The great pyramids of Egypt were started by a single stone, placed by a single worker on that first day.
That single stone didn’t amount to much of anything. The slave worker who placed it there didn’t get a bonus. There wasn’t a celebration to commemorate the occasion.
Most likely no one cared — or stopped to notice.
It wasn’t anything worthy of a second thought. But that start — that first stone — became a monument we call one of the great wonders of the world. Millions of people around the world travel to see the work started by the placement of that first stone.
That is the power of beginnings.
Getting started is the hardest thing you’ll do.
Once you have momentum, progress is easy. Almost automatic.
It’s that “getting started” part of the equation that demands so much effort and courage.
If you’re not careful, you will spend too much time thinking about getting started and planning to get started, without ever getting started. It’s terribly easy to get excited about planning the plan. It feels like you’re doing something important.
But you’re not.
Success isn’t about how you feel. It’s what you’ve accomplished. Specific milestones.
Whatever great thing you want to accomplish begins with placing that first stone. Real effort. Real movement.
It won’t look like much. Nothing to celebrate. No awards to win. No crowd cheering or finish line to cross.
But it’s a start. Just the thing you need to create the wonder of your success.