The hard part is not coming up with something no one has ever thought of before.
The hard part is not being creative or innovative.
The hard part is actually executing the idea you thought of.
The problem typically is we perceive the result as the big mountain we have to climb. The big plate has so much on it, we can’t see ourselves eating it all.
We totally misjudge the exponential of time and effort applied.
Effort applied over time equals great amounts. If we make something happen every day toward that idea we can kick in the power of exponential compounding over time. Thinking about things exponentially makes your progress cumulative. It’s like adding interest to a bank deposit. If you apply enough time to the equation, the small initial effort (making the deposit) becomes a much larger compounded result.
I saw an interview a few weeks ago with someone who is supposed to know Amazon’s Jeff Bezos very well. She described him as “the most singularly focused individual I’ve ever met in my life”. She continued to say, “every day he moves a little in the direction of his goals and does not get distracted.”
This is what I am talking about.
Most people can have an idea. Not everyone can have the focus and discipline to move toward that goal a little each day.
That’s the hard part.
Make something happen today.
Before you go to work. Before you go home. Should you have done it long ago? Possibly.
The next best time to make it happen is now. Do the thing you have been holding back on and do it today.
Once you have taken the initial action. Take another action. And another and another every day. Starting the momentum is more difficult than building it.
Starting…then keeping the momentum….that’s the hard part.