I would venture to say that nearly all of us in some form or fashion have heard or been told, “It’s the little things that matter.” I think it wasn’t until my late 30s that I truly began to understand and grasp how important this phrase was.
In 2007, I, Danny, weighed 260 lbs. I had never been over weight in my life. Quite the opposite as a teenager and young adult when I struggled to gain weight. Well, a second marriage (my wife is a great cook) and three kids later, I watched my 200 lb. weight limit goal come and go. Long story short, I was unhealthy both mentally and physically and slowly killing myself by not engaging in good eating habits and healthy exercise.
No this isn’t an infomercial for the newest and coolest diet pill. I simply want to convey that shedding that weight was a day by day, meal by meal, workout by workout, steady discipline. Getting to bed on time, resisting junk food, and making it to the gym may all seem like little things as opposed to jamming in 8 hours of sleep, tracking macros, and hitting it hard on the weights, but these things don’t happen without the other smaller things being executed. It’s takes steps, not leaps and bounds.
As it is with any business, big or small. Disney does not give you the fantasized world of imagination by dreaming big alone. Walt Disney planned little, and dreamt big. Amazon did not become and inter-global market place by throwing up a massive website with tons of produce day one without planning, planning, planning to implement the little things in order for the grand scheme that became a reality.
Even for Dry Bones Mud House and other mom and pop small businesses, there is a step by step process behind every cup that is handed across the counter. It takes keeping machines clean and wiped down. Measuring a barista’s steps from espresso machine to refrigerator to grab milk is a small consideration with grand implications when considering work flow efficiency. So many little things happen before the customer even orders. This goes all the way back to the coffee farmers in coffee producing countries all over the world. If they don’t take the little steps like preparing the soil, tilling it, nurturing it, strategically planting, etc., then the crop that is produced will not give the big results they planned for.
And as it is in life. No matter what you desire to do, how big or how small. Plan to take steps to get you there. Those steps maybe be on a ‘moving sidewalk’, it may progress quickly, but regardless give heed to the little things and enjoy the process of learning. If you keep your eyes on the destination only rather than the enjoying the scenery of the journey there, you are going to miss a lot. A LOT!
Blessings!