Don’t Look Up

Everyone tells you, “Don’t lose sight of your vision. Begin with the end in mind,” but what if there was a better way?

We’re up in Georgia right now, and the morning walks in the community we are staying in are grueling. We are in North Georgia, where mountains and hills are plentiful. 

This one hill we climb is especially difficult. I always joke that my husband is trying to kill me every time we have to walk back up this hill. 

This morning, I tried something different. Instead of looking at the top of the hill, I kept my eyes on the road and counted my steps one at a time until I reached the top. 

And you know what? It was easier. 

It was easier because when I looked down and took one step at a time, I couldn’t see how far I still had to climb. Once I reached the top, I felt great instead of like the climbing complainer I usually am. 

In this moment, when I reached the summit of my hill (I wanted to say mountain to make it sound grander but it ain’t!) I thought about business and how, so often, entrepreneurs with big visions never reach their goals. They never do this because they, too, are looking far out on the horizon instead of at the steps they are taking to move forward. 

Instead of focusing on daily activities that bring them closer, they feel as though they haven’t made enough progress yet. Or worse, they feel that each small step isn’t even worth taking. 

If I hadn’t taken one step after another, I wouldn’t finish climbing the hill. It’s not glamorous; it’s what needs to be done. The same is true in business. 

• Choosing to sit and write about this after my walk is putting in the steps.
• Choosing to post on social media each day is putting in the reps.
• Choosing to record and publish a podcast each week is doing the work. 

Whatever it is in your business, consider looking down and not up and taking it one step at a time. 

When I do strategy work with my clients, we are always looking for the one thing that will help them get the biggest result, and sometimes that very thing is one small task repeated over a long period of time.

Want to hear more? Tune into my podcast She Talks Business so that you can learn how to master, market, and monetize your business.