It’s just amazing how many highly successful people started small before they hit it big. In an article for Buffer, Joel Gascoigne relates how Dale Carnegie’s massive best-sellerHow to Win Friends and Influence People actually just started out as “a set of rules printed on a card no larger than a postcard”.

From short talk to massive best-seller

Gascoigne says that the book actually originated from a short talk given by Carnegie. When he found that those who attended his talks were already discussing their experiences and some “rules” became apparent, the short talk evolved into a course, which eventually needed some sort of a textbook. That’s when everything started out as a set of rules printed on a card, then a larger card, a leaflet, a series of booklets to become, fifteen years later, the best-seller that remains popular to this day.

Start small and be more likely to succeed

Gascoigne then warns against the dangers of going “big”, as failure is highly likely. I personally know some people who dreamt big and spent big on a start-up only to fail big a short time later. I agree with Gascoigne’s assertion that you are more likely to succeed if you’re starting small. Apart from Carnegie, there are countless people who have become wildly successful by just starting small.

Personally, there’s nothing wrong with dreaming big. It is, after all, a way of setting goals for ourselves. However, when the time, effort and money you pour into that dream of yours become rather substantial at the onset, you might want to rethink how you’re doing things and take stock on how many successful people got to where they are by starting small.

Click here to read the article in full.