We live in a world addicted to instant results, big milestones, and sweeping transformations. Whether in personal growth, business strategy, or leadership development, we’re conditioned to chase the big bang – the single act that will unlock all doors. Yet, as I’ve learned through years of teaching, mentoring, and personal reflection, the true power lies not in the grand gestures, but in the quiet accumulation of small wins, baby steps, and everyday actions that add up over time.

It’s easy to romanticize the notion of a breakthrough moment. We crave that scene where everything shifts in an instant, where effort is rewarded in a spectacular way. In the world of social media highlights, it’s even easier to get swept up in this thinking, as we see curated success stories that make it look like the pathway to success is paved with monumental leaps. However, the truth – the humbling, often overlooked truth – is that most success stories are built one tiny step at a time. It’s a slow, steady climb, not a rocket launch.

This idea isn’t new, but it’s frequently forgotten, especially when we’re standing at the foot of a daunting goal. It’s human nature to want to bypass the incremental and shoot straight for the outcome, but this tendency can be paralyzing. The big picture can be overwhelming to the point where we don’t start at all. That’s where baby steps come in. They not only make the impossible seem doable but also provide a manageable and continuous path forward. The act of starting – however small – creates momentum, and momentum is the unsung hero of progress.

I’ve often told my students and mentees that there’s something almost magical about starting small. When you break down a big, audacious goal into its tiniest components, you reduce the mental barriers. Instead of staring up at a mountain, you’re just taking the next step. One small win leads to another. And then another. Before you know it, you’ve climbed a good part of the mountain without even realizing it.

Small wins compound. In economics, we often talk about compound interest – the idea that as your investment earns interest, that interest earns interest too, creating exponential growth over time. The same principle applies to personal growth, leadership development, and career progress. When you stack small victories – learning a new skill, reaching out to a potential mentor, completing a minor project – you’re essentially earning interest on your progress. One small win makes the next one easier, and before long, the effort needed to keep the momentum going is significantly less than what it took to get started.

Think about how this plays out in different domains of life. In leadership, it’s often not the sweeping reforms or the grand speeches that earn loyalty and respect from a team. Instead, it’s the little things – the daily gestures of recognition, the small adjustments in approach, the consistent follow-through on promises. These micro-actions build trust over time. In business, it’s rarely a single strategic decision that defines success. More often, it’s the accumulation of small, thoughtful decisions that build a resilient, adaptable company. And in personal development, it’s not the sudden lifestyle overhaul that sticks. It’s the daily habit – the commitment to incremental improvement – that leads to lasting change.

This mindset can be transformative in how we approach challenges. Let’s take a real-world example: the daunting task of paying off a significant debt or saving for a large financial goal. The sheer scale of the goal can make it feel unachievable. But break it down – focus on saving $10 today, $50 next week, and suddenly, that once-impossible number becomes something you chip away at regularly. The same principle applies to improving health, learning a new language, or mastering a difficult skill. Focus on the daily mile rather than the marathon, the five new words rather than the whole language, and progress will naturally unfold.

I’ve found that this approach resonates particularly well with international students who come to Canada with dreams of building better futures. The magnitude of their aspirations – career success, financial stability, perhaps even permanent residency – can often feel overwhelming. But I always remind them: it’s not about solving everything at once. It’s about showing up today, attending that one lecture, learning that one new concept, meeting that one mentor, and completing that one assignment. Each small action they take brings them closer to their bigger goal, and the beauty of it is that those small actions, when consistently applied, begin to open doors they didn’t even know existed.

What’s interesting is how this philosophy also applies to the professional world, especially in leadership and management. I’ve worked with numerous teams and leaders, and one thing I’ve noticed is that organizations and leaders who focus on small, consistent improvements often outperform those chasing the next big innovation or massive change. Leaders who take the time to listen to their teams, tweak processes gradually, and celebrate incremental progress create environments where growth feels natural and sustainable. These are the companies and teams that thrive in the long run, while others burn out in pursuit of monumental changes that never fully materialize.

Even in a highly competitive space like startups, the notion of the “overnight success” is a myth. Companies like Apple, Amazon, and Google didn’t become industry giants in a flash. Their stories are filled with small innovations, tiny pivots, and incremental growth that accumulated over time. It’s easy to look at them now and think of them as unstoppable forces, but at one point, they too were taking baby steps, figuring things out one little decision at a time.

This isn’t to say that big goals and dreams don’t matter. Quite the opposite. Big dreams are essential – they give us direction and purpose. But it’s crucial to remember that the path to those dreams is paved with small, intentional steps. The “baby goals” you set for yourself today – whether it’s reading a chapter of a book, having a difficult conversation, or simply showing up – are not trivial. They are the foundation upon which your larger success will be built.

I once read a quote that stuck with me: “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.” This is the essence of what I’ve come to believe about success, leadership, and life. It’s not about the harvest – it’s about the seeds. Each small action is a seed, each baby step a tiny investment in the future you want to build. You may not see the results immediately, but trust in the process. Trust in the quiet, patient accumulation of small wins. One day, when you least expect it, you’ll look back and realize that all those baby steps added up to something much bigger than you ever imagined.

So if you’re standing at the foot of a mountain today, don’t be intimidated by the climb. Don’t wait for the perfect moment or the grand gesture to begin. Take one small step. And then another. Because those tiny actions, those baby steps – they matter more than you think. They are the quiet engine of progress, propelling you forward one win at a time.