“If we cannot do everything at once, let us do one at a time." - Thomas Jefferson. For some of us, starting anything is an overwhelming task. We are bogged down by the complexity of the project and do not know where to start. We fail to remember that all great journeys start with the first step. How many times have you heard that phrase? By now you are probably sick of it! However, if it fails to inspire you, then what will? Rome was not built in a day! A stitch in time saves nine! Haste makes waste! All of these aphorisms are just little tricks to help us remember that we can’t do it all at once.
Anything worth doing takes time may be another cliché but it is also an iron law of the universe. Tiger Woods practices more than 10 hours each day. Wayne Gretsky, Jean Claude Killy, Valentino Rossi and many other great world champions all started when they were less than five years old. If you link genetics, an early start and much time spent in practice, you have a formula for success. Wal-Mart started in 1954in Bentonville, Arkansas, a town most of us never heard of. In 1985, most of us had never even been to or heard of a Wal-Mart. By 2005, it was the largest corporation in the world - an overnight success?
All too many people look for luck to make their day. They hope to win the lottery, strike it big at the local casino or score on some big class action lawsuit. Waiting for luck is the greatest waste of time I can think of. We make our own luck. Were Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, two of the richest people in the world lucky? Did they get their money in a crackerjack box? If you want to get lucky, start by putting one foot forward and then follow it with the other. If you want to have a great life and a great adventure, start now.
What is one thing that you can do today that will start you on that great journey? Pick one thing today that and do it. What is the next step that you can take on your great adventure?
For some of us, our principal concern in starting a new project is calculating whether the initiation of a new project is, in fact, a conscious/subconscious diversion from all the other irons in the fire. For me, starting a new project or interest is as easy as breathing. Steeling myself to finish a project is as easy as turning water into wine or lead into gold. Sometimes the fear of failure pales in comparison to the fear of success.
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