"LITTLE AND OFTEN MAKES MUCH"

A while ago I got a fortune cookie that offered up a sage piece of wisdom. Usually, the "wisdom" of those cookies is only about as good as the taste (pretty bland, or just outright bad). Good things may very well be on the horizon, or those may very well be the winning lotto numbers, but experience has shown me that a cookie cannot divine the future. Suffice it to say, I open each one with a healthy dose of skepticism. However, the cookie I received recently actually had an impact on me because it offered up a tangible, pragmatic piece of advice that I could actually use. It read:

"Little and often makes much."

Now, I had never seen this quote before. Probably its been written on countless motivational posters, or found itself in collections of pity quotes, but this was the first time I encountered it. Immediately, I could see the value and wisdom in it. I wanted to apply that philosophy to my life.


For me, I have trouble getting started on work, or dedicating time to my passions unless I know I have a big block of time directly ahead. So, I end up waiting for the "right" moments, those free of all interruptions. But, let me tell you, if you're waiting, you're doing it all wrong. Simply put, those perfect moments never arrive. Life, love, relationships, commitments, and responsibilities have a way of piling up. Our proverbial plates get full. There will always be something else to do, or some other thing siphoning off our limited attention.

Finding those uninterrupted moments may be ideal, but it isn't always possible. Therefore, it becomes important to eek out whatever time we do have to dedicate to ourselves, our passions, and our important work. Don't spend your time worrying about what could come up, or could intervene. Get started now on what is important.

Two things that I am trying to make a priority and dedicate more time to are reading and writing. I have put off both hoping for those completely free and uninterrupted stretches of time. My rationale was something like this, "I know I don't have two hours to write today, so I just wait for another time." "I could read some of this book, but I know I'm going to have to leave to meet someone soon." At the heart of this rationale:  Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. And, it got me nowhere.

So, I changed my thinking and my relationship toward getting things done. I took that piece of Chinese fortune cookie wisdom to heart. Little and often makes much. Now, if I can only write for 20-30 minutes, I write for that length of time. If I only have 15 minutes to read, that's okay, I don't have to finish the book today. If I do get a longer stretch to write or read the next day, so much the better, I'll just be that much further along. Of course, I am only using these activities as examples from my life, but you can apply this same philosophy to whatever you are working on, or doing.

I guess you could look at this all along the lines of, "slow and steady wins the race." Those inspired marathon sessions of work/passion may be the most productive, but they are also rare. The consistent chipping away at our passions, goals, and work is what gives us real progress over time.