The Little Things: Why You Really Should Sweat the Small Stuff

by Andy Andrews

According to Democritus, upon examination, all matter could eventually be reduced to its smallest particle or its atomos.

ONLY A FOOL BELIEVES EVERYTHING HE THINKS.

it would take more than ten million atoms, arranged in a straight line across the period at the end of this sentence, to stretch from one side of the period to the other.

ignorance of a principle is no protection from the consequences of violating that principle just because you didn’t know it.

There is a tremendous—almost overwhelming—competitive advantage to be gained in acquiring deeper understanding and greater clarity, learning more about a subject in which you previously did not excel.

With perspective and clarity comes the realization that you now understand something in a way and at a level you could not have previously comprehended it.

competing on a level where your competition does not even know there’s a game.

two significant questions you must face: 1. How long are you willing to wait to change virtually every result you’ve ever had? 2. When is NOW a good time to begin?

Perspective is the only thing consistently more valuable than the answer itself.

FACT: YOU CHOOSE YOUR PERSPECTIVE.

Perception—how a situation is perceived—has to do with what one decides the facts really are at a given moment. Perspective, on the other hand, has to do with what one decides the facts of that moment mean in terms of direction toward one’s ultimate desired destination. Perception concerns what is. Perspective concerns our ability to direct what happens from that point forward according to our interpretation of what is.

This is, in fact, the very reason your perception and your perspective about something should almost never be the same. For example, suppose you perceive a situation as “the worst thing that could have possibly happened.” If you allow your perspective to match that perception, you also allow it to determine (and limit) your future.

Perspective about a situation creates calm. Calm leads to clear thinking. Clear thinking yields ideas and helps one discern the difference between problem areas and opportunities. Clear thinking also pinpoints perfect timing. And all of this leads to the answer you will be confident is THE BEST.

FACT: PERSPECTIVE IS THE ONLY THING THAT CAN DRAMATICALLY CHANGE THE RESULTS WITHOUT CHANGING ANY OF THE FACTS.

THE LAND MASS NOW OCCUPIED BY THE UNITED States of America was once separated into four parts by casual borders and owned by four different countries—England, France, Spain, and a very young United States.

Comfort, acceptance, and assurance are life’s rewards that the average person demands immediately. The extraordinary achiever, however, chooses to work without any of them for a time in order that his family might enjoy vast helpings of all three for generations.

everybody wants to make a difference, but nobody is willing to be different.

most of us reach and maintain a level of “average excellence” that aligns rather closely to the achievements of our peers.

extraordinary achievers do not compare themselves to other people. Instead, they compare themselves to their own potential.

The following are a few great questions to ask the teenagers in your life. They are great questions to ask yourself as well. Remember,

extraordinary achievers became comfortable with being seen as “different” or even “odd” long before they achieved the level of success they were after.

If you want to be an extraordinary achiever, then you really do want to be different!

A secret cannot be kept forever. The truth always finds a way to bubble to the surface.

Everyone wants things to get better. No one wants things to change.

MYTH #1: IT TAKES TIME TO CHANGE.

MYTH #2: A PERSON MUST WANT TO CHANGE.

MYTH #3: A PERSON WON’T CHANGE UNTIL HE HITS ROCK BOTTOM.

If you can find just one example of true and lasting change that does not contain these two things, I would love to hear about it.

CHANGE INGREDIENT #1: WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?

CHANGE INGREDIENT #2: PROOF BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT

Good will always be the enemy of best.

The principle is little known but heartbreakingly true: it is impossible for a person to outperform his acknowledged capability.

“Okay . . . what people believe determines their behavior, right? This is a fact. But think about this: what people believe will determine their behavior whether or not what they believe is true.”

it is the enemy’s belief system that we must attack.

In almost any kind of endeavor, absolute belief controls behavior absolutely.

the first four words of this chapter: if you could choose. Four words—subtle but, at the same time, daring.

Forget about the fact that we have not experienced THE BEST life has to offer. Most of us have never even allowed ourselves to consider what THE BEST might actually be!

the first four words in this chapter are a dirty, rotten lie. BECAUSE YOU CAN CHOOSE.

You and I should spend less time setting goals to satisfy the expectations of other people and use more time to concentrate fully upon legitimately increasing the level of what we really and truly believe is possible.

Perspective is how we decide to see a thing. Blindness is the decision not to see it at all. Choosing a negative perspective is limiting, but choosing blindness is a tragedy.

The fact that my self-pity and anger allowed me an excuse to ignore beauty—to choose blindness—does not mean that sunsets did not exist at that time.

I chose to be blind. Because of that choice, I was blind not only to beauty; I also was blind to opportunity, to forgiveness, to the value in others, and a host of other things, material and spiritual.

In other words, we must choose to see before having the opportunity to choose how we see it.

“principles are the most valuable form of common sense.” While living by certain principles is a good thing, and knowing HOW these principles work is essential, it’s not until we ask WHY they work that we actually will be able to apply those principles to all areas of our lives.