“Every journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step” From idea to impact – a decade’s worth of experience in building a business

When you look at the image, you might focus on the tall green bars—those 10,000+ step days that show consistency and movement. But what I see most clearly is the tiny orange bar on the far right, sitting at 1 step. The beginning.

It reminds me of how my business began over ten years ago. From an Idea to a business with real Impact.

Just like today’s first step, my business started with a small, quiet moment — an idea.

The tug of something inside me that said: “This is something. This is different. This is what I want to explore.”  

That idea became my first certification with Equine Connection – The Academy of Equine Assisted Learning. That certification gave me the confidence to run my very first session. And then came my first client. One step. One decision. One “hell yeah” at a time.

It didn’t look like a thriving business back then. It looked like a folder of notes, a nervous phone call, two horses, and