It’s easy to pull up a sapling but impossible to pull up a mature tree. Likewise, longstanding habits grow tall, their roots deep in our minds, and become hard to remove. This is as true for bad habits as it is for good ones. People mostly are “riding the horse of their habits, with no idea where they’re headed” (52).

Unless we consciously change our behavior, old bad habits will lead us astray. Good habits are a tremendous help. They allow us to do things automatically without having to think them through each time. Successful CEOs aren’t perfect, but they have good habits that move them continuously toward better performance.

People learn bad habits. The allure of instant gratification overwhelms our understanding that indulgences produce bad results down the line. A cigarette doesn’t instantly cause one’s body to age; a single snack doesn’t suddenly add 60 pounds. The secret is to recognize the danger and to see that replacing a bad habit with a good one eventually compounds to a much better life.

Small, good changes can “revolutionize everything.” If its nose is pointed a mere 1% off course, an airplane from Los Angeles bound for New York will arrive 150 miles north or south of the city.