The difference between winning in big way and losing, is not a vast chasm.
It’s as fine as a razor’s edge.

We often convince ourselves that we must make massive changes to have massive results.

We don’t.

The fact is that very small tweaks in what you’re doing currently, implemented consistently over time, will create major results. Let me give you a few examples:

While I’m not a sports fan per se, I am a fan of what it takes to be competitive and masterful in sports as well as all other areas of life. I am a fan of Ultimate Performance <reference UP Coaching>. Nonetheless, sports analogies are great analogies.

For instance, when you look at the difference between a professional baseball player who averages 330 at bat, which by the way is a stellar average, versus 280 which is not that stellar, the difference in number of hits is not that large at all.

In fact, the person batting 330 versus 280 has only one additional hit for every 15 times at bat.

Not real impressive when looked at in isolation. One fifteenth doesn’t seem like much at all now does it?

Incremental gains change the world.

While one-fifteenth doesn’t appear to be much, the difference between these two players’ salaries is millions!

Small improvements and efforts applied over time bring exponential results.

Sebastian Vettle, the driver for the Red Bull Racing Team won the 2013 Malaysia Grand Prix.

Many experts agree that a large part of winning Nascar is not just done on the track, but actually happens in the pits. During a pit stop even an extra second can cost you the entire race.



In fact, every second a pit crew shaves off their drivers down time gives the driver a potential 300 foot lead over the rest of the pack. Just one second.

A second doesn’t seem like much. But it is.

Red Bull’s pit crew took Vettle to victory by setting the world record for the quickest pit stop. A staggering 1.923 seconds total! The previous record was held by Team Ferrari at 1.95 seconds.

Do the math.

Small things done consistently in strategic places create major impact.

The Razors Edge Principle is one that I teach my coaching clients to apply in their life and business. Small consistent daily actions and habits that have huge returns over time.

I do this both in my one-on-one as well as group Ultimate Performance Coaching <reference UPC> as well as more economically in my virtual coaching program 21 Days to a New Life 

The Razors Edge is based upon the principle of increasing returns. Similar to compounding interest in your investment account, small effort, small increase and improvement over time bring incredible results.

We don’t need new plays. What we need is mastery of the basics.
~ Lou Holtz

Let me give you another Razors Edge example; and for this one you’ll need to break out your calculator.

Take your calculator and multiply the number 3 six times.

Not 3X6, rather 3X3X3X3X3X3.

What do you get?

If you did it correctly you get 729, right?

Now let’s increase our effort by 33% or a measly 1/3. Are you ready?

Not a 50% increase mind you, just a measly 1/3.

Obviously 1/3 of three is one. So that increases our three to a four. 3 plus 1 equals four.

Now calculator at the ready once again. Multiply the number 4 six times. Same as before.

4X4X4X4X4X4.

What’s your answer?

Again if your calculator serves you well you get 4,096!

Now I want you to think of the implications here.

You just experienced a 550% improvement by only increasing your productivity by a measly one third!

550%!

What would a five-hundred-and-fifty percent improvement due to your performance and your results?

It’s astronomical!

Masters persevere and continually improve even when
nothing appears to be happening in the near term.
They know what the masses do not.
That’s what makes them masters.

The difference between the master and the beginner is the master has the ability to stand in the face of no apparent results for longer. The truth is that you’re always getting results. Sometimes you just don’t yet see them.

The master knows that incremental gains change the world.

Let me give you some real practical examples of how you can implement the Razor’s Edge Principle into your life.

Do you realize that when you get up one hour earlier, and you make that hour productive, it gives you an additional nine 40 hour weeks of pure productivity over the course of a year? Please read that again.

Not one additional 40 hour week. Not two.

Nine!

Get up and get productive.

One less hour of sleep never broke you. Yet it can make you.

While I’m not an advocate of sleep deprivation, I am an advocate of getting enough sleep and no more. Even the National Sleep Foundation cannot conclusively state how much sleep you actually need. All they can tell us is that small children and the elderly need more.

Oh, and of course dogs.

You’re not a dog.

Many use sleep in times of challenge as what psychologists call a “regressive coping” strategy. In other words an escape mechanism.

I promise you that every single hour you over sleep there’s someone out there who’s up and after it building their own legacy.

This one additional hour of productivity is a Razors Edge activity that will bring exponential results and change your world.

What if you commit to a one percent improvement per day in your craft? Please understand, that leaves 99% at par. Just a one percent improvement.

A 1% improvement per day brings you a total of 30% total improvement in just a month! In a year that’s a full 360% improvement!

Staggering.

Even 4% improvement per week (which gives you 3 days off at a 1% daily climb), brings a whopping 192% improvement in a year!

Play with the math.

It blows your mind. Not to mention what it will do to your performance!

Again, incremental gains change the world.

The difference between mediocre and masterful is as fine as a Razors Edge.

Here are some more…

What if you took just one more meeting per day? Not five. Not ten. Just one.

What if you made just one more phone call?

What if you wrote just one more page on that book?

What if you practiced your craft for continuous improvement just one more hour?

It all depends on what you want to look back upon when you leave this life.

Do you want to look back and realize you had a chance to bring your greatness to the world but you didn’t seize it?

Do you want to look back and realize that you had a shot but you slept it, and partied it and socialized it away?

Or do you want to look back upon the impact you’ve had on the world and the legacy you leave?

Which one do you prefer "Instant Success" or "Lifetime Legacy"?

The difference between ultimate living, ultimate performance and ultimate regret are as find as a razor’s edge.

The choice is yours.

Your move.

Stay Awake, Love Life, and Be Epic!

James