Easy to do, easy not to do

Olson’s central idea is that success comes from simple daily disciplines: small actions repeated over time. Eating an apple, reading ten pages or saving a little money are all easy to do.

The catch is that they are just as easy not to do. Skipping them once does no visible harm, and doing them once brings no visible reward. So most people never start, or soon stop.

Olson calls this the slight edge. Every choice moves you a little up or a little down, and the direction matters more than the size of the step.