Have you ever wondered why some people are successful are others are not? What makes Tom Brady one of the best quarterbacks ever to play the game? Why is Warren Buffet the greatest investor of our generation? A few weeks ago, my friend, Kirk, recommended the book, "The Slight Edge."

In no particular order, here are my thoughts:

There is no secret formula to make you rich, happy, and successful. However, there are many people who are constantly looking for the quick fix.

The author tells a fictional story about two brothers. Both were given two options: (1) $1,000,000 right now; (2) a penny a day, doubled everyday for a month. If you chose the penny, you would have over $10 million dollars. This is the power of compound interest.

Have you ever heard of Ronald Read before? Ronald was a janitor and he passed away the other year. To everyone' surprise, Ronald was a millionaire. Here is Ronald's story.

Time is the greatest asset. Time allows you to weather short term volatility. Time allows you to fully implement your philosophy and strategy.

Oahu's real estate market is booming. The demand to live in metro Honolulu did not occur over night. In 2000, the median price for a single family home on Oahu was $295,000. According to the Honolulu Board of REALTORS latest market press release, the median price for a single family home in September 2016 was $750,000.

The underlying message of "The Slight Edge" is the power of compound interest can be applied to all facets of a person's life (not just to a person's financial investments).

"Rome wasn't built in a day..."

...But people were laying bricks every hour. That's the slight edge. Let that simmer for a bit.

Can you think of something that you are proud of? For me, it is my college education. In 4.5 years, I was able to get my undergraduate and graduate degrees. What was my slight edge?

- Getting to class on time.

- Asking questions.

- Paying attention in class.

- Surrounding myself with like-minded people.

Seriously, there were no secrets to my academic success. As I got older, I simply applied the skills I learned from the previous semester to the next semester. It wasn't like I jumped from a 100 level course to a 400 level course the next day.

Another thing I highly value are my relationships with my loved ones. When I was child, I remember attending my great grandpa's funeral. I was too young to understand what was occurring. However, I vividly remember seeing my great grandma crying. Seeing my great grandma cry, made me cry. Seeing her heartbroken, made me heartbroken. From that moment, I promised myself to spend as much time with her as possible.

When my great grandma passed away, I made a promise to myself to spend as much time with my grandparents. When both my grandparents passed away, I promised myself to spend as much time with my great uncle and auntie. Although I miss my great grandparents and grandparents, I have no regrets because I made the time to visit them on a routine basis. Little did I know, I was applying the "The Slight Edge."

Shakespeare once said, "to climb steep hills requires slow pace at first." Achieving your dreams and goals takes time. Take one step at a time and watch what happens.

-RO