Second Cup: 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 Sharp mcketta's new book, Edit Your Life, which
is about living with intention in a messy world. Elizabeth

(00:51):
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,
the technology to go there wasn't ready for prime time,

(01:14):
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.
So Elizabeth tells us to draw a dot for your
life as it is today, then draw a dot for

(01:37):
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
your dream is to be a lawyer and you currently
work in customer service, one of those dots would need

(01:58):
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
might be finding mentors and allies in the legal field.
Be creative and be specific, she says, which is the

(02:21):
simplest dot to dot path between your now life and
your ideal life? Which steps feel easy and which feel daunting?
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

(02:47):
big goals are about layering on bits of progress. What
isn't doable now might be doable in a year with
consistent motion. When I first moved into my new about
a year ago, having all the renovations finished and having
everything unpacked and getting any needed furniture and making things

(03:10):
look nice seemed almost overwhelming, and it would have been
overwhelming to do in a week or two, but 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

(03:32):
boxes in the closet. I am working on revising a
novel now, and the finished product seems far in 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

(03:55):
the whole book at once, and then I will get
test readers and so forth. What big goals 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

(04:16):
a lot of steps, but each individual step isn't so much.
If you give yourself enough time, probably 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.

(04:39):
This is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's to making
the most of our time. Hey, everybody, 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

(05:00):
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 out with all
the letters. Thanks so much, should I look forward to
staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio.

(05:28):
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