Make a moonshot map

Plot how to get from where you are to where you want to be

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is to make a moonshot dot to dot map.
If you have big goals that are not currently achievable,

(00:26):
brainstorm the various intermediate steps that might bring you there.
Seeing these steps and what they might require can help
make a big goal feel more doable. Today's tip comes
from Elizabeth Sharpmakhetta's new book, Edit Your Life, which is

(00:46):
about living with intention in a messy world. Elizabeth explains
that a moonshot dot to dot map is a prompt
for brainstorming how to move toward any currently unachievable goal.
That is, it is a moonshot. When President Kennedy talked
about going to the Moon in the early nineteen sixties,

(01:09):
the technology to go there wasn't ready for prime time,
but it got there with a lot of work. Similarly,
just because something isn't currently achievable doesn't mean it never
will be. You just have to figure out the intermediate steps.

(01:30):
So Elizabeth tells us to draw a dot for your
life as it is today, then draw a dot for
your moonshot goal. What steps could you set up to
succeed in getting there. Brainstorm a bunch of dots that
might go in the middle. For example, Elizabeth says, if

(01:51):
your dream is to be a lawyer and you currently
work in customer service, one of those dots would need
to be going to law school. You could then think
about other aspects of that, like that there might be
night classes, so maybe you could keep your day job.
Another dot would be prioritizing regular study time, and another

(02:12):
might be finding mentors and allies in the legal field.
Be creative and be specific, she says, which is the
simplest dot to dot path between your now life and
your ideal life? Which steps feel easy and which feel daunting?

(02:33):
Break your dot to dot map into smaller steps if
you need to, she says, until each dot feels, if
not easy, at least achievable. I like this idea. Many
big goals are about layering on bits of progress. What
isn't doable now might be doable in a year with

(02:56):
consistent motion. When I first moved into my new house
about a year ago, having all the renovations finished and
having everything unpacked and getting any needed furniture and making
things look nice seemed almost overwhelming, and it would have
been overwhelming to do in a week or two, but

(03:17):
in a year or two it's not so bad, And
I could map out various steps in the middle. First,
unpack the kitchen boxes. Later, get curtains, later, yet unpack
the boxes in the closet. I am working on revising
a novel now, and the finished product seems far in

(03:40):
the future. But I mapped out a chapter outline, and
I wrote the flap copy, and now I am following
a revision schedule that has me doing one to three
short chapters worth of edits each week. Then I will
work through the whole book at once, and then I
will get test readers and so forth. What big goals

(04:03):
are you currently pursuing? Getting a handle on the various
steps might seem daunting, but I think it makes big
goals feel more doable to know those steps. Sure, there
might be a lot of steps, but each individual step
isn't so much. If you give yourself enough time, probably

(04:26):
you can get there. After all, getting to the Moon
took less than a decade. You can do a lot
in that time. In the meantime. This is Laura, Thanks
for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

(04:53):
I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
me on Twitter, Book and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod
that's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled

(05:15):
out with all the letters. Thanks so much, should I
look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a
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