Achievement

Achievement, in its most basic essence, is a series of small successes strung end to end.

Achievement is the inevitable result of a persistent series of small achievements.
Two definitions of achievement from my journal, 1994

Examples are legion. Assembling a jigsaw puzzle is the most obvious illustration. We usually begin with the straight edged border pieces, then work our way into areas of the puzzle with pieces of color that interlock. It is one "success" at a time, searching and finding the next pair of pieces that go together.

What is interesting is that one can achieve this ultimate success in a variety of ways. There are no instructions that say one must begin at the top or bottom or the edges at all. The goal is always in sight, but it does not direct our steps.

In this same manner, writers assemble stories or write books with no instructions other than a picture in their heads. The best writers work each sentence to be a good sentence that fits with the next, and the next. We write our words one at a time, with no really correct answer, though in the case of bad writing the words and sentences may fail to convey the writer's vision.

Nobel prize winner Andre Gide wrote, "I have never produced anything good except by a long succession of slight efforts." Like the definition of achievement from my journal, it seems so small in the moment, but all adds up.

Gide, in another place, notes, "One should only become aware of the difficulties of a subject progressively and in the course of working at it; if one realizes them all at the outset, one loses heart." This applies to any larger venture, from building a business to building a masterpiece. Do the little things well, and the big picture will ultimately come together.