The Domino Effect

In 1983 Physicist Lorne Whitehead demonstrated how one domino can knock down another domino double its size. In 2001 a physicist recreated the experiment showing how a two-inch domino could eventually topple the Empire State Building by the eighteenth domino, the Eiffel Tower by the twenty-third domino, and bridging the gap between earth and the moon by the fifty-seventh.

It’s the little things that make the biggest difference. Small beginnings can lead to huge opportunities. Success is merely ordinary tasks that lead to extraordinary accomplishments. But we tend to be enamored with the BIG stuff. We are conditioned only to see the monumental achievements, rather than the everyday dedication it took to get there. Famous boxer Joe Frazier said, “You can map out a fight plan or a life plan, but when the action starts, it may not go the way you planned, and you’re down to the reflexes you developed in training. That’s where roadwork shows – the training you did in the dark of the mornin’ will show when you’re under the bright lights.” You see, it’s what we do with the little things that bring us the big things.

How we treat the small things in life determines if we’ll get the big things. If we are faithful with the little the bigger will come. Living a successful life is about walking through each door of opportunity that leads to another door of opportunity, which leads to another door of opportunity, which leads to…well…you get the point. Sometimes it is the 28th door of opportunity that we finally have a major breakthrough…or at least is recognized as a major breakthrough. But understand you don’t start at door #28…you start with door #1.

The challenge for all of us is to remain faithfully patient as we pursue more. Don’t allow discouragement to steal your potential. Keep on walking through every door as small as it may be. Remember your success will compound over time and eventually you will be toppling huge obstacles as though they’re nothing.

Remember the old statement: You can easily become an overnight success after 20 years of hard work.