Small Successes

To many, success seems to come suddenly. When you observe others and what they have achieved you usually don’t appreciate what it has taken for them to get where they are. Ultimately, in failing to do this you also fail to learn what it would take for you to attain the same level of achievement and success.
But, if you take the time to truly think about it, you will find that success is usually only a small step away. Yet despite that it eludes most people. It is always so near and yet so far. Let me illustrate what I mean with a short story.

So we start off the day at sunset, walking through the thick bush. Because we are looking for direction, we have to walk in a straight line. Any slight deviation from the path and we would inevitably get lost. That means that whatever obstacle we encounter on the way had to be overcome. That straight line had to be maintained at all costs. Worse still, there is no light - we are basically walking blind in the moonless night.

So you could not see where your next step was going to land. But we have to walk fast.

So we walked through the night. No time for fear, no time for doubt. We had to do what we had to do. Our futures depend on it.

As I walk through that unknown and scary world one thought keeps going through my mind…It was… “Just take it one step at a time. Doesn’t worry about what will happen later, just think about each step… one small step to success”… That is the idea I hang on to.

So with that I find some courage to get going. Move on through grass as tall as giraffes and as tough as bamboo.Hands pierced, bruised and sliced as we search around in the dark to make a path to go through.

We conquer what seems to have been endless mountains on the way. The rocks so hard on our tired feet it was as though we had no boots on. Our legs cry for mercy from the effort of climbing up the steep slopes. We keep moving… “small steps to success.”

Every now and then a dim light appears in the distance offering some hope to find a village and get some water to replenish our fast depleting reserves. Only to disappear as we get closer.

Take a break, if you must, but don't give up. The pain and fatigue unbearable. Soon the morning will come. But no time to appreciate the sunrise.

Every step accompanied by some pain in one part of the body or other. Every part of the body was crying out for attention. But we had to move on… “small steps to success.”

Finally, we arrive. The journey of a thousand miles...

So, you see, we take small steps to success all along that hike. Together, they add up to hundreds of thousands of small steps. But we might have chosen not to take the first step. We might have stopped at any point along the way. That would have meant that we would not have gotten to our destination.

There were also obstacles along the way. But with each small step they were overcome.

There were frustrations, fears and uncertainties. But with each small step they were crushed.

There was hardship and danger, but with each small step and focus on the desired destination it was conquered. So you see, success is no mystery.

It takes only one small step to succeed.

Because, as the Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu said: “A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”

Have you taken that one step today? Why not? What is holding you back, is it you?