🏃‍➡️ Why You Should Take It One Step At A Time

Good morning.

And just like that, summer is (unofficially) over.

I don’t know about you, and usually, I could use a few more weeks of summer. For the first time, maybe ever, I feel refreshed and ready to go. Even my son was ready to get back to school. 😲 I guess we made the most of it. 🙌

With that being said, let’s get back to it.

— Gordon

Everyday Insights 👀
Keeping you in the know

• Instagram Chief Flags Coming Changes to Profile Grid Displays [Social Media Today]

• New Threads Features for Creators and Businesses [Meta]

• 3 Steps to Cultivate an Innovator’s Mindset [Harvard Business Review]

• McKinsey Technology Trends Outlook 2024 [McKinsey]

🏃‍➡️ Why You Should Take It One Step At A Time

Last weekend, I had a simple realization that changed my life.

I went out for my usual 4-mile run on the same route I usually take.

I turned left and went up the first hill as I finished my first mile.

This hill, in particular, is a wooden plank pedestrian bridge over the railroad.

I looked ahead and saw the combination lock hanging on the fence about mid-way across the bridge.

This route is part loop, part out-and-back, so I cross this bridge going each way.

That combination lock is often my target as I charge the hill each way.

I did something unusual this time and changed my approach halfway up the hill.

While I began focusing on the lock, as I noticed my heart rate spike and I started to lose my breath, I looked down and shifted my focus to just a few steps ahead of my feet.

My breathing immediately stabilized, and charging up that bridge became much easier.

So many times before, I would gas out and slow down to walk before reaching the lock. This time, I flew past it.

I realized something that had dawned on me once before, but this time it hit different.

Focus on your next step, not on your goal.

We've all heard the advice:

“Think BIG. Aim high.”

More often than not, we’re far more capable than we think.

And if we aim high and come up a little short in year one, we’ll likely have surpassed where we thought we would have ended up in the first place.

I’ve been a big thinker for more than half my life. I enjoy business planning each fall and crafting a clear vision of where I’m going.

My trouble has always been becoming fixated on the goal and the outcome, and as a result, I often miss the mark at year's end.

Here's why this realization changed my life:

1. Big goals can be overwhelming

It feels like an impossible dream, which can lead to inaction.

Your mind will make you believe you don't know where to start, even when you already know what to do.

2. Control your controllables

• You can't control your results directly

• You can control your consistent action

• A higher volume of the right action creates bigger results

3. When you focus on the right things, the results will take care of themselves

Instead of being consumed by the size of your big goal, invest your time in dollar-producing activities and find ways to leverage your time and money as much as possible.

In the past year, I have witnessed both sides of this coin.

On the one hand, I failed to gain traction on what I wanted to achieve because I was too focused on my goals and not on the small steps I needed to take each day to achieve them.

On the other hand, I saw massive progress with the daily habits I was building, as I focused on consistently taking those small steps each day, not worried about the end goal.

Success is sequential. Each step you take compounds.

ONWARD TOGETHER.

My Favorite Things 💙
What I’m reading, watching, and studying

1. Language: Before our trip to the south of France, I started learning French using the Duolingo app, and I’ve been going strong for the past 123 days. It’s been fun.

2. YouTube: I watched How YouTube Accidentally Beat Netflix, where Creators Colin and Samir talked with Hollywood showrunner Scott Gimple about the battle between YouTube and Netflix. It was such a great chat, packed with fascinating insights.

3. Courses: A couple of weeks ago, I finished The Kortex Writer’s Bootcamp, a 5-week curriculum where I learned how to pick topics to write about, build a Content Ecosystem, write posts and authoritative threads for faster growth, and I learned exactly how to control my growth on social.