Is it a monkey or a pedestal?

When trying to accomplish anything, there are usually a lot of different pieces that need to fall into place. While picking an easy place to start can be a good way to build some initial momentum, it’s helpful to see the full scope of things and make sure there isn’t something that might trip you up before you finish.

For example, if you wanted to create a new social media platform, you might think of three things that need to happen:

The first two are relatively easy, but the last one could take years. You might think you’re 2/3 of the way done, but at that point you’re not even to 1%.

It’s similar to a story in Annie Duke’s excellent book “ Quit “ about monkeys and pedestals:

Imagine that you’re trying to train a monkey to juggle flaming torches while standing on a pedestal in a public park. If you can achieve such an impressive spectacle, you’ve got a moneymaking act on your hands. Teller recognizes that there are two pieces to becoming successful at this endeavor: training the monkey and building the pedestal. One piece of the puzzle presents a possibly intractable obstacle in the way of success. And the other is building the pedestal. People have been building pedestals since ancient Greece and probably before. Over two-plus millennia, pedestals have been thoroughly figured out. You can buy one at a furniture…