Only five percent of people achieve a significant number of their goals in life. So if being successful is just about doing simple things consistently, what stops the other 95 percent of people from following through?

Simply put, the five percent understand the power of the slight edge and put it to work in their lives. The other 95 percent do not.

It’s true that mundane things are very easy to do. However, it’s just as easy not to do them.

For example, saving a few dollars every day is very easy to do. But not doing it is just as easy. Doing fifteen minutes of cardio exercise every day is no bother at all. But it’s also very easy to neglect.

Unsuccessful people tend to choose what appears to be the easiest path through life. Eventually, though, it becomes clear that they’ve selected the hardest route.

Here’s the key message: People ignore mundane things in life because they are easy and seem insignificant – and because the results are invisible.

Everything you need to do to transform your life is easy. But aside from the fact that easy things are easily ignored, there’s another reason why most people don’t do them: they don’t appear to add up to success – at least not immediately.

For example, if you chose to save two dollars every day rather than buying a coffee, how much would you have saved by the end of the week? A mere 14 dollars. Not very impressive, is it? But these are the building blocks that create millionaires. The trouble is the results are so far ahead in the future that they are invisible in the present.

Think about your eating habits. We all know how to eat healthily. Yet many of us choose to eat poorly. Why? The negative impact isn’t instantly apparent. Imagine eating a cheeseburger and immediately suffering a near-fatal heart attack. Would you go near a cheeseburger again? Highly unlikely! Yet, that’s what could happen after 20 to 30 years of poor eating habits.

Success is gradual, just like failure. By the time your results are visible to everyone, your slight edge choices are history.

The mundane matters of life add up with the passage of time, but in the moment, they don’t really seem to matter. The difference between success and failure is so tiny that it’s very easy to miss.

Unsuccessful people may not realize it, but they are living by the philosophy of What I do right now doesn’t matter. But it does matter. Successful people know this and use it to secure their health, happiness, fulfilment, relationships, and future.