I used to want to own a castle. I still do. But as I got older, I began to want other things more attainable than a castle.
I wanted to make a living entirely from my writing, for example. (Done.) I wanted to own a motorcycle named Butch Cassidy. (Being made by a mechanic friend of mine as we speak.) I wanted to learn how to whistle. (This is apparently about as feasible as getting Leonardo DiCaprio to show up on my doorstep and pledge his undying devotion to me. Why do you elude me, whistle?)
All of these were and are big goals for me. How did I get them to happen? How do I get other, bigger things to happen in the future? And, since you people really don’t give a damn about my goals and prefer your own, how do you get your big goals to happen?
We’re not talking about little goals, like come-up-with-a-business-name goals. We’re talking the really big stuff. The scary-big stuff. The wet-yourself-big-stuff.
Start Stupid-Small
Repeat after me, good people: “The way to scary-big is through stupid-small.” It sounds silly, but it’s true. Being silly also helps you from being afraid of it. Stupid-small is the way to go.
Start with your big goal. Let’s take my goal of earning a living entirely by writing. When I first began, my stupid small goal was to be hired, just once, for a writing job. Didn’t matter how small, didn’t matter how low-paying. If it was a cool enough job, I’d do it for free.
Thankfully, my mother was in marketing, so I got my very first writing gigs through her. First goal attained.
Next goal. Again, a stupid-small step up from the last one. I wanted to get someone other than my mother to hire me. Since my mother knew many people, a lot of whom needed copywriters, I asked if I could talk to some of her contacts.
I got my next few jobs from there. Goal attained.
Next goal. The stupid-small step from getting contacts-of-contacts to hire me was getting complete strangers to hire me. Since stupid-small did not involve me acquiring the knowledge to market myself, I went after people who were actively looking for copywriters, so I didn’t have to sell them on the concept of hiring a writer, just on hiring me.
I got that goal too. From there I got my first freelance gigs. From there I got my first long-term clients and became part of James’ team. Which is where I am now, steadily earning a living by my pen.
I remind you where I started: I was working for my mother. I did not try to get out there and convince people to throw enough money at me so that I could make a living from the get-go.
I started stupid, stupid-small. But I made it.
The nice thing about stupid-small is that the next step up looks that hard or out of reach. You can also speed up the process anytime you want. If I had worked hard at moving up the steps, I could’ve gone from working for my mother to making a workable annual salary in about a year.
I didn’t, mostly because I had college to deal with and a long-term in-house position in the middle. But I could have.
So can you.
Start stupid-small. Pick something today that helps you toward your goal. If it helps, start with the goal itself and work backward, stupid-small step by stupid-small step, until you get to a step that’s feasible right now.
Then you’ll have all the steps plotted out in advance, which is very helpful when you’re trying to figure out if a step is worthwhile or not.
Right now, I’m working on getting that castle again. My first stupid-small step? Fixing what I owe to have a better credit rating so I can easily get a loan. Every week, I’m socking away a stupid-small amount of money toward my debt.
And you know what? I’m getting there. If I can have a castle (and I can and I will), you can get your business off the ground. You can do anything. Any of us can do anything.
“So hey,” James says. “Does that mean you can learn to whistle?”
“No,” I say. “And shut up.”
What’s your goal? And what’s your stupid-small first step?
Great post, and a bit of a coincidence as I’m sitting down today to plot out my next stage of steps for my goals.
I’m also working for myself as a copywriter and I remember thinking last year when I was getting up at dawn to fit in a run before work how much I’d love to work for myself writing, being able to have my own timetable.
I didn’t have the steps plotted out, but figured if I left my job I’d soon have to. So I did, I picked up one client who knew me, then took on another long term client who didn’t know me, and have been building it up with short term projects in between.
I also desperately wanted to write an article for a creative website that I loved and last month got it published.
It’s been 8 months of tiny steps, so tiny in fact that at times I didn’t think I was moving anywhere, but that’s the brilliance of it. It’s only when you look back that you realise how far you’ve come!
Good stuff Taylor!
.-= Amy Harrison´s last blog ..Article Writing Inspiration from Charles Bukowski (and My Brother) =-.
