This week I witnessed sprouts of greatness in an unlikely place. 

My daughter is obsessed with volleyball. She lives it. Breathes it. LOVES it. 

Nine months ago she tried out for clubs—elite volleyball prep—and came up short. She was disappointed.

Failure ignited something. That spark led her to a grand goal. (So grand, I think she would kill me if I shared it.) 

She asked me what I thought, so I told her…

You can do anything you want. You only have to think it through and take action consistently. 

Break it down into milestones.
Break those down into steps. 

Take action on the steps that end in the milestones. 

Hit on the milestones, and you can reach your goal. 

Her first major milestone was to make the varsity team as a freshman. To do that, she listed needed skills and went to work. 

She spent time with a coach…who taught her the right form. 

She mastered her overhand serve…then her jump serve, her setting, her digs.

She worked and worked and worked…every day, rain or shine.

She added a mark to a paper each day she worked and tacked it to her bedroom wall, right above her clock (to see it every morning). 

Yesterday she made varsity as a freshman.

The adage is true. You can do ANYTHING you set your mind to. 

Get to it.

A version of this article originally appeared on LinkedIn.

Author(s)

  • Zach Messler

    I help you know what to say and how to say it so you make a bigger impact on the world...and your wallet.

    Some of the greatest ideas to ever happen … won’t. Why? Miscommunication. No matter your industry…no matter your size…your buyers have changed. They’ve gotten a taste of empowerment, and now? They’re never going back. That means all that messaging…all that content that worked even just a few years ago? None of it resonates. That’s where I come in, I spent 20 years focused on product marketing for B2B tech, teaching non-technical sales pros to explain complex software to executive buyers. It's where I came up with a simple methodology that makes your message clear, compelling, and convincing. Last year, I left the corporate world for good so he could help more people. Today, he helps entrepreneurs and growing tech companies know what to say and how to say it so they make a bigger impact on the world…and their wallets.