The Key To Achieving Big Dreams – The Discipline Of Small Steps
Have you seen the Prudential Retirement Challenge commercial?
Here it is to refresh your memory:
The commercial is designed to get you thinking about taking small steps today to create a larger retirement later.
Last week, I spoke at Grove City College on the topic of delegation, leadership, and legacy. At the end of my presentation, someone asked me a question that went something like this: “How do I lead and delegate effectively when people in my organization don’t seem to really care?” The question as I remember it implied the hopeless feeling we can all feel at times when a desired outcome seems so far out of reach. I referenced the above Prudential commercial in my response. I talked about how taking small steps can be the catalyst for major change down the road.
What are your dreams? What are your big, scary, audacious dreams and goals?
Don’t think small here. Think GIGANTIC!
What do you want to accomplish in your life?
Maybe you want to build 100 houses in Guatemala. Okay, this is one of my dreams. Maybe you want to become a doctor. Maybe you want to become a pilot. Maybe you want to write a book.
When we look at these dreams, it can be easy to become discouraged. How in the world are we ever supposed to achieve these targets we set for ourselves?
What would happen if we started looking at our targets – our hopes – our dreams – a little differently?
What if we saw these dreams in terms of small steps we can take today that will push us closer to realizing our dreams down the road? I call this the Discipline of Small Steps. This is a concept I mentioned first on Tammy Helfrich’s Right Where You Are Podcast a few weeks ago. The idea of small steps makes a lot of sense when you step back and think about it.
Just like your retirement savings can grow to large figures when you practice small steps – or small deposits, you can achieve your big, crazy dreams by practicing small steps. You don’t build 100 houses in Guatemala all at once. You build 100 houses one at a time. I would even argue that you build 100 houses one cinder block and one piece of wood at a time.