THE WINNING EDGE

In order to get the winning edge, we need to strive for excellence, not perfection. Striving for perfection is neurotic; striving for excellence is progress, because there is nothing that can't be done better or improved.

All that we need is a little edge. The winning horse in the race may win with 5-to-1 or 10-to-1 odds. Do you think he is five or ten times faster than the other horses? Of course not. He may only be faster by a fraction, by a nose, but the rewards are five or ten times greater.

Is it fair? Who cares? It doesn't matter. Those are the rules of the game. That is the way the game is played. The same is true in our lives. Successful people are not ten times smarter than the people who fail. They may be fractionally better, but the rewards are ten times bigger.

We don't need to improve 1000% in any one area. All you need is to improve 1% in 1000 different areas, which is a lot easier. That is the winning edge!

HOW DO WE MEASURE SUCCESS?

True success is measured by the feeling of knowing we have done a job well and have achieved our objective.

Success is not measured by our position in life but by the obstacles we overcame to get there.

Success in life is not determined by how We are doing compared with others, but by how we are doing com-pared with what we are capable of doing. Successful people compete against themselves. They better their own record and keep improving constantly.

Success is not measured by how high we go up in life, but rather by how' many times we bounce back when we fall down. It is this bounce-back ability that determines success.

THE GREATEST GIFT:

Of all the creatures in the world, humans are physically the most ill-equipped. A human cannot fly like a bird, outrun a leopard, swim like an alligator, nor climb trees like a monkey. A human doesn't have the eye of an eagle, nor the claws and teeth of a wild cat. Physically, humans are helpless and defenseless; a tiny insect can kill them. But nature is reasonable and kind. Nature's greatest gift to humankind is the ability to think. Humans can create their own environment, whereas animals adapt to their environment.

Sadly, very few people use the greatest gift—the ability to think—to its full potential.

LIFE IS FULL OF CHOICES AND COMPROMISES:

At first glance it might seem that there is a contradiction in the statement, that life is full of choices and compromises. If life is full of choices, where is the question of compromise? But, even a compromise is a choice. Let's evaluate this.

How is Life Full of Choices?

When we eat too much, we make a choice to be overweight. When we drink too much, we make a choice to have a headache the next day. If we drink and drive, we choose to risk being killed or killing someone in an accident. When we ill-treat people, we choose to be ill-treated - return. When we don't care about other people, ie choose not to be cared for by other people.

Choices have consequences. We are free to make our choice but, after we have chosen, the choice controls us. We have equal opportunity to be unequal. The choice is ours. Life can be compared to a pottery maker who shapes clay in any form he wants. Similarly we can mold our lives into any shape we want.