Process trumps all. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. All huge events have a process that came before them. People focus on Micheal Phelps winning the gold medal; they don’t talk about the monotonous practice that came before it.
As a society, we like to focus on the fancy car, the ripped body, the vast company, the wedding while avoiding all the mundane activities that have to come before. To be healthy, you have to eat healthily and exercise routinely. There is no magic pill.
We need to focus on our habits, which is why practices are so important. Repetitive action will get you to your goal. After the initial barrier of entry, you will reach a point where you start hearing feedback from what you are doing. To write a book, you need to write 1000 crappy words a day. Some days you won’t feel like it; some days, you will. You would also want to put metrics for the goal you are reaching. The metric shouldn’t be arbitrary; they need to be concrete with actual numbers. Examples include lose ten pounds, get ten customers, make $X dollars a month.
The next time you set an ambitious goal, remember the process. Mix into your routine daily small things to get you closer. Any small amount is acceptable. You would be surprised how much it can compound.
Note – I got this inspiration for this idea from Unscripted by MJ Demarco. Recommended read the link below: