What do big trees, your dreams, and buff dudes have in common?

Yesterday at the gym, I was happily bench pressing my own weight (~150lbs), when I glanced over at the guy next to me...

He wasn't much bigger than me.

But a quick calculation of the weight plates... he was benching more than 250 pounds. And making it look startlingly easy.

Then he came up to me, and asked me how I had gotten so ripped.

Haha, just kidding! He asked me to spot him.

And then put on some more weight plates.

When he finished 5 reps of 295lbs without any assistance from me, I felt inspired to ask:

"How long did it take you to lift this much?"

6 years. ("But I take a couple months off every now and then", he clarified)

I've been lifting weights on and off for 20 years.

What's the difference?

CONSISTENT PROGRESSION

Showing up week after week, with a PROGRESSION in mind, a DIRECTION, is key.

This is the wood element in Chinese medicine, it is growth and persistence.

It's what our gym friend needed to bench 290lbs.

And it's what you need to achieve your dreams.

It usually takes years.

There's that quote "we usually overestimate what we can achieve in 1 year, and underestimate what we can achieve in 3".

There's also the quote:

"A journey of 1,000 miles begins with the first step."

So what is it for you?

Consider sectors of life: financial, spiritual, creative, health, relationships, etc.

If you could show up consistently and make outrageous progress on something, what would it be?