Very small changes can have huge impacts over a long period of time.

This, in essence, is the "Slight Edge" Philosophy

When I was doing research for my book, Eight Steps to Seven Figures (Doubleday), I came across an amazing little article on the Internet entitled "The Slight Edge Philosophy" (www.topachievement.com/slightedge.html). The article, written by Jeff Olson, talks about the power of baby steps and how small incremental changes can have huge impacts.

"In the process of learning how to walk," writes Mr. Olson, "you probably spent more time failing than you did succeeding. But did you ever have the thought of quitting? Did you ever tell yourself, 'I'm not cut our for walking - guess I'll crawl for the rest of my life?' No, of course you didn't. So why do you do that now?"

Mr. Olson believes we fail to achieve our goals because we become unwilling to take baby steps. "You put your trust in achieving breakthroughs, making quantum leaps, instant this, instant that, hitting the lottery. You began a habit of settling for less, just because more was so far out of your reach. You forgot about the most proven powerful success philosophy on earth - The Slight Edge."

Mr. Olson uses the following example to show the power of the "Slight Edge" philosophy. If you were to improve just .003 each day - that's only three-tenths of one percent , a very slight edge - and you kept that up for the next five years, here's what would happen to you:

• The first year you would improve 100 percent.
• The second year you would improve 200 percent.
• The third year you would improve 400 percent.
• The fourth year you would be a better person by 800 percent.
• By the end of year five - simply by improving three-tenths of one percent per day - you will have magnified your value, your skills, and the results you accomplished 1600 percent.

The "Slight Edge" philosophy works the same way with investing. The table below shows the power of the "Slight Edge" philosophy as it applies to investing regular amounts each month:

Investment Amount	Annual Return	Holding Period	Total
$50 per month	11.0 percent	10 years	$10,949
$60 per month	11.0 percent	12 years	$17,973
$75 per month	11.2 percent	15 years	$35,070
$80 per month	11.3 percent	18 years	$56,360
$95 per month	11.4 percent	20 years	$87,544
$100 per month	11.5 percent	25 years	$173,659

Check out the payoff of squeezing out $50 more each month ($100 versus just $50), earning just 0.5 percent more per year (11.5 percent versus 11.0 percent), and holding for 25 years instead of 10. Your reward is more than $162,000 ($173,659 minus $10,949). What is especially telling is the jump in return by adding just $5 to your monthly investment ($100 versus $95), earning 0.1 percent more per year (11.5 percent versus 11.4 percent) and lengthening your holding period five years (25 years versus 20 years). The reward for these baby steps? $86,115.

That's how you can get rich in the market. Not in quantum leaps. But in baby steps.

The securities markets are subject to the risks of fluctuating prices and the uncertainty of rates of return and yields inherent in investing and past performance is no guarantee of future results.