Want to eat an elephant? Try the Red X method.

We all know this saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. “

Seems simple enough. Trouble is, I’ve never eaten an elephant. Now I know I’m not literally sitting down to tuck away, but as a metaphor for accomplishing something really big in your life, it’s still rather intimidating, right?

Like any task, we need a system. Enter Jerry Seinfeld and his Red X system, otherwise known as “Don’t Break the Chain”. We’ve all received those well intentioned but annoying chain letters that promise you the world if only you forward it to 27 people. This is different.

My dear friend and marketing mentor, Ms. Kim Klaver, introduced me to this deceptively simple technique. It’s pretty straightforward, but apparently, amazingly effective. Here is how it works.

You print out a blank calendar for the month.

You buy yourself a nice fat juicy red marker.

You set your intention for one action you are committing to do – EVERY DAY – without fail. As we all know, practice makes perfect. And this is how we are going to eat our elephant. One bite at a time. One blog post at a time. One whatever it is we need to do to change the world, one step at a time.

Apparently, the thrill of crossing off that bright red X becomes so compelling you just can’t bear to go to bed until you have done it.

I just printed mine out, and I can’t wait to make a nice big red cross on my Day 1 of…. (to be revealed!)

Want to join me in eating an elephant and changing the world, one red X at a time?