Start Small

There is a Chinese proverb which reminds us that “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” In our world of fast food, accelerated learning, and youthful millionaires, many people now expect instant success and want to become big the moment they start. Yet a quick look at the big successes around us point to small beginnings.

MacDonald’s was born of a hotdog stand whose owners had no ambition to expand. Google started as a research project on backlinks on the world wide web, which itself started when Tim Berners-Lee sought a solution to his problem of finding information on other databases. The international Red Cross began with one man rounding up some villagers to tend the wounded in war.

Whatever you’re hoping to achieve, start small now and keep taking a step every day. You cannot help progressing far in your journey if you keep doing this.

1. Starting A New Habit

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.”
- Aristotle

When I first started journalling more than a decade ago, I was a perfectionist. To me at that time, a habit counted only when I did it everyday. When I missed one day of journalling after a few weeks, I deemed the whole project a failure and gave up, abandoning weeks of effort.

Years later, I started journalling again. This time I didn’t have the big bang, all-or-nothing attitude of my youth. I journalled only when I felt like it, allowing days or even months to go by before the next entry.

These little steps started to add up, and over the years, I have reached the point where I now keep a gratitude journal every day. And I still don’t beat myself up if I miss a day here and there.

The same applies to exercise. Instead of setting a target of jogging three times a week, I simply jogged each time I felt like it, regardless of the interval in between. Over time, the small steps again added up and I now jog every day.

If you are trying to form a new habit right now, whatever it may be, you could consider starting small. While it is possible to form a habit in 30 days by doing it every day continuously, you can still form a habit over time by letting yourself start small.

2. Acquiring Assets

Many people over-extend themselves when it comes to acquiring assets. Young people starting out in their careers will buy the largest property they can afford, and stay in debt practically all their lives just paying off the mortgage.

You would be so much better off if you’d buy a smaller first property, just enough to meet your needs. You could then either pay this off quickly, or use the extra cashflow left over from the smaller mortgage to invest in another property to rent out. The rental income could pay off the mortgage on the first property, or be used towards a downpayment on the next property. In this way, you could build great wealth over time.

Of course, doing this requires that you be willing to start small on your ego as well. Many people are financially ruined by what the neighbours think, and trying to keep up with the Joneses (who are they anyway?) If you could release yourself from needing to feel successful right away, you could do the smarter thing, and finish bigger than those Joneses.

3. Building Relationships

Speed dating is a relatively new phenomenon in our society. Even in our relationships, we want things to happen fast. Young women consider it a great compliment if a man proposes within a few months of dating, never mind how long the marriage lasts.

I sometimes fall into this trap myself, wondering why things aren’t ‘happening’ as quickly as I think they should. Then I started thinking about my closest friends. Most of them I’d known for more than ten years, and several I’d known over twenty years. Solid friendships take time to build, one step at a time. Bonds built over the years are hard to break, providing stability and the opportunity to grow in a safe environment.

Instead of counting only the big milestones, celebrate the small advances, like learning something about your friend, lover or family member that you never knew before. Or being able to be silent in each other’s presence without the need to speak. Or goofing up stupendously yet knowing that the other person accepts that this is who you are without batting an eyelid.

It is during these quiet, unassuming moments that the foundations of a relationship are laid. Not the big noisy celebrations, although those are good to have as well. The celebrations are a declaration to the world that here is something worth shouting about, but it is worth celebrating only because of the countless small steps that have made the journey mean something.

4. Helping Others

How often have you heard someone, perhaps yourself, say that you will contribute time or money to society when you have enough to give? The thing is, you either already have enough now, or you never will.

You don’t have to wait until you have a lot to give. Just start giving what little you can now. If you can give only $1 a month to a charitable cause, give that. If you can spare only 5 minutes a month, send a postcard to brighten someone’s day. Give freely, for you have freely received of others who went before you.

Don’t worry that your contributions are small. In most fund-raising campaigns, the vast majority of donations are small amounts, but these add up. As Henry Van Dyke said, “Use whatever talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.”

So start small, but start now. Keep taking small steps and before you know it, you will have achieved more than you ever thought possible.



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Posted by Daphne | October 7, 2008 | in Work Hard


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2 Responses to “Start Small”

  1. Cade Krueger
    October 8th, 2008 @ 11:02 am

    Hey Daphne,

    I once tried speed dating and I thought I was going to get punched in the face. It didn’t go over well for me. Haha…how funny is that? I wanted to thank you for coming to my site and commenting. Please let me know anything you want to know more about with business that you would like me to write about and I can try to figure it out. Come back to my site whenever and I will check out your site more. Thanks!

    Cade Kruegers last blog post..How To Use Disclosure Agreements For Home Work Business Opportunities

  2. Daphne Lim
    October 8th, 2008 @ 10:54 pm

    Hi Cade,

    Thanks for dropping by, and sharing your experience on speed dating! I never tried that but have done internet dating and that provided some laughs too. At least you can’t get punched online!

    I’ll certainly let you know if I need advice on business. Maybe you could do a guest post here sometime, or I’ll link to you when I do a post on money or business. You’ve got a great blog going and I’m sure we’ll be in touch.

    Daphne

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