“Accomplish the great task by a series of small acts.”
– Tao Te Ching
– Tao Te Ching
Kaizen is a process of taking small steps for the continual improvement that leads to significant change. In Japanese, kai means “change” and zen means “good.” Kaizen is often associated with Japan after World War II. By applying the concept of kaizen, originally developed by American Edward Deming, Japan was able to successfully rebuild its businesses, and in a very short time, become a thriving industrial power.
The reason I want to talk about kaizen now, at the beginning of the year, is because it is easy to get swept up in the excitement of the new year and make big proclamations about and plans for change. Unless you ground these in the “small steps” of kaizen, you might just be setting yourself up for failure.
Kaizen is magic because it focuses on the small steps of your journey, the steps that are right in front of you. As with any significant project, writing an excellent book can be daunting if viewed as one big project. But if broken down into small steps, it can be very doable. This is why I created the Write Your Book program – because a process/system makes big achievements, like writing your excellent book, doable.
The small steps of kaizen also trick your fears into thinking nothing is happening. In the case of writing your book, if you sit down to do some writing exercises or fill in an outline, you are working on your book, but the critic-demon instigator is not triggered. The critic-demons then sleep through your writing session and this makes your writing easier and more powerful and your writing session more fruitful. On the other hand, if you sit down with lots of bravo to write your book, all the critic-demons pile onto your shoulders and critique every word while endlessly harassing you. This is not fun or productive.
Additionally, small changes can easily become small, but powerful, habits. There are different day counts given for how long it takes to create a habit, but it makes sense that if you make a small change it will be easier to consistently repeat that change and this repetition is crucial to creating a habit. I am still surprised at how much my writers grow by simply writing five minutes a day. They create a writing habit, they stay connected to their book-in-progress and this triggers lots of sub-consciousness work, their writing process gets easier and their writing gets better. This is win-win-win-win. I love lots of wins!
The reason I want to talk about kaizen now, at the beginning of the year, is because it is easy to get swept up in the excitement of the new year and make big proclamations about and plans for change. Unless you ground these in the “small steps” of kaizen, you might just be setting yourself up for failure.
Kaizen is magic because it focuses on the small steps of your journey, the steps that are right in front of you. As with any significant project, writing an excellent book can be daunting if viewed as one big project. But if broken down into small steps, it can be very doable. This is why I created the Write Your Book program – because a process/system makes big achievements, like writing your excellent book, doable.
The small steps of kaizen also trick your fears into thinking nothing is happening. In the case of writing your book, if you sit down to do some writing exercises or fill in an outline, you are working on your book, but the critic-demon instigator is not triggered. The critic-demons then sleep through your writing session and this makes your writing easier and more powerful and your writing session more fruitful. On the other hand, if you sit down with lots of bravo to write your book, all the critic-demons pile onto your shoulders and critique every word while endlessly harassing you. This is not fun or productive.
Additionally, small changes can easily become small, but powerful, habits. There are different day counts given for how long it takes to create a habit, but it makes sense that if you make a small change it will be easier to consistently repeat that change and this repetition is crucial to creating a habit. I am still surprised at how much my writers grow by simply writing five minutes a day. They create a writing habit, they stay connected to their book-in-progress and this triggers lots of sub-consciousness work, their writing process gets easier and their writing gets better. This is win-win-win-win. I love lots of wins!
"Have a bias toward action - let's see something happen now.
You can break that big plan into small steps and take the first step right away."
– Indira Gandhi
You can break that big plan into small steps and take the first step right away."
– Indira Gandhi
So if you are ready to take a kaizen step towards your book, check out this upcoming workshop:
Find Your Awesome Message For Your Excellent Book:
A Treasure Hunt and Brainstorming Workshop.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
10 am to 5 pm
At GeniusWork in Torrance, CA
$299
Special Price: $199
Enrollment is limited
Find Your Awesome Message For Your Excellent Book:
A Treasure Hunt and Brainstorming Workshop.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
10 am to 5 pm
At GeniusWork in Torrance, CA
$299
Special Price: $199
Enrollment is limited
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