There is another aspect of taking small steps, and it is to understand the importance of paying attention the the small details of those small steps.
Going the extra mile is a bit of a cliche, but going the extra inch is often far more important. Tiny details are always the ones most noticed by those paying for work, and always the ones most often overlooked by those performing the work.
…just like I overlooked double typing “the” in the second line of my comment there.
*whistles innocently*
Great post, thanks!
You have no idea how GOOD it is to hear someone else say this! I’ve had clients tell me they don’t want to do the small stuff, they don’t see the point. “Let’s set big goals!” “Uh, ok, but then come down to earth…” The stupid small stuff puts the foundations behind the big stuff.
I remember having a goal to get 10 subscribers on my newsletter, then 20. And I’d look at people who had thousands, and when I’m sitting there looking at my measly 22 subscribers, that feels unattainable. It’s not. Those thousands are achieved one person at a time.
It’s the mundane, everyday, small stuff that builds a business. The blogging, post after post, the guest posting, the marketing, the speaking to people. One task and one person at a time.
Best of luck on that Castle Tei, you’ll have to invite us all to the housewarming!
.-= Melinda | WAHM Biz Builder´s last blog ..The Basics of a Good Blogsite – Part One =-.
Umm, I’d like to point out that only having 22 subscribers was several years back…
.-= Melinda | WAHM Biz Builder´s last blog ..The Basics of a Good Blogsite – Part One =-.
Great post!
Starting “stupid small” is a great way to look at making huge goals manageable. It is also important to be working on those stupidly small goals every single chance you can. “Stupid small” has to come before “fun and easy procrastination.”
One problem that I think many people have, including myself sometimes, is that it can be difficult to break down “big scary” goals into smaller pieces. For example, if you want to master the guitar, should you practice scales first, learn a few songs first, get your theory down first or just focus on finger dexterity? All are important at the end of the day, but what is the next most important thing to do?
That example is a little over-simplified, but for people who have never started a business before, never designed a website or never used graphic design software, it can be hard to imagine a sequence of events to reach their goals.
Maybe in those cases “stupid small” is just learning what to learn?
.-= John Bardos´s last blog ..Interview with World Traveler, Steve James =-.
Adding to John’s comment (& analogy):
Often, if one wants to learn guitar and doesn’t know what to learn first…..well, that’s why they take guitar lessons, right? Perhaps that’s one small step – to find someone who has been there and done it and knows those things and can help.
I love the ‘stupid-small steps’ idea. I work with so many people who are constantly overwhelmed, but who don’t want to look at what ‘stupid-small things’ they can actually *do* today. Once they do, it’s like night and day.
A thousand journeys begins with a single step, right?
Thanks for the great post!
All the best!
deb
.-= Deb Owen´s last blog ..stress & tension (what dissonance in music can teach us about life) =-.
That’s so awesome to hear. It’s much easier to take things on in small chunks.
My wife gets overwhelmed sometimes when she thinks about what she has to do. I tell her to calm down. Then I tell her to take it a little at a time. Makes it much easier to chew on. And more manageable.
Guess I ought to get going on my stupid-small goal of finding me a client
Thanks for the awesome post!
~Chris
p.s. I want a castle too!
.-= Chris Anderson´s last blog ..Raise Your Confidence Level: Wear Something Sexy =-.
Thanks Taylor- If you don’t mind, I’m going to use your “start stupid-small” idea and apply it to relationships. I think the same idea easily transfers, since most people usually want huge changes in the relationships and haven’t thought about starting stupid-small. I’ll credit you with the idea.
Who knows, maybe you can turn some of the credit into capital and get the castle. If so, I’d like to come stay in one of the towers some time!
.-= Corey – Simple Marriage´s last blog ..A Beginner’s Guide To Ordering Wine =-.
Patrick – Damn you! Damn you and your whistling!
Mia – Welcome!
Melinda – Well, of course those 22 were years ago. I wasn’t working for my mother last week, either.
John – Sometimes it really is learning what to learn, though that can be a procrastination tool as well. That said, there are some huge ventures I’ve conceived of where I simply have no clue how it breaks down into smaller pieces, and need to do the research to learn that. In which case the stupid-small first step is: learn what the small steps are for this project.
