Hello, and happy Monday.
First a quote: “While a good leader sustains momentum, a great leader increases it.” — John C. Maxwell
My wife and I watched the successful launch of NASA’s Artemis II this past Thursday at 6:35 pm EDT. While viewing the massive rocket lift off from the Kennedy Space Center, Launch Pad 39B, I was reminded of an MMM article I wrote in June of 2018.
Following is a revised and updated version of that article.
Have you ever attempted…
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Launching something new, perhaps a new business or career?
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Changing a habit? Maybe a New Year’s weight loss effort?
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Leaning a new language?
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Leading a cultural shift within your department or company?
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Rolling out a new initiative? Maybe a new software package?
If so, you already know this truth:
It takes an extraordinary amount of energy just to get started… often with very little visible movement or forward progress.
Just think for a moment about the Artemis II launch last week…
NASA’s Space Launch System (the rocket powering today’s Artemis missions) carried over 8 million pounds of liquid propellant at liftoff! The propellant is a mix of liquid hydrogen as fuel, and liquid oxygen as an oxidizer for the rocket’s core and upper stages.
Imagine, it takes 8 million pounds of fuel to propel the 23,000-pound Orion capsule, and four astronauts, towards the moon.
Over 80% of that fuel is consumed in just the first few minutes of flight, simply to break free from Earth’s gravitational pull. Let that sink in.
Millions of pounds of fuel burned just to get moving. And even then, from the ground, it looks like the rocket is barely moving in the very first minutes of flight.
Sound Familiar?
Think about personal change: You go to the gym… You eat better… You make sacrifices…
And what happens? The scale barely moves. No one notices. Progress feels invisible. And we start to ask ourselves if the results are worth the effort.
Or in organizations: You introduce a new initiative. You communicate. You invest time, money, and energy. And yet, people begin to give up hope and whisper to each other, “I told you this change was a bad idea, they never listen to us!”
Old habits persist. Momentum feels slow. Doubt creeps in. Hope and effort begin to disappear.
The Hidden Truth:
You are likely making far more progress than you realize. No matter how slowly, the flywheel begins to budge, bit by bit.
But, early progress is often slow and almost invisible. Just like that rocket, massive effort is required to overcome:
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Inertia
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Resistance
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Old habits
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The pull of organizational or cultural gravity
And here’s an observation I have made about many of us…
Most people quit during this early phase.
Right before things begin to accelerate and momentum builds! This is often right before the “Breakaway moment!”
Once the Artemis II rocket escaped Earth’s gravitational pull, everything changed.
Speed increased rapidly, efficiency improved and momentum built upon itself. In his book Good to Great , Jim Collins calls this The Flywheel Effect —small, consistent efforts eventually create unstoppable momentum.
Click here to read more: Jim Collins - The Flywheel Effect
Or as Charles J. Givens said:
“Success requires first expending ten units of effort to produce one unit of results. Your momentum will then produce ten units of results with each unit of effort.”
Think about the significant paradigm shifts we’ve seen in recent years. We’ve seen this pattern time and again:
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Self-checkout in retail
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Digital payments like Venmo and PayPal
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The creation and use of Bitcoins
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Electric and self-driving vehicles
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Artificial Intelligence (right now, in real time)
All of these started slowly. Until they didn’t!
So, here’s a question for all of us to consider this coming week:
“ Are we in the “fuel-burning” phase… and mistaking it for failure or a lack of progress”
Because what feels like slow progress, lack of results, and frustration, may be the exact moment where breakthrough is building more rapidly beneath the surface. (Just like the rocket burning 8 million pounds of fuel for stage one of the launch.)
A final thought for your consideration today.
Most of us don’t fail because we lack ability; we fail because we underestimate how much energy is required at the start of any change initiative, and we give up, and/or quit, too soon.
Success in any endeavor takes not only massive energy reserves, but also patience, commitment, persistence, and fortitude. Have you given up too early on something important to you?
Maybe it is not too late to try again.
How will you live, love, or lead, differently, or better, this week?
Bonus Quotes Below
Sincerely,
Bryan Yager
“Expanding Your Capacity for Success”
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Bonus Quotes:
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“The ‘start’ is what ‘stops’ most people.” — Don Shula
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“Momentum builds success.” — Suzy Kassem
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“Commitment is the ignitor of momentum.” — Peg Wood
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“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
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“Energy and persistence conquer all things.” — Benjamin Franklin
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“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving.” — Conrad Hilton
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“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” — Vincent van Gogh
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“One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals.” — Michael Korda
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“The rhythm of daily action aligned with your goals creates the momentum that separates dreamers from super-achievers.’ — Darren Hardy
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“Enthusiasm is the energy and force that builds literal momentum of the human soul and mind.” — Bryant H. McGill
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“Sometimes being pushed to the wall gives you the momentum necessary to get over it!” — Peter de Jager
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- Revised and updated. Originally published on June 11th, 2018
