Imagine you are on a desert island and had not had a thing to eat in more than a week when we cross paths. If I offered you an apple, could you eat it?  In a flash.  But what if I put the stipulation on my offer that you must eat the apple whole, in a single bite?  No matter how badly you wanted that apple in your stomach, you could not swallow it whole, could you?  Then why do you look at big important challenges in your life and either shy away from them or think you are going to devour them in a single bite?

Everything big is made up of small parts. The structure you are sitting in right now was not erected in a single day was it? Was it erected in its entirety? Does writing a 300 page book sound somewhere between intimidating and impossible? It might until you consider that if you wrote just one page per day, you could take off 65 days and still complete the project in one year.

If you have a large goal that is important to you, write it down on paper. Working backwards from the goals completion, on the next line, write down the necessary step just before final completion of your goal. Below that, write down the step before, and so forth, until you have listed all of the steps necessary from completion down to the project's starting point. At the bottom of this list, set a reasonable deadline for the accomplishment of this first step. If necessary, break this step down into several baby steps and set dates for their completion. Work your way up the list, doing this for every step and you'll eventually get a handle on this one time colossus you were afraid to even contemplate. Learn to take bite-size pieces - they're easier to digest.

Jeff Young is an inspirational local man who takes the time to positively impact others. For more information on Jeff and to sign up to receive his inspirational quotes regularly via email, visit his site directly. www.friendsofjeff.com