Did you ever not even start a task because it looked too difficult or too complicated?
Did you ever quit because you convinced yourself you would never be able to master it?
I know I have.
For over a year, I had a two-tone foyer in my house.
Not because I wanted a two-tone foyer.
Not because I thought it looked good.
It was because I couldn’t figure out how to safely and effectively reach the highest portions of the two-story wall.
Every time I walked through the front door, it was there staring at me—a daily reminder of a project I had started but failed to finish.
Especially in today’s world, we want instant gratification.
We want immediate results.
We want to master a skill after watching a video.
We want to become fit after a few workouts.
We want to become great leaders after attending a workshop.
We want the outcome without enduring the process.
But that isn’t how mastery works.
None of us learned to walk that way.
What if we had quit after falling down the first time?
None of us learned to ride a bike that way.
What if we decided after the first crash that it simply wasn’t for us?
None of us learned to read that way.
What if we looked at War and Peace and decided it was too difficult, so we never bothered learning our ABCs?
Mastery has always been a journey of small steps.
Consider Stephen Curry.
He didn’t become one of the greatest shooters in basketball history because he picked up a basketball one day and made a three-pointer.
He became great because he spent thousands of hours practicing his craft.
Shot after shot.
Day after day.
Year after year.
Doing the work when nobody was watching.
Leadership is no different.
Despite what many people believe, there is no such thing as a born leader.
Leadership is a skill.
A discipline.
A journey.
Anyone can become a better leader if they are willing to put in the time and do the little things that are easy to do and easy not to do.
No one but you will know if you don’t take the first step.
But you will know.
And every step forward builds competence.
Every success builds confidence.
Every obstacle overcome builds resilience.
Sometimes all you need is ten seconds of courage to begin and the discipline to keep moving when the path becomes difficult.
The tortoise didn’t win because he was faster.
He won because he kept moving forward.
One step at a time.
One small effort at a time.
One disciplined choice at a time.
“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.”
What challenge have you been avoiding because it seems too difficult?
What first step can you take today?
