmacy isn’t going to run out of Tylenol. Your article definitely made me think about what I constantly put off and that there’s no need to. This in turn, will give more time in the long run. Thanks.
Hi Uri,
I find it’s not a matter of doing things instantly as they come up… that would not be productive, either. It’s more of taking a moment periodically to assess your needs against what you have to do and prioritizing them. It’s true that you could wait to pick up Tylenol tomorrow, if you just need to stock up. But add in a splitting headache to the mix and then that priority shoots to the top. See what I mean?
Thanks for your insights, Uri. Great to have you here!
What if I gain my slight edge by not reading the book and doing something productive toward my business instead? 🙂 Seriously a great post for anyone who is balancing the day job vs. night business building while maintaining a little healthy balance!
Hi Kristi,
Well, there’s always one in the crowd! 🙂
Thanks for the kind words. Achieving that balance is the most important part because without it, one part of your life will suffer. We need all aspects of our life working in harmony to maximize our potential.