The 5 Part Principle

I am a Big Picture guy who is scared of Big Pictures. If you are like me then you will understand, if you are not then let me explain. I love to dream about the future and the things that could and should be. I have a rather large view of God and what kinds of things fall in the realm of "possible" with Him. So, it is not unusual for me to have dreams that cover things like "What it would take to end world hunger" or "What it would look like to completely restructure the American church." These are what I call "Big Pictures".

The thing is, it is not uncommon for me to spend time thinking about these things and then start getting scared, anxious, and overwhelmed. It is as if I am a painter who gets scared looking at his own paintings. That is a good thing, because it helps me to rely upon God. It is also a bad thing because when I freeze when I allow fear into my life. You have all heard the line that, "A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step." That sounds nice, and helps little. A more meaningful phrase would be, "This 1,000 mile journey begins with that particular step." It is not the last 999 miles that stop most people; it is the first step. They see the goal and have no idea where to get started, how to get started, or who to talk to about getting started.

That is where the 5 Part Principle comes from in my life. It helps me take a Big Picture and break it down, like a Mosaic if you will. It is a simple process that you can do for almost anything in life; so simple that to many of you it will likely seem common sense.

You start by identifying with as much clarity as you can your Big Picture. Let us set an example of "I want to graduate from the University of Texas business school with honors." That gives me a good sense of what, where, and how. My first step is to break that down into 5 parts. These parts don't have to be equal in size or scope, it just has to be FIVE parts. So, for our example it might be:

1. Apply to UT
2. Get accepted
3. Get into the business program
4. Make good grades
5. Graduate

Four out of my 5 parts will happen in about 3 months total time. The other part (make good grades) will actually take 4 years. That is OK, the point is to start breaking the Big Picture up and giving us some practical steps to look at. After your initial 5 is done you start taking each step and breaking it into five. For example, taking "Apply to UT":

1. Research application deadlines and requirements.
2. Get an application.
3. Fill it out (remember the fee!)
4. Write the essay.
5. Mail or deliver it to the school.

You can keep doing this process of breaking a Step into 5 parts as many times as you want. My rule of thumb is; if it takes you longer to break down the step than it would take you to DO the step... you should stop breaking down steps.

At some point you will find that a Step can only be broken down 2 or 3 times; that is OK. When you get to the end of the process you will have anywhere from 5 to 50 to 500 steps. And, all of a sudden your Big Picture is not so big. And, if you make your steps chronological (I started with apply, ended with graduate), then you have actually created for yourself a nice little map.

I find that dreams and visions are not so scary once I put them on paper. And, when I take a little time to define what the "first step" actually looks like I am much more likely to actually do it.

So, what is your Big Picture dream? Has God laid something on your heart for your life, your family, or His Kingdom? Why not take some time this week to start your own 5 Part Principle and see where it leads?