Big goals. Make a million dollars. Run a marathon. Live in the suburbs with 2.5 kids and a white picket fence. Retire at 50. Pick your own goal. We all have “big” goals. The reality is that few of us ever take action in pursuit of them. Why? Often the goal becomes too big in our own mind.

This past week I was reminded about UCLA basketball legend John Wooden and the way he coached his players. They focused on practice. Do the small things well and the big things will take care of themselves.

It’s good life advice. Write down the big goals. But don’t make them so big that it becomes easy to delay taking action. Break them down into actionable steps and then do the things necessary to take action. Take small steps, and do the small stuff well. The rest will take care of itself.