Finding the Words • Bit By Bit

About This Episode

Have you ever told yourself that you were going to do something — maybe launch a new initiative at work, make something of that hobby you’ve always loved, or take on a lofty personal goal — but found that something gets in the way of your progress?

Thanks for listening. This is the 28th article in a year-long series called Finding the Words. If you liked this week's essay, we hope you'll forward it along. And a reminder that your family, friends, and colleagues can subscribe to Finding the Words too — along with every episode of our podcast — simply by clicking this link.

• Episode Transcript

  Have you ever told yourself that you were going to do something— maybe launch a new initiative at work, make something of that hobby you’ve always loved, or take on a lofty personal goal— but found that something gets in the way of your progress?

  • Maybe priorities shifted.

  • Maybe there were other things you needed to tend to.

  • Maybe you thought you needed to learn more first.

  • Maybe you lost your nerve.

  I know the feeling.

  While I’ve counseled hundreds of purpose-driven executives on how to advance their big ideas (and helped them build the roadmaps to do so), I’ve been sitting on one of my own big ideas for years.

  I’ve been talking about writing a business book since before starting Mission Partners. I have a good portion of the manuscript complete. I’ve identified the exact gap in the market that could benefit from this book and evidence that the approach would be valuable to readers. But I always find a reason to talk myself out of it.

  * I’m not ready.

  * It’s not time.

  * And, perhaps the biggest show stopper: Do people really need another book, when Americans are reading fewer books than ever before?

  (Short pause while my book-loving heart breaks just a bit.)

  This year, though, something started gnawing at me about the “book project.” And while I wasn’t quite ready to dive into it in January as planned, I decided to take an incremental step forward with the writing of this column. Finding the Words is a way for me to hone my craft as a writer while previewing some content with you, bit by bit.

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  But here’s the thing: while it might sound like this week’s Finding the Words is about me and book writing, it’s not. This week’s post is about you, and that thing you’ve been waiting to do.

  What if I told you that some of our greatest ideas never see the light of day because of a communications problem? Specifically, an internal communications problem.

  We hold ourselves back. We tell ourselves we’re not ready yet, or the time isn’t right. But what if we took a little step forward toward our big idea each day, or each week? Over time, that incremental progress can lead to big things. It just requires momentum. And maybe a few good pep talks.

  Here’s how James Clear, author ofAtomic Habits, puts it: “The effects of small habits compound over time. For example, if you can get just 1 percent better each day, you’ll end up with results that are nearly 37 times better after one year.”

  Now that’s some good momentum.

  Bottom line: it’s easy to talk ourselves out of things. But that doesn’t mean we should. Lean into the space where your passion and purpose meet: those places where you believe you can have the greatest impact on the world. And then, dig in. Hone your craft. Build a plan. Tell yourself you can. Before you know it, bit by bit, you’ll be well on your way, and you won’t need to think about whether or not to get started. Because, you will already be on your way.