An Elephant Ate My Idea

There is an adage that tackling a big challenge is like eating an elephant…you do it one bite at a time. While I cannot fathom
eating an elephant, I've had to tackle big challenges more times than I can count.

Your big idea might seem like eating that elephant…a lot to tackle all at once. Try tackling your big idea as a series of smaller ideas. Each small idea, once complete, adds up to the big idea over time.

Take that book you've wanted to write. After years of "wanting", your hands are still empty. So chop that 250-page book idea down to 20 12-page chapters or 12 20-page chapters, plus front matter (foreword, table of contents, acknowledgements, and preface) and back matter (bibliography, sources, index, appendix, bio, contact info). Set a goal for yourself to write a chapter every 2 weeks. In six months you have your book! That elephant…err…book will be one great meal that fills you to satisfaction, with pride.