In my previous article, we talked about what the stock market can teach us about life. Like stock prices, we have good days and bad days, so we need to zoom out to see the bigger picture and see our progress as a whole.
In this article, let’s talk about the opposite of zooming out: the concept of zooming in.
Letters form words, and from those words, we craft sentences. To write a great book, we need to type.
The typing itself isn’t hard—coming up with what to write is. And because we couldn’t find a great idea, we never start typing. In the end, the great book will never be written.
However, a fantastic book will only be born after a series of shitty books. And writing things that do not make you proud is a significant part of the process. You’ll never be able to write an award-winning book on your first try.
This analogy can be applied to a lot of things that we fail to achieve. We often think too far ahead; we ended up not starting at all.
Stuck with the ambition of achieving a grand goal, we wait for the inspiration to strike—the a-ha moment to arrive. Thinking about it will not make it happen.
Even worse, we also overthink about it, and that will only make it seem harder to achieve. Using our brain to run through a dozen scenarios of disaster is a counterproductive thing to do. It will only hinder us from doing something meaningful about our goals.
To write a great book, we need to type. To build a business, we have to start talking to customers. To finish a marathon, we move our legs step by step.
To do extraordinary things, we have to do something that might seem ordinary a lot of times.
Great things never born in an instant. Instead of focusing on the distant future, focus on what you can do now to advance forward.
Start with the most minor thing, if not the easiest thing you can do. Don't rush to the end of your destination.
Only after you've done enough of those small things, you'll realise that you've taken the leap.
You are no longer a person who talks about doing something; you are now a trailblazer. Now, it's time to pick up the pace and move on to bigger things.
This article was inspired by a conversation with a good friend of mine, Chip.