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How to break down large challenges: focus on what’s relevant

You have an idea of what direction you’d like to go in but getting there is complicated and the end doesn’t even seem realistic.

Most people stop right there and settle for whatever their circumstances currently are. And then go on to endlessly wish for better.

Here’s the thing: you don’t have to have it all figured out. And you don’t need to know exactly how to get there or what “there” looks like. All you need is the general direction. All those people that have accomplished a lot didn’t have it all figured out. Nobody does and there’s no perfect plan. What those people did was take the first step. And then the second. And the third and so on until they succeeded.

And the people who *did* have a master plan and succeeded (and are honest) will tell you that their master plan went out the window pretty quickly when reality intervened. What they did was take the first step. And then the second. And so on, learning with each successive step about what makes sense to do next. And when things didn’t work out as they thought, they pivoted. And took the next step. Rinse and repeat.

And if as we go along we feel like we’re in a fog, that’s perfectly normal and fine. We’re just exposing ourselves to new information and experiences and sometimes it can seem like there’s a lot going on. That happens because we haven’t had time process it all yet.

Bur fear not, as we go along and become more immersed in what we’re doing, we start to connect the dots and make sense of things. And the fog lifts. It’s the natural way of things and you don’t have to put any particular effort into it. It will happen on its own.

Now onto the practical stuff:

We approach challenges by starting at the beginning, focusing on what’s relevant, and not worrying about the rest. BTW, if you need help prioritizing, try this exercise.

Want to get healthier? Start taking a 20 minute walk everyday. Don’t worry about doing more or diets or anything else. Once the 20 minute walk is a regular part of your life, add another exercise. Repeat and repeat. Sure, it will take time to reach your goal, but you’ll reach it.

Want to start a business? Figure out the name. And don’t worry about anything else until that’s done. Once you pick a name, get it registered, get a business license and get a domain name for your future website. One thing at a time, without worrying about the rest.

Sure, it will take time to reach your goal, but you’ll reach it. It’s not about how long it will take to accomplish something. It’s about accomplishing it.

Let’s take a look at an example which is arguably the greatest invention, the wheel. Here are all the things you can consider when inventing the wheel:

Color
Shape
Weight
Material
Central axis
Use-case (wagon/car/train/etc.)
Number of spokes

What’s relevant here? In order for a wheel to be functional, it must be round and it must have a central axis about which to rotate. That’s it. In some future application we may care about its weight, or material or color but the critical attributes are that it’s round and has a central axis. If you want to invent the wheel, that’s all you care about.

Focus on the first step: make it round. Then the second step: put a hole in the center for an axle.

Are you competing with another wheel-maker? Are their wheels purple? Do yours need to be green to sell? That’s cool – make them round. Put a hole in the center. Only after you do those 2 things should you worry about how to make them green.

Approach all large and/or confusing challenges this way and I guarantee you, you will start getting shit done and feeling good about yourself.