I have probably just about convinced you to get started. You are about to say, “Okay, Larry, I’ll try.” Then forget it. Do not even start if you are only going to try. I hate the word try. Yoda, the little green Jedi philosopher from Star Wars, was right when he said, “There is no try. There is only do or do not do.”

When someone tells you they will try to come to your party, do you really expect them to show up? I doubt that you do. When you tell someone you are going to try to go to their party, do you really plan on going? I do not think so.

Try is a word you use when you do not have the cajones to tell the truth. We should all just be honest. You ask me, “Are you going to come to my party?” I answer with, “No. I don’t want to come to your party. I would rather gouge out my eye with a carrot stick than come to your stupid, boring, lame party!” That is honesty!

But none of us would ever do that would we? Of course not. It is just easier to say, “I will try.” Mostly try is an excuse to yourself. It gives you a way out. “Yes I will do it” is a commitment. You can be held to a commitment. You cannot really hold someone to a try be¬cause when they do not do it, they can always offer you their patented cop-out of, “Oh well, I tried.”

My advice is to stop trying and stop saying you will try. Instead just do it or do not do it. How do you try anyway? Stop right now and try to pick up a pencil or pen or whatever is lying next to you. Really, just try to do it. You cannot. There is no way to try to pick something up. You either pick it up or you do not pick it up. Period. There is no in-between. Try is an excuse not to do. Give it up. By the way, I am having a party soon. Please try to come!

Nothing Is Neutral

Everything you think, everything you say, and everything you do mat¬ters. It all moves you one direction or the other. Every little “I can’t do this” moves you further away from your goal. Every conversation, as meaningless as it may seem to you, means a lot when it comes to achieving what you want.

“So when I am talking to my friends or my co-workers in the hall, you are saying that idle chit-chat has an impact on me getting rich, or healthy, or successful or happy?”

Exactly. Every word matters. If your conversations are full of com¬plaining or putting people down, and you focus on what you lack, then those conversations are killing your chances for success.

The same applies to every action you take. Sitting through one more television show instead of playing with your kids or having a conversation with your spouse or partner may not seem like a big deal at the time—but it matters.

Sleeping another thirty minutes instead of getting up and exercis¬ing matters. Not calling your customer back at the agreed time mat¬ters. Showing up fifteen minutes late matters.

“Oh come on! This is little stuff. You can’t be serious. This stuff doesn’t matter—I have been doing stuff just like this for years and nothing bad has happened.”

Has anything amazing happened? When you stop letting things slide and start taking advantage of every moment then amazing things happen. The little stuff matters the most. Everyone gets the big stuff. Very few take care of the little stuff. That is why very few end up rich, successful, happy, and healthy, with great relationships. They take care of the big things and let the little things slide. That is a surefire way to live a life of mediocrity. Not much bad—but not much amazing either.