We have a false picture of how success happens. Because we often see only the results and almost never the process involved to achieve them, we tend to think that the finished product — a new film, a popular podcast, a fitness accomplishment — is impressive, and therefore the process by which the product was created must have been equally brilliant.
In fact, it was likely the opposite. Success, like the proverbial sausage, is much less pretty when you see how it’s made.
Trees that grow tall and live long grow slowly — especially at first, but then grow steadily. They may be underground a long time, and a vulnerable sapling for longer still, but like any good idea or habit, once the roots are in, they’re hard to dislodge. Plutarch tells the story of a rich Delian ship owner who was asked how he built his fortune. “The greater part came quite easily,” he said, “but the first, smaller part took time and effort.”
No longer naive about the process, today I focus on improving a little bit every day, personally and professionally. I know that cumulatively this will have an enormous impact. It’s not as sexy as transformative reinvention or bold, risky bets, but it’s dependable, and it works. It’s something I control. No one can stop me from showing up. From getting better in the areas that most people don’t pay attention to. From what I do when nobody’s watching.
Epictetus called incremental action “fueling the habit bonfire.” That’s what I try to do day in and day out. Even this article is an example. How it turned out is a far cry from where it started — as an idea on a notecard, to an item on my to-do list, which became a commitment I honored, which became a piece I spent time on across several days, which I returned to when I had tweaks and improvements, which was edited by a team, and then finally published. Is it the best thing ever written? Absolutely not. But I am better for writing it, and it is better for the work I put into it. It’s a small win, and that is all that I needed today.
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