The details matter because big success is just the steady accumulation of small wins piled one on top of another. Everything is connected, all is interrelated. How you practice is how you play. In the west, we often live in a world of surplus where we rarely have an opportunity to observe what happens at the margin. Wise leaders make the journey to the margin because it is there that the collective impact of all the vital nuances is most obvious.
Focus on the right little things and the big things tend to fall into place. The importance of the pertinent little things is frequently misunderstood because they are so minute, yet they are the building blocks of success and in the doing thereof we master the tools of living a disciplined, organized, purposeful life. If you can’t do the little things right, it is unlikely you will be able to do the big things right.
Attentiveness to relevant detail is the hallmark of a master of the craft, a professional. Sloppiness, carelessness is the mark of the 2nd rater, the bush leaguer, the C player.
Closing Quotes:
“Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things.” – Matthew 25:21, KJV
“It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.” – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
“If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.” – William H. McRaven, 4 Star Admiral, retired
“It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.” – John Wooden, coached UCLA to 10 NCAA Championships
Footnote: Thrice I’ve used modifiers re little things: (right/pertinent/relevant); it takes experience and intelligence to know which details are significant and which are silly; focusing on those that do not impact the chosen goal is the sign of a red tape loving, closed-minded bureaucrat.
As always, I share what I most want and need to learn – Nathan S. Collier