Chris – I’m with your wife. The immensity of a goal can make us panic, and that’s not helpful. I noticed when working under a friend of mine that if he just told me what to do, I would perform brilliantly. HE had a big goal in mind. I was just looking at one little thing at a time. So now I do the same thing, just without the blissful ignorance bit.
Deb – A thousand mile journey indeed. I hate when quotes become so cliched that they stop being profound, but this is a good one. The thing about most business ventures is that the steps don’t come in a straight path. It’s like building a pyramid. Lots of little stuff at the bottom getting narrower as you get closer to the top. The little stuff isn’t all linear, though. One won’t necessarily lead to the next. I think this is what makes the whole concept so frustrating to us, the idea of having to build a foundation first.
Corey – By all means! Let me know if that works out. I’m still looking for the right relationship just now. My stupid small step: get out of the house sometimes. I finally figured out I wasn’t going to meet my soul mate because he showed up on my doorstep.
.-= Tei Lindstrom – Men with Pens´s last undefined ..If you register your site for free at =-.
That makes perfect sense. You have to start out small before you can grow bigger. It’s like starting off as a baby and working your way up. Again, it makes perfect sense.
.-= Wallpaper´s last blog ..14 New England Patriots Wallpaper =-.
small steps yeahhh!!..when u r valuing each step of yours and reward yourself for every small accomplishment, climbing up becomes fun
..On the other end, when one gets greedy, and only sees the top tip of the pyramid, there is no ending to frustration
.-= write a writing´s last blog ..Why did Abraham Lincoln Write Gettysburg Address? =-.
Taylor, I can’t even begin to convey the importance of this post for me today. Given that I’m overwhelmed & been blind-sided by a whack of self-doubt, I needed to hear this like a coffee drinker needs the caffeine, like a smoker needs the nicotine, like a…well you get the point. May seem ‘stupid-small’ to some but THIS will help me through my day:
“You can do anything. Any of us can do anything.”
Thanks & have a great day!
No question that small steps are a great way to reach big goals.
It’s the momentum of small successes that makes breaking things down so worthwhile.
After the first small success, you say “eh”, but after 3 or 4, it starts to feel like real progress, and next thing you know, you’re halfway there, and now the big goal seems just within reach.
.-= Dave C´s last blog ..The Richest Commodity: YOU =-.
Well, as the saying goes, “Big things come from small packages.” It is better to start stupid-small or taking those small steps to reach big goals. It’s easier to lick your wounds and stand back up when you trip. If you start with scary-big and fall, you may not be able to stand up again.
I agree, Taylor. Everyone wants to wake up in a castle, but is everyone willing to devote the energy it takes to attain said castle? No. In this “microwave age” we all want our castles and we want them NOW. No one really wants to do the hard, tedious, overwhelming little things it takes to get to reach a big goal. Passion and persistence is what will get you there.
Wallpaper – Yep. Learn to walk before you can run and all that. But before you walk, you have to figure out what these “toe” things are. And gravity. Gotta learn about the gravity.
Write a writing – We should get beer like the Egyptians. A beer per stupid-small step!
Dave C – That is the hard part I didn’t talk as much about. How very small the small steps seem. It helps me not to look up, but some people like to see the big goal in the distance. That one’s a diff’rent strokes thing, I should think.
Jessie – Well, and it’s only a little step too. How bad are you really going to feel that it failed? No biggie, let’s try this another way.
Erika – ‘S right. I think we’re terribly spoiled. We want what we want NOW, and why should we have to work for it? Other people didn’t have to work for it . . . except they did. We just don’t see that bit.
.-= Tei Lindstrom – Men with Pens´s last undefined ..If you register your site for free at =-.
In the education world, this is called scaffolding. You build things up slowly, leaning on others for support. Once you’ve got a solid structure going, you can take the scaffolding down and it stands on its own.
It’s really hard in our “gimme now!” society to do things slowly, tho…
.-= E. Foley | Geek’s Dream Girl´s last blog ..Single? Geek? Join the Club! =-.
