Breaking It Down to Build It Up

Coaching for decades and spending every day with top performers has led to some high-definition insights into what helps people achieve their goals. While success isn’t a one-size-fits-all formula, there are undeniable parallels among high achievers. One of the most critical traits they share is the ability to break big projects or goals into smaller, manageable steps.

Start Ugly and Adjust Along the Way

Producers start. They don’t wait for perfection. Instead, they dive in, often starting ugly and imperfect, knowing they can adjust as they go. This willingness to act, even before everything is perfectly aligned, is what sets them apart. They understand that failure is part of the process. Not every idea will land, not every plan will succeed, and they won’t win every game. What matters is their ability to adapt, learn, and come back stronger.

The late, great Kobe Bryant exemplified this mindset. When he became the all-time leader in missed shots, he didn’t care. Why? Because he understood that taking shots—even the ones that missed—was essential to progress. We learn in those spaces of imperfection and failure. Progress requires action, and action sometimes means getting it wrong.

Embrace Being a Beginner

To create something new or better, we must be willing to start as beginners. This often means breaking things down into steps and, sometimes, breaking old systems entirely. The way we’ve always done things isn’t always the best way forward. Growth requires us to challenge our habits and processes, breaking them apart to build something stronger.

Steps to Build It Up

Here’s how to embrace the process of breaking it down to build it up:

Deconstruct the Goal: Take your big goal and break it into smaller, actionable steps. Focus on the first step, then the next, and so on.
Start Before You’re Ready: Don’t wait for perfect conditions. Start where you are, with what you have.
Expect and Embrace Failure: Accept that not everything will work. Learn from what doesn’t and adjust.
Keep Taking Shots: Like Kobe, keep trying, even when the odds or past results aren’t in your favor.
Reevaluate and Refine: Regularly revisit your progress and refine your approach.

Progress Over Perfection

Breaking things down doesn’t mean simplifying your vision. It means making it achievable. Success isn’t about perfection; it’s about consistent progress. Each step, each attempt, and each adjustment gets you closer to where you want to be.

The ability to break things down and build them up is a hallmark of top performers. It’s a mindset that embraces imperfection, values action over hesitation, and sees failure as a stepping stone to success. So, start messy, take your shots, and keep building. The results will follow.