(This is a continuation of the article “One Step at a Time,” began in the last newsletter.  To read and discuss the original article go here.)

“One step at a time.”

Not only is “One step at a time” the most effective way to reach large life success, it also holds an important gift:

Life not only has more success in store for you than you imagine… life has a success in store for you larger than you *could* imagine.

The Twists and Turns of Your Journey

The journey to your chosen goal will have more twists and turns than you may imagine. It will call upon yourself to learn, grown and involve. And, along the way, you may find new ideas and directions and goals that you couldn’t have imagined when you started.

The distinction is important; it’s a difference of magnitude: You have an inevitable success waiting for you, BEYOND your ability to imagine it and hence, beyond your current ability to create a plan to get to it  If you’re waiting to begin your goal until you can imagine every step to it… you’ve limited yourself only to goals you’re able to imagine reaching 

The “secret” solution to escaping these limitations is this “step-by-step, one step at a time” method: Set a goal, but then never mind trying to answer the question how you’ll actually succeed in it –  just take the next step towards it.  

Success Is Assured

If you keep taking steps forward it’s impossible to NOT reach success.

If your goal is to get from New York to Los Angeles, and you just keep taking action steps towards LA… it’s impossible to NOT get there, right ?  “How” you’ll eventually get there, whether it’s by plane, train or automobile, “when” you’ll get there, whether today, next week or next month, is all open to change.  But by approaching any goal by just taking the next step, you’ve guaranteed that you WILL succeed.  Only the “how” and “when” haven’t yet been decided.  But the “if”, the “whether” you’ll succeed is ASSURED.

Approach success step by step and you cannot not get to success; your success is inevitable.

Do it nearly any other way and… not only will you limit the success you *might* achieve – your chances for failure increase exponentially.

The Gift of “One Step at a Time”

Step-by-Step has other gifts in store for you too:

– It removes the emphasis on just “working hard”.  It’s not how hard you try. Effort is the single most overrated trait in producing success. Your goal should be to make progress, not just expend energy. 

– It allows you to enjoy small victories. 

– It allows you to pursue your passions and goals like you would put together a jigsaw puzzle — work piece by piece. While you ultimately want a final outcome, take pleasure in the journey to get there. People who enjoy a steady stream of minor accomplishments are happiest. 

– It allows you to focus on your own vision, gifts and talents NOT simply the goal.  Personalities and talents are like shoe sizes. They can’t be forced to pursue incongruent goals without uncomfortable consequences. Realize who you are and what your true personality is — and plan a future that fits it. 

– It allows you to become an expert at something. Choose a particular subject that is crucial to what you want and learn everything you can about it. Sixty-eight percent of people who consider themselves successful say there is at least one area in which they are an expert. 

– It allows you to feed your hope:  Your best source of confidence is not the sum total of effort and external factors. Confidence comes from your belief that you can accomplish what you want, regardless of what else is happening around you. Seeing things in parts allows you to focus on your control, not on external circumstances.

“A Whole Stream of Unforeseen Incidents and Material Assistance”

By imagining a larger success than you currently possess and just staring on the journey to it, you’ll have opened up an entire set of circumstances that you would have otherwise, never have experienced.  As was once said by W. H. Murray in the 1951 “Scottish Himalaya Expedition”, “[T]he moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way.”

Life has more in store for you that you can imagine… if you’ll allow it.

~ Mark Farmer
Founder, LifeSuccessEngine.com