Hi Taylor,
This post has so much relevance to me NOW. Though I always tried to do this small stupid step each time in my life. This blog writing has overwhelmed me and I’m totally clueless about it.
However, as your story amply exhibits how you achieved your goals taking this small-stupid step route, I’m now energised to go on taking those little stupid steps not knowing what the outcome of all of them, but TAKE them at once. Thank you for the great post! It pushed me ahead with my goals…
I wish you good luck in attaining the ‘Castle’ of your dreams!
.-= Solomon´s last blog ..PROFILE – how to write one that interests the reader =-.
For some reason, I can’t get the hang of whistling as well! My friends have tried countless times to teach me and I still can’t do it. Oh well.
This stupid-small way of achieving the scary-big stuff is great. We always sweat it and pressure ourselves too much when we think about achieving the scary big stuff. At least when we start out small, we collect experience and build the foundation for achieving the big stuff. Thanks!
What’s my goal? To accomplish more than I ever thought possible in my freelance writing/blogging career, even though I don’t have an English degree.
My stupid-small first step? The post attached to this comment.
.-= Michele | Writer’s Round-About´s last blog ..7 Tips for Getting that Writing Gig Without an English Degree =-.
This post really hit home with me. I am just starting out on my own as a freelance writer and well, when you put it that way, the impossible seems possible. Thank you!
.-= Raechel´s last blog ..A Busy First Week =-.
I respectfully disagree. I never start with stupid-small – instead I start with bold-mini. It’s all in the way I choose to perceive my goals.
I NEVER ever do anything stupid. NEVER. Okay, true, sometimes I shock myself with my sheer idjutness with some of the things I attempt….but I never VIEW them as stupid. Instead, they’re bold adventures.
Adventures of utter bizarreness, mind you…but never stupid.
.-= Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach´s last blog ..YOU tell ME – what do YOU want to learn about making money online? =-.
Even me, I do want a castle just like in the movies where you can play everywhere but when I also get older, I started to realized that when you want something big, you really have to work for it. So taking a step-by-step guidelines in life is important especially in building your goals. I also started in little works such as working in a fastfood chain which is my stupid-small first step and now I’m an employee of a private company. And as I go up, my goal is has also started building. Hoping we could achieve that goal of having a scary-big stuff like an empire full of soldiers.
You’re right! When people get tired of the Law of Attraction doesn’t manifest the lottery for them, they may turn to what works each time: stupid small stuff!
.-= Kaushik´s last blog ..Banish the ANGST of the Law of Attraction =-.
I definitely realized that taking small steps gets me moving forward. Then once you’ve got some momentum going, it’s much easier to make the next move. It’s so useful to be reminded of that though. Thanks guys!
.-= Nathalie Lussier´s last blog ..What is the Raw Food Diet? =-.
I agree with you, that the way to go is to Start stupid-small.
Otherwise your dreams can just seem like wishful fantasys, but by taking small steps and doing something everyday to reach your goal, you are moving closer to it and it doesn’t seem such an overwhelming task.
I’m always saying that to get something that matters, to achieve, attain, grow, build or become something 100%, you’ve gotta be ready to start at 0% and go through to 99% first.
That means you need to engage with this ‘something’, and that means it has to have a personal relevance to you. Then, everything you do that’s part of engaging with it is a step towards your 100% complete.
Simple really.
And a castle – really? How dusty, drafty and fall-downy-decayingy would that be? Mine’s a loft apartment in Manhattan
.-= Steve Errey – The Confidence Guy´s last blog ..What to Do When You’ve Lost Your Confidence =-.
The elevator to success is almost always broken, so you more often than not have to climb the stairs to your goal one step at a time.
Even the most insurmountable goals can be achieved when broken into bite size chunks. The more you finish, the more motivated you become to press on
.-= Bronson´s last blog ..Top Gear Extreme Driving by Ken Block =-.
I want a castle as well. So far I got many goals in the way you mentioned. Make them small first. But to be honest however I think of it, I cannot make the castle any smaller. Its not like I should buy small houses first, as that would only bring many double costs. I should aim for a castle right away?