Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to make a moonshot dot to dot map.
Speaker 1: If you have big goals that are not currently achievable,
Speaker 1: brainstorm the various intermediate steps that might bring you there.
Speaker 1: Seeing these steps and what they might require can help
Speaker 1: make a big goal feel more doable. Today's tip comes
Speaker 1: from Elizabeth Sharp mcketta's new book, Edit Your Life, which
Speaker 1: is about living with intention in a messy world. Elizabeth
Speaker 1: explains that a moonshot dot to dot map is a
Speaker 1: prompt for brainstorming how to move toward any currently unachievable goal.
Speaker 1: That is, it is a moonshot. When President Kennedy talked
Speaker 1: about going to the Moon in the early nineteen sixties,
Speaker 1: the technology to go there wasn't ready for prime time,
Speaker 1: but it got there with a lot of work. Similarly,
Speaker 1: just because something isn't currently achievable doesn't mean it never
Speaker 1: will be. You just have to figure out the intermediate steps.
Speaker 1: So Elizabeth tells us to draw a dot for your
Speaker 1: life as it is today, then draw a dot for
Speaker 1: your moonshot goal. What steps could you set up to
Speaker 1: succeed in getting there, brainstorm a bunch of dots that
Speaker 1: might go in the middle. For example, Elizabeth says, if
Speaker 1: your dream is to be a lawyer and you currently
Speaker 1: work in customer service, one of those dots would need
Speaker 1: to be going to law school. You could then think
Speaker 1: about other aspects of that, like that there might be
Speaker 1: night classes, so maybe you could keep your day job.
Speaker 1: Another dot would be prioritizing regular study time, and another
Speaker 1: might be finding mentors and allies in the legal field.
Speaker 1: Be creative and be specific, she says, which is the
Speaker 1: simplest dot to dot path between your now life and
Speaker 1: your ideal life? Which steps feel easy and which feel daunting?
Speaker 1: Break your dot to dot map into smaller steps if
Speaker 1: you need to, she says, until each dot feels, if
Speaker 1: not easy, at least achievable. I like this idea. Many
Speaker 1: big goals are about layering on bits of progress. What
Speaker 1: isn't doable now might be doable in a year with
Speaker 1: consistent motion. When I first moved into my new about
Speaker 1: a year ago, having all the renovations finished and having
Speaker 1: everything unpacked and getting any needed furniture and making things
Speaker 1: look nice seemed almost overwhelming, and it would have been
Speaker 1: overwhelming to do in a week or two, but in
Speaker 1: a year or two it's not so bad, And I
Speaker 1: could map out various steps in the middle. First, unpack
Speaker 1: the kitchen boxes. Later, get curtains, later, yet unpack the
Speaker 1: boxes in the closet. I am working on revising a
Speaker 1: novel now, and the finished product seems far in the future.
Speaker 1: But I mapped out a chapter outline, and I wrote
Speaker 1: the flap copy, and now I am following a revision
Speaker 1: schedule that has me doing one to three short chapters
Speaker 1: worth of edits each week. Then I will work through
Speaker 1: the whole book at once, and then I will get
Speaker 1: test readers and so forth. What big goals are you
Speaker 1: currently pursuing? Getting a handle on the various steps might
Speaker 1: seem daunting, but I think it makes big goals feel
Speaker 1: more doable to know those steps. Sure, there might be
Speaker 1: a lot of steps, but each individual step isn't so much.
Speaker 1: If you give yourself enough time, probably you can get there.
Speaker 1: After all, getting to the moon took less than a decade.
Speaker 1: You can do a lot in that time. In the meantime.
Speaker 1: This is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Book
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b E the
Speaker 1: number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also
Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia
Speaker 1: dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all
Speaker 1: the letters. Thanks so much, should I look forward to
Speaker 1: staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio.
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