The Gardener's Secret: Why Your Grandest Goals Are Failing You
We’ve all been there, staring up at the mountain.
For my friend Leo, the mountain was a novel. Not just any novel—a sprawling, epic fantasy trilogy, with intricate maps, a cast of hundreds, and a language he’d invented himself. He talked about it for years. He had notebooks filled with ideas, character bios, and world-building lore. It was his life's dream.
And for years, the first page remained blank.
I’d ask him, "How's the book coming along?" He'd sigh, a look of profound weariness in his eyes. "It's just... massive. I get overwhelmed thinking about the 300,000 words I need to write. I don't know where to start."
He never started because the finish line was invisible, lost in the mist at the top of that impossibly high mountain.
Then, I spent a weekend at my grandfather's house. He’s a man with the most magnificent garden I've ever seen—a vibrant tapestry of colors, textures, and scents. I complimented him on the sheer scale of it.
He chuckled, wiping soil from his hands. "Oh, I don't have a big garden, son."
I was confused. "What do you mean? Look at it!"
"I have a small vegetable patch," he said, pointing to a neat row of tomato plants. "I have a rose bed over there. I have a corner for herbs. I have a compost pile. I don't wake up and 'tackle the garden.' I wake up and tend to one small, specific thing. The garden is just the result."
And that’s when the lesson hit me with the force of a lightning bolt.
The Lesson: Don't Build the Cathedral, Just Lay the Brick.
Leo was trying to build the entire cathedral in his mind every single day. The weight of the spires, the stained glass, the flying buttresses—it was crushing him before he even laid the foundation.
My grandfather wasn't thinking about the "garden." He was thinking, "Today, I will weed the carrot patch." One small, manageable, completable task.
This is the secret to achieving anything monumental in life. The grand goal is not your daily task. Your daily task is to lay one single, perfect brick.
· Want to write a novel? Don't think "write a book." Think, "write 300 words today." That’s one page. You can do that in 15 minutes.
· Want to get fit? Don't think "lose 30 pounds." Think, "go for a 20-minute walk today and drink an extra glass of water."
· Want to learn a language? Don't think "become fluent." Think, "learn these 5 new words and one grammar rule."
Why This Works: The Psychology of Small Wins
Our brains are wired for immediate feedback. When we face a huge task, our amygdala (the fear center) lights up, triggering anxiety and procrastination. But when we complete a small task, our brain releases a little hit of dopamine—the reward chemical. This makes us feel successful, motivated, and eager to take the next step.
By focusing on the brick, you string together a series of small wins. This creates momentum. And momentum, sustained over time, is an unstoppable force. One brick a day, and soon you'll have a wall. Then a room. Then, one day, you'll look up and see the cathedral you built, one deliberate brick at a time.
I shared this with Leo. He was skeptical but desperate. He committed to writing just 200 words a day. "That's nothing," he said.
The first week, he wrote 1,400 words—more than he'd written in the previous two years combined. He's now 50,000 words into his first draft. The mountain is being climbed, one small, steady step at a time.
So, my question to you is: What's your cathedral? And more importantly, what is the one brick you can lay today?
Share your 'one brick' in the comments below. Let's build our cathedrals, together.