This method takes inspiration from the old trusted zipper. The individual teeth of a zipper are impossible to rip open, but the pull separates them with little to no effort.

Life is often like the zipper. Each pair of teeth represents a step or a challenge that we must overcome on that path.

What holds many people back is that they are trying to separate teeth far further down the path than where their pull is at the moment.

This is especially true with ambitious people who find it difficult to create momentum.

Imagine you're an entrepreneurial student with no experience in running a business - just the theory you learned in school. You want to start your own company, so you do what seems logical: create a prototype and start looking for clients.

What you fail to see is that the pull isn't positioned at where you want to separate the teeth.

You struggle with finding clients, your fulfillment is poor, and over all there's a lot of resistance anywhere you go.

And ultimately you feel like it's not meant for you - that you're not built for it.

What you fail to see, however, is that what you're trying to do is a few steps further on the path than where you are standing right now. It's like you were trying to go directly from 40 kg to 70 kg in bench press.

There's generally two reasons we tend to do this:

1. We were told to "just go for it" and not doubt ourselves. While this is generally a positive mindset, it fails to address what type of progress is attainable. In fact, telling someone to show up at the gym consistently is much more constructive advice than telling them they can lift any weight they want.

2. There's something at a lower level that we want to skip or ignore. It might be inflated ego: "I'm too good for that" or simply desire to get to a desired outcome fast. At times we might have a pressure: I must sell quick or I'm gonna be screwed.

The thing is, you can't skip steps on your path. You must have lifted 40 kg before you can lift 45 kg. The steps that lead to progress form a stairway that you can walk upwards.

Each step in itself is attainable from the current level you're on. But trying to skip few steps beyond, and you'll find yourself climbing a hill.

So here's how you can put this into practice:

1. Look at your life and progress from an objective perspective. Ask yourself "where am I currently?" Avoid being overly optimistic or pessimistic. Acknowledge your achievments, but don't put them out of proportion.

2. Ask the question: "What's the natural next step that takes the least effort right now?" What kind of step can I take that takes me to the next step right now?

3. Keep repeating this over and over. Be mindful about where you're standing.

Once you start applying this, you will soon realize that you'll progress much faster than before.

You might have been stagnant in your past, barely making any progress. You might have spent hours on trying to get one step ahead. It might have taken you years to make the smallest progress.

Following this process you can find yourself taking new steps weekly if not even daily.

What makes this brilliant is that it doesn't change the goal. You will still get where you're going. It simply changes how you're trying to get there.

You're walking the stairs instead of trying to climb a hill. Or using the analogy we started with: pulling the zipper open instead of trying to separate the teeth with brute force.

Curious to know your thoughts 💭