Edge: Turning Adversity into Advantage

There is nothing inauthentic in being dealt a hand and then deciding that you’re not going to let others tell you it’s a weak hand.

DELIGHT IS MOST DELIGHTFUL WHEN IT SEEMS ACCIDENTAL AND improvisational. But that doesn’t mean it’s purely impromptu. As you’ll see, that is why it is so difficult to delight and create that edge—it’s a careful balance between preparation and spontaneity, between not being ready at all and being overprepared.

The narrative and the numbers concept gives us a way to test our intuition about what might appear to fit but in fact is contradictory—in other words, it helps us fine-tune our gut feel about things that don’t seem quite right.

Those who are able to create the most effective and most sustained edge are the ones who are actually the most sincere, because their edge comes from a place of authenticity and self-knowledge.

Knowing the value you bring and trusting in your own perspective is the foundation of your edge.

Knowing your weaknesses and your basic goods helps you figure out where you can create an edge.

At the crux of delight is a component that most people miss: surprise. Delight is in the unexpected. In many ways, it’s like humor.

Constraints, it turns out, also provide us with a unique opportunity to discover and employ our strengths in a way that enriches. Constraints alter the path that we take, even in the instances in which they make us feel like we have no options.

WHEN EVERYONE ELSE SEEKS THE SAME DIMINISHING REWARDS BY following the same formulas in the same way, the real prizes are inevitably elsewhere. There are other veins yet to be mined, and these require a different approach. Different markets. Different values. Different networks. Different mind-sets, informed by different life experiences.