Dear friends—

I live two blocks from a mountain.

I can see the peak from my front steps.

What if I stood there and tried to jump to the top?

I wouldn’t make it five feet.

I wouldn’t even leave my block.

***

Here’s an alternative approach:

I walk out the door.

And I take one small step at a time.

Hundreds—maybe more than a thousand—total.

When I do this, I reach the peak in 50 minutes.

Only every time.

***

What holds for hiking is true of almost anything.

Everything changes the moment we break a big goal into small steps.

That’s how you launch a business, pick up an instrument, or train for a marathon.

It’s also how you build a diverse team, mend things with Mom, or host phone-free family dinners.

And how you tame your anger, quiet your inner critic, or cultivate real patience.

If something that you want isn’t happening, consider this:

Your goal isn’t too big.

Your steps are.

***

What do you want to create?

What’s the smallest, simplest, most baby step toward it?

And the next?

And the next?

Will you take one small step at a time?

Hundreds, maybe more than a thousand, total?

Including two steps forward, one step back—which is what one step forward often looks like in real life?

***

Reply and tell me your goal plus your first step.

I’ll send a bonus story and dead-simple exercise you can use to jump-start almost anything.

Going one step at a time doesn’t take longer.

It just makes your life easier.

“Two years ago this seemed impossible,” a coaching colleague told me of his own breakthrough.

“Now it seems incredible.”

“Two years from now it will seem inevitable.”

That can be you.

Step by step by step by step—

Jeremy

jeremynsmith.com (👈 if this email was forwarded to you, you can sign up for my newsletter here)