“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe
The notion of tackling small problems is pretty un-sexy, unpopular, and seemingly un-fun. But most of the greats – from Arthur Ashe to the everyday, hardworking entrepreneur – have lived by that approach.
Why?
It doesn’t mean your dreams stay small and doesn’t mean you don’t go on to accomplish great things. It does mean you don’t ignore the smaller picture problems that are right in front of you, and that you don’t waste the talent you currently possess.
Besides, these little steps can make way for the big picture.
Proof calls Nashville home. We love its energy, culture, and growth. But that last category poses big problems for our city’s infrastructure. Better/more public transportation is constantly brought to the table. Personally, I’m ready for a shiny, new, high-speed something, and find myself frustrated with the lack of progress. But someone recently put it in perspective for me:
“A new public transit line? How about we start by implementing a working bus tracker app to get more people riding our perfectly fine buses.”
And boom. That’s it – a small, comparatively easy step that could lead to big change.
Whatever you’re passionate about, whatever your occupation – it’s human nature to reach for the stars. And that’s a good thing. But in most cases, we have to build the paths to get there.
At Proof, we’re faced with solving problems daily, and the challenge of separating the immediate need from the ideal one, is often the hardest part. We may write the ultimate goal on the whiteboard but it always comes back down to the process. What are our time and cost constraints? What do we have the capabilities to tackle? How can we provide a worthy answer with the resources we have?
And that’s exactly how dreams come to fruition. Unless you win the lottery, so to speak, you’re going to have to begin with the small stuff.
Use the momentum of conquering the little things to propel you on to the next level. And the next. And then the next. Success at each juncture is a big win.