If success were easy, just about everyone you know would be successful in their chosen field. Unfortunately, success is rare. Most people avoid doing the “hard” work needed to reach their vision.
Why is the work “hard”? It’s often because we intimidate ourselves. We imagine the entire project and how daunting it is. We don’t even realize that we are the ones stopping ourselves.
We meet resistance, and then do the easy stuff we already know, which is usually the things that aren’t that important. We keep delaying our most important work.
And yet here is the truth — step by step, we can get anywhere we want to go!
Nothing is too difficult, if you are willing to take the baby steps forward. Just keep taking the steps forward to learn and do better.
For any project, no matter how large, you can always “chunk it down” to bite-sized pieces. The key is to keep moving forward.
An inspiring example is Naveen Jain — who has created a company that will take humans back to the moon in the next decade. He’s not a rocket scientist. But step by step, he learned what was necessary. Step by step, he made the connections to the right technicians and financiers. Now, the moon is within reach.
What is your moonshot? What vision exhilarates you?
Step by step, you can get to your own moon.
Everyday, don’t just think about your moonshot. Think about the next doable steps.
When you are tempted to give up, you’ve forgotten that step by step will get you there, if you simply rest for a little while, and ask for support.
Here are the steps for achieving anything:
STEP 0. Write down the inspiring vision on the top of a blank page.
STEP 1. Brainstorm and write down the steps needed to get there. The steps don’t have to be in order. They don’t have to be accurate either. Simply write down the steps you understand now.
Why it’s important to write down the steps instead of trying to remember it: The human brain naturally thinks about the obstacles and dangers to action. If you try to make progress without looking at the specific next steps, it’s easy to go day after day being scared of action. Write down the steps!
STEP 2. Based on your current understanding, re-order the steps you’ve written down, based on what needs to come first, second, third.
STEP 3. Now, notice if there is any large gap between any step, or if there is any step that scares you. Brainstorm smaller, more doable steps that can fill that gap. A doable step doesn’t take long, and is usually a visible action.
For example, “brainstorm ideas” is not visible, but “write down 3 ideas” is visible, as in, you can clearly see when you have done it.
At any point, if you get stuck in brainstorming, you have options…
- Go to a supportive Facebook group and ask people what steps they would put into that gap. Be sure to give them context by sharing what steps you’ve already brainstormed. If you are shy, privately ask a friend or mentor.
- Give it a rest and come back in a little while, and you’ll be surprised that you have new / better ideas than before. This is your brain’s “diffused mode” at work. Your subconscious mind is working on the problem while your conscious mind is doing other things.
- Or use both options above: post the question, then come back the next day to add your own ideas to the thread! That way, everybody who is interested in that topic can benefit from it.
STEP 4. Take the next doable step, knowing that as you take action, more clarity will be revealed.
Remember that at any step, you can ask for help!
STEP 5. As you take each step, remember your higher Truth, and embody that as you move forward.
Mantras that help me…
Step by Joyful Step
Step by Gentle Step
(Use your preferred word each day.)
Love and Gratitude for the next Step
“I don’t have to know what the right order is.”
“The stepping stones I have used are the perfect ones for my path somehow.”
“As I take another step, more clarity will be revealed.”
“Action now.”
“Action creates momentum.”
“Action creates confidence.”
If you learn to enjoy any step, every step along the way, you make the work more personally fulfilling. You’re therefore more likely to keep taking the steps that get you all the way to the result.
Along the way, however, don’t fixate on the big result, but just focus on the next steps, taking action with your higher Truth. All our work is for a deeper purpose of spiritual growth or character development anyway!
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Previously published on medium under Creative Common License
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