The First Book I Read This Year

It is so easy to overestimate the importance of one defining moment

and underestimate the value of making small improvements on a daily

basis. Too often, we convince ourselves that massive success requires

massive action. Whether it is losing weight, building a business,

writing a book, winning a championship, or achieving any other goal,

we put pressure on ourselves to make some earth-shattering

improvement that everyone will talk about.

Meanwhile, improving by 1 percent isn’t particularly notable—

sometimes it isn’t even noticeable—but it can be far more meaningful,

especially in the long run. The difference a tiny improvement can make

over time is astounding.

Here’s how the math works out: if you can get

1 percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times

better by the time you’re done.

Conversely, if you get 1 percent worse

each day for one year, you’ll decline nearly down to zero. What starts

as a small win or a minor setback accumulates into something much

more.