5% More: Making Small Changes to Achieve Extraordinary Results

Praise for 5% MORE

"It′s been said that inch by inch anything′s a cinch and yard by yard anything′s hard. In Mike Alden′s life–changing book 5% More, he gives new meaning to those words. Mike lays out the simple, manageable, and doable plan for anyone who wants to go from ordinary to extraordinary in their life, one little step at a time. My advice is simple, buy this book, follow its steps and begin living the life of your dreams."
Michael Altshuler, Keynote Speaker, Peak Performance Coach and Business Growth Expert

"Over the years at my SANG conferences, I have had the good fortune of having people like Tony Robbins, Paula Abdul, Peter Guber, Jack Canfield, to Tony Hsieh of Zappos. What I have observed about superstar achievers is they tend to do things that separate them from their competitors. Michael is the real deal, and truly lives his message. In Michael Alden′s new book 5% More, you now have the blue print to get more out of life and business by just doing 5 percent more."
Larry Benet, Chief Connector and Cofounder of the SANG Thought Leader Network, 25 Professional Networking Experts to Watch in 2015–Forbes

"As an avid fan of baseball, we all love the home runs and the grand slams. But, what wins games is getting on base and singles. In Michael Alden′s latest book 5% More, he shows how the small incremental successes are what yield huge results. If you want to win a championship in life and business, hitting singles consistently will get you there and 5% More shows you how."
Clint Greenleaf, Founder of Greenleaf Book Group and Home Plate Peanut Butter

"I believe that no task is beneath you no matter your position in life or within a company. Michael Alden shows in 5% More how those small tasks, those small goals, compounded over time can have huge, long term results. 5% More shows how a high school student or a CEO can set small goals, compound on them and achieve extraordinary BIG results."
Tom Patterson, Founder and CEO of Tommy John, www.tommyjohn.com

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction xv

SECTION I The Philosophy of 5 Percent More

1 How to Give 5 Percent More or Less 3

An Idea without a Plan Is Just an Idea 4

Take Them as Far as They Can See, Then They Will See Further 8

High School Hero to College Zero What Does It Take to Be a Star? 10

Making the Grade And Then Some? 12

Law School Then What? 13

2 5 Percent More about 5 Percent More 18

Personal Accountability for Your Performance 21

The Many Applications of 5 Percent More 24

SECTION II Give 5 Percent More to Yourself

3 Be 5 Percent More Successful 29

Freeze–Pop Fantasies 30

A Dream without a Plan Is Just a Dream 31

Making Money Doing Nothing 32

5 Percent Days 35

Plan to Give 5 Percent More 36

4 Make 5 Percent More Money 37

5 Percent Mentality 39

5 Be 5 Percent Smarter 49

Team Leader to General Counsel 50

What If Your SAT Score Was Higher? 52

High School Grad/College Grad Income Gap 54

LSAT/GRE 54

How Do We Ensure a Successful Child? 56

6 Be 5 Percent Stronger and Faster 57

Elite Athletes and What 5 Percent Means 58

Grow, Baby, Grow 62

5 Percent More Steps at a Time 64

7 Be 5 Percent Healthier 66

Meditation 68

Small Things Go a Long Way 70

8 Be 5 Percent Happier 75

Expand Your Happiness Horizons 77

The Top Doesn t Mean You Will Fall Off Recognize Your 5 Percent Moments 79

Carpe Diem 80

Naked and Afraid 81

Your Tunes, Your Wheels, and Your Clothes 83

SECTION III Give 5 Percent More to Others

9 Give 5 Percent More to the People You Work With 89

Success Is the Direct Result of Your Responsibility to Others 90

My Journey from Young Lawyer to Business Owner Was Taking Shape 93

10 Give 5 Percent More to the People You Work For 95

The 5 Percent More Mentality Where Does It Come From? 98

Always Give More Than Expected 99

11 Make Life 5 Percent More Exciting for Others 101

Why Are Kids So Happy? 102

It s Contagious Trust Me! 103

Do 5 Percent More Stuff 105

12 Reading 5 Percent More to Our Children 106

5 Percent More Ways to Read to Your Child Even If You Can t 107

SECTION IV Give 5 Percent More to Your Business

13 5 Percent More Revenue 113

5 Percent Increases Mean Stable Business 115

5 Percent More at Work 116

Smarter Than Albert Einstein and Better Than the Domino Effect! 117

I m Wrong 119

Troubled Past to Taking Just One Class 119

5 Percent More Customers 120

Just a Little Bit More! 121

14 5 Percent More Profit = Being 5 Percent More

Efficient and 5 Percent More Accountable at Work 123

One Thing That Is Always Constant Is Change 125

Locker Room Story 128

Just Two and a Half Doors a Day 129

My Dad the Sales Guy 130

Yes, You Can Make More Time At Least 5 Percent More! 132

15 5 Percent More Perseverance 134

A Little Boy Named Billy 135

Unreasonable Action 136

Unrealistic Goals 137

Baby Steps 138

It Isn t Always Easy 139

SECTION V 5 Percent Compounded

16 Less Is More 143

Massive and Immediate Action Doesn t Work 143

Too Fast and Too Furious How Not to Do It! 144

Take 5 Percent Less 146

More Than 5 Percent More 148

5 Percent More Is Massive Action 150

One or Two Last Arguments for Less Is More! 151

Rinse Your Cottage Cheese 153

17 Change 5 Percent of Your Habits 155

Stop Lying 156

A Little Change Science 157

Quit Smoking in 20 Days 159

18 This Changes Everything It s a Lot Bigger Than 5 Percent 166

No One Will Outwork Me 166

Recognize What Level You Are At 168

Can t Skip a Level . . . Or Can You? 170

Stop Dreaming 171

Don t Give Up 172

19 A Line in the Sand What If Everyone Did This? 175

The Next Step 179

Next Level Stuff 180

Notes 182

Index 185

MICHAEL ALDEN is one of America′s most popular direct–response hosts and personalities and founder and CEO of Blue Vase® Marketing, a multimillion–dollar direct– response company capable of creating strategic marketing road maps for products and services. He is the author of the bestselling Ask More, Get More.

To learn more, please visit www.michael–alden.com or connect with Michael on social media:

Facebook: www.facebook/TheAldenReport
Twitter: @mikealden2012
Instagram: @mikealden2012
Snapchat: @mikealden2012