Let me ask you a question:

What’s your favorite kind of cake?

I pose this question to some of my clients; the ones who have a big vision, the ones who are creative and who can see the future; the ones who can see the mountaintop from miles away. Something I have seen again and again with my visionary clients is that they can see the big vision, but they have trouble getting started. Often, they can imagine the goal so clearly that all the steps that come before are not only unclear, the steps are often draining and overwhelming. Considering the little bits is at odds with their big vision.

Visionaries who can see the ending point often have a hard time figuring out a starting point. And this is where my question comes in. It goes like this:

• First, I ask “what’s your favorite cake? Picture your favorite cake (or pie) and tell me about it in great detail.” (I’ll use my favorite here: it’s a carrot cake, with layers of cake that include carrot, raisins, walnuts, and coconut. The layers are interspersed with a layer of cream cheese frosting that is not too sweet or too thick, and the outside is covered in crispy toasted walnuts.)

• Then I ask: “what if I say: ‘I got you your favorite cake, here’s a fork, you have 10 minutes to eat the whole thing….jam cake in your mouth right now! Eat as fast as you can! Go, go, go!’ How does that sound?” The usual response is “that sounds disgusting.”

• To which I reply, “ok, how about I cut you a slice of your favorite cake and give you a fork. Now I say ‘you have to eat the entire slice in 2 minutes, go go go…!’” Most people pass on this option as well, it’s simply not palatable.

• Then, a new option: “here’s your beautiful cake, here’s a fork, and I want you to take a bite from wherever you like. Just one bite, but savor it…. and let me know how that sounds.” The unanimous response is that one luxurious bite is quite wonderful; it is way better than trying to eat the whole thing at once. Even something that you absolutely love.

I use this metaphor to talk with my clients about approaching a big vision. The vision itself is beautiful, wonderful, tactile, and alive. But sometimes we get so wrapped up in the end result it is impossible to fathom how to get to the goal itself. The key is to start small, with intentional, delicious steps. For instance, if your vision is to expand your business and open 5 more locations in the next 2 years (an ambitious but not ridiculous goal), what would be a few palatable first steps you could take? Lean into what you know and think practically. Two choices may be to look at your team and identify someone who can help you open each location, and then start to research suitable neighborhoods with a real estate pro. These two choices lead to more small choices: who on my team is ready? And who can fill in their empty spot? Who do I know who can recommend a great realtor? What locations are ideal for my brand? And so on, and so on.

By focusing on the small steps you create pathways towards the big vision, your attainable goal. But each step needs to be appetizing to you. So find a familiar, small, practical starting place, and then go to the next logical step. Eating the entire cake all at once is nauseating, just like thinking you have to do everything at one time is unfeasible. Break down your vision into the areas that will need your immediate attention in order to make strides towards the future; the “how’s” will fill themselves in. That’s how you build a vision; that’s how you eat the whole cake. One delicious bite at a time.