The Little Things Are the Big Things

Growing up in the 90s west of Chicago, I was obsessed with the Chicago Cubs. In fact, I made at least one trip to Wrigley Field per year for 20 consecutive years. I love that place. And in the 90s, there was no better place to sit than the right field bleachers. There was nothing like the moment Sammy Sosa made his dramatic run-out to start the game. The fans, including me, would lose their minds.

Despite being a huge Sammy Sosa fan, he always drove me nuts. He wanted to hit a home run on every pitch. Without fail, every single swing was an attempt to club the ball 500 feet, which resulted in so many strikeouts. It's hard to blame him, though, as he was one of the best long-ball hitters ever. However, I couldn't help but think that maybe his swing-for-the-fences-on-every-pitch approach did more harm than good.

A blog reader recently shared a story about how someone in his life wanted “a big plan." Caveat: No budget. A budget is too small. He was looking for something bigger. Budgets are like singles or doubles......he wanted to hit that home run (or maybe a grand slam!).

This resonated with me, as I've seen this play out with clients before. The budget can seem so small, so insignificant. But just like in the case of Sammy Sosa, I can't help but think how much more effective people could be by focusing on the small things, too. I'll take it a step further. Sometimes, the small things are the big things.

A while back, I started working with a couple that made $500,000+ per year. The income was rolling in! When we started working together, they requested that we skip the entire budgeting component of my coaching. And by "requested," I mean they insisted. Reluctantly, but with warning, I obliged.

Fast forward six months, and the couple was displeased with their progress. They set some big goals (home run swings) and went into it with a lot of confidence, yet six months in, they hadn't achieved much (several strikeouts). That's when I reintroduced the budgeting idea to them. In their minds (and words), budgeting was something "poor people had to do." I laughed and explained that not only is budgeting for high earners, but it's actually more important for high earners to budget than lower earners.

Fortunately, and probably for a lack of alternatives, they decided to trust the process for a season. In just the first month, they made more progress toward their very large goal than in the six prior months combined. Why? Because they focused on the little things. Sometimes, the little things are the big things.

I know I beat a dead horse on this topic, but it's so, so important. When we do the small things well, it unlocks the big things. When we focus on getting singles and doubles, we'll score far more runs (and incur far fewer strikeouts) than had we just swung for the fences every pitch.

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