Small Steps Move Mountains
“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”
— Confucius
A beautiful thought. But also a brutally practical one.
Because a goal without time in the diary is often just a wish.
Last week, I wrote about Zig. Don’t Zag. Choose the path that matters most. Hold the line. Stop scattering your energy across every distraction, demand, and headline.
But once your Zig is clear, the next question becomes obvious: How do you make progress on it?
This is where many good intentions fall apart. Because big goals can feel exciting in theory...but heavy in practice.
The mountain is inspiring when you name it. It is intimidating when you stand at its base. And that is where many people get stuck.
Mountains do not stop people because they are too big.
They stop people because they make the next step hard to see.
They look too far ahead. They overestimate what must happen next. They underestimate the power of one well-chosen step.
If you know your Zig, then your next job is not to obsess over the whole mountain. It is to identify the next stone to carry. Not any stone. The right stone.
The one that leads to the bigger goal.
The one that moves the work forward.
The one that matters most.
Then do something very practical. Estimate how long that step will take. Go to your calendar. And block the time.
Sixty minutes.
Ninety minutes.
Maybe two hours.
Multiple sessions, if required.
But book it.
Because calendars reward appointments. They do not care who the appointment is with or what it is for.
A meeting with someone else goes into your diary.
A dentist appointment goes in.
A catch-up goes in.
But the work that matters most? Too often, we leave that to chance.
That is why so many important things never move. Not because they are unimportant. But because they were never given protected space.
If your Zig really matters, it deserves a place in your diary. Better still, make it a habit. Same day. At the same time.
And then protect it. No interruptions. No drifting. No giving the hour away because something louder showed up. This is how momentum is built. Not only in ambition. In rhythm.
And the same principle applies to teams:
How can you help your team create and protect time for their one thing?
How can you reduce noise long enough for meaningful progress to happen?
How can you help them move a key stone, not just stay busy shifting gravel?
Looking back, this is one area where I would lead differently now.
I was often reasonably good at protecting time for the work that mattered most to me. What I was less good at was helping my team protect and prioritise time for their own Zig. Too often, I would push my priorities onto them, rather than helping them identify what mattered most in their role and then creating space for them to move it forward.
If I had that season again, I would do more in my one-on-ones. I would ask:
What is your Zig right now?
What is the next key step?
How much time do you think it will take?
When will you block that time in your diary?
And then I would ask them to share that with me; not so I could control it, but so I could help protect it.
Because one of the most practical things a leader can do is help people create and defend time for the work that matters most.
The same is true in life as well. Do not forget to time-block your annual leave. Your planning time.
Your thinking time. Your active and recovery time. These are not luxuries. They are part of building a productive and sustainable life.
If you make this protected time a non-negotiable priority, people around you will adjust. They will learn that you are unavailable because you are working on something that matters. And over time, those small, protected blocks begin to create something powerful:
Momentum.
Progress.
Completion.
Confidence.
This matters in uncertain times, when the challenges ahead can feel enormous and the future overwhelming. That is often when people stop moving altogether. Not because they do not care. But because the mountain feels too big.
This is the moment to remember that progress rarely happens through giant breakthroughs.
More often, it happens through small, consistent steps. Right steps. Right stones. Right now.
Help people focus on today. Not next year. Not the global economy. Not the thousand variables outside their control. Just today.
And slowly, the mountain begins to move. One stone at a time.
Great leaders understand this.
They do not wait for perfect conditions. They start where they are. With what they have. And they keep moving forward — one small step at a time.
Protect the time, and the mountain starts to move.
So, as this week closes, pause and reflect:
Where have I become overwhelmed by the size of the mountain in front of me?
What is my Zig right now?
What is the next right step that truly ladders toward it?
Where in my calendar will I block protected time to move that stone?
How can I help my team do the same?
And next week, in my family, my work, or my community, what small stone is mine to carry?
Lead boldly. Love wisely. Live your legacy.
Gary Good
Founder — LeaderLegacy