To just start, to just sit down and put your nose to the grindstone and get things done - it’s something people have trouble doing and the number one reason is probably because the work they’re trying to do is too “big” in their minds.

Too much to do, too much to tackle, so they’ll just do it later.

So just start small.

Shrink the workload.

Never mind the thought that crosses your mind that if you start small, you won’t get a ton done.

There is great power in just starting small.

You give the work you’re going to do the focus and attention it deserves and because you do that, you’re much more likely to “extract” all the benefits of it, whether it’s through ideas that come about, certain things you’ve noticed, concepts you really begin to learn etc.

Plus, you give yourself permission to make mistakes. It’s easy if you make mistakes when you’re dealing with “small” things because those mistakes aren’t as widespread and result in lost opportunities (more on this later).

It’s best to explain this power of just starting small with an example so I’ll use one that’s relevant to today’s situation.

Due to the rough economy, many people out there have been laid off and they’re looking for jobs.

It came as a shock. Their world was turned upside down.

And it might be hard for them to start at all for some time because all the work they have to do just overwhelms them –dust off the resume and update it, brush up on interviewing skills, find job leads, compete with hundreds of other people, etc.

Eventually they will, but some people will make the mistake of just starting big.

The perfect example is just blasting out resumes and cover letters to whatever jobs are available, not customizing it or even bothering to even consider if it’s the kind of job they want in the first place. And when they don’t get any call backs, it can be very disheartening.

Just start, but just start small.

Take a look at your financial situation. See how long you can survive. Cut down on spending, maybe consider moving back home or getting a roommate, get it all together and see where you stand. Just focus on that for now until you complete it.

Next, before blasting out your resume to any and every kind of job, think carefully. This could be a great opportunity to break into another field to find something you like doing or maybe even start your own business. Take some time to just focus on that and dwell on the possibilities this opportunity can present to you (you can get a copy of my second book - How to FINALLY Find What You Love to Do, to help with this step).

Then focus on updating your resume. Think of the accomplishments you’ve achieved at your previous job, see if you can’t jazz it up a little, see if there’s anything else you want to add. Keep your focus on that one task.

When you’re ready to start looking, don’t be tempted to blast resumes and hope the law of probability will be in your favor. Take time to customize your resume and cover letter to each job you’re applying for. This will take a lot of time, effort, focus, and research so you probably won’t be able to do that many a day. It can get draining, but it’s worth it.

It is very tempting to just start big by cutting and pasting names into your cover letter template and hope that the law of averages will be on your side.

Just start small.

Ask yourself what you can write in your cover letter to differentiate yourself from the other applicants. Maybe you can mention your Myer Briggs personality type and the qualities associated with your type and how they can help with performing the duties of the job. I guarantee you won’t see that on anybody else’s cover letter.

It’s different, sticks to mind, and makes sense to the person reading it. A person’s personality matching the job description is a big plus. It’s a nice fit.

Or maybe you can call the office or visit it, take a person who works there out to lunch, ask about the decision maker, get some inside info, what he/she looking for, and use that to differentiate yourself as you mention that information in your cover letter and how you can provide what that decision maker is looking for (it will be as if you’ve read their mind to them).

By starting small, your mind can wrap around the ONE small task at hand and give incredible focus and attention that yields great results.

By just starting small, you give yourself permission to be imperfect, test things out and soon develop a system that you can then just start big with, a system that yields results.

You see, if you just start big, you do a lot but you don’t learn – you missed out on squeezing the juice out of every single experience that you would’ve got by just starting small and focusing on each experience from start to finish.

By starting small, you give each thing you do focus attention deserves so you pick up on subtle things and ideas you would’ve looked over had you just started big.

You also give yourself permission to fail and it doesn’t bother you as much because you’re dealing with small potatoes.

Imagine not doing this customization and research and just blasting out a generic template cover letter to 100 job leads and not getting a call back. It can be very, very disheartening.

But imagine if you just started small, experimented with a couple of job leads, saw what worked, what didn’t in terms of getting a response and experimenting with the job interview, seeing what worked and what didn’t and also being able to learn from those experiences by calling back and asking for feedback and advice for the future.

And you did all that with 20 leads. The remaining 80 have a very high probability for you now that you have a great system that you’ve crafted from the small experiences you had with those 20 leads.

Plus by just starting small, more ideas can occur because your focus is on something that’s within a small range, not all over the place.

Then, after working out the kinks, you have a system you’re comfortable with that you know products results, and THEN you use that system to just start big.

That’s the power of just starting small because you lose that learning curve if you just start big.

Just start.

But just start small.

Give yourself ONE thing to focus on.

Milk it for all its worth.

Learn all you can. Experiment. Get feedback. See what’s working, what’s not.

Then do more of what’s working.

When you have a system that’s producing results, then you just start big.

And you find yourself getting BIG results.

That’s the power of just starting, the power of just starting small.

  
     

FREE VIP Newsletter First Name: Primary Email: What Subscribers Are Saying Here's a Taste of What You'll Get By Subscribing: FREE Monthly Newsletter packed with valuable information and resources on subjects such as goal setting, motivation, success, health, relationships, time management, and self improvement which won't be found anywhere else. FREE eCourse - How to Maximize The Power of Your Mind - learn what you were never taught in school about how your mind works, how you can maximize its power, and how you can use it to achieve the goals you've set. The material in this eCourse can change your life. FREE M.I.Ts - Motivational and Inspirational Thoughts (written by yours truly) that'll inject a daily dose of positive energy, help start your day off right, and move you forward to the achievement of your goals. It's completely FREE and you may unsubscribe at any time...

Copyright © 2006-2009 Brian Kim, www.BrianKim.net All Rights Reserved

Terms of Use