Thursday, November 02, 2006

little steps

Written for the USC Triathlon Newsletter 11-02-06:

Little things. Little steps. Little victories. Everything starts with little things, little steps, little victories.

Yeah, sure, you dream big. Everybody does. Dreams of glory, dreams of wins, dreams of adulation, dreams of joy and perfection, dreams of hope fulfilled and faith requited and experiences of ecstasy that are meant to last forever. Dreams that you hold close and bring out in those quiet moments of solitude and supreme self-reflection.

But the danger is that sometimes those dreams remain just dreams. And they never go farther than the unconscious confines of your forgotten sleep.

Dreams sometimes deserve a life. Sometimes, they deserve to be more than just spectral whispers in your slumbers. Sometimes, they deserve to be real.

And they can be real. Even the big ones.

They just need a little help. Help that comes from you. Help in the form of a little time, a little work, a little thought, a little observation and learning, a little planning and foresight, a little discipline and patience, a little hope and little faith. Little things. Not always all at once. Little steps. Not always together. Little victories. Not always celebrated. Little things, little steps, little victories. One right after another. Until they all add together and you find yourself somewhere very far and very different from where you began but very close and very similar to where you want to be.

And it can be a whole lot easier than you think.

Imagine this: 2 college students. Art school majors in sculpture. Bored out of their minds and sick of school. Making lip-synch videos on the internet. Pretty soon they start to become popular. Pretty soon they start making more videos. Pretty soon they start getting more viewers and more support. Pretty soon they're on national television. And all of a sudden, they find themselves signed to contracts to make commercials for Motorola and Pepsi, with the commercials being nothing more than the same videos they made in school. Not bad for 2 art school graduates fresh out of school.

Who are they? Check it out for yourself:http://twochineseboys.blogspot.com/

You can also check out their live performance on Chinese national television (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kzYlFkrAX0 ), their commercial for Motorola China (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_vYczteIzQ ), and Pepsi China (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NScdGaVQg7Q ).

Little things. Little steps. Little victories. They add up.

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
--Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

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