Eight "Slight Edge" Principles for Teen Success

The eight success principles are drawn from the New York Times Best Seller " The Slight Edge". They are: Little Things Matter, Attitude Is Everything, Use The Moment, Everything Starts With Small Steps, There Is No Such Thing As Failure, Habits Are Powerful, You're Always Learning, and Make Your Dreams Come True.

Little Things Matter (Principle 1)

“Little Things Matter” is the first principle of The Slight Edge. The little things you do every day, whether positive or negative, will determine the kind of life you have. This chapter introduces the foundation of the book: Simple actions repeated over time, will determine the life you lead. This is the most basic point teens need to remember because it’s the starting point for everything else that follows.

Attitude Is Everything (Principle 2)

Your actions are driven by what you most deeply believe about yourself and the world. Your attitude determines both your simplest and most complicated actions—from the way you carry yourself to the way you deal with hard times.

Use the Moment (Principle 3)

You can create a better future by spending less time in the past and taking action in the present. Using the moment means taking control of your life in the moment—right now, today. It means not blaming the past or worrying about the future. The only time you have is the present, because the past is gone and the future hasn’t happened yet.

Principle 4

Everything Starts with Small Steps (Principle 4)

Every success in life, large or small, starts and continues with small steps. Every achievement, accomplishment, and success starts with a first step. That first step can be hard to take. Yet one small step can lead to results you never imagined.

There's No Such Thing As Failure (Principle 5)

Success is built on failure because it helps you discover your strengths and creates unexpected opportunities. This can be a hard point for teens (or anyone) to understand, but success is built on failure. You have to fail to succeed. But we don’t get the message that failure can be a good thing. More likely, we try to avoid it at all costs. And why not? Who likes to fail?

Habits Are Powerful (Principle 6)

Positive habits are powerful tools that can help you reach your full potential. This chapter focuses on habits, the simple things you do over and over again, day after day. We often take habits for granted. After all, they’re habits—something you do without thinking. It’s very easy to forget you have them. But, for better or worse, they run our lives.

You're Always Learning (Principle 7)

There’s no standing still in life, as you always have opportunities to learn something new. In life, no one is ever standing still. That’s because the world is constantly changing and so are you. You’re always in motion. Your life is always going somewhere. You aren’t the same person today that you were yesterday. You won’t be the same person tomorrow that you are today. And you’re either on the path of continuous learning—or not on the path—whether you realize it or not.

Make Your Dreams Come True (Principle 8)

By taking small, positive steps over time, you dreams can come true. Teens who achieve what they want in life do it by following a very specific recipe. Perhaps they’re not even aware that they’ve taken specific steps, but everyone who has ever created success in their lives, whether consciously or not, has followed more or less the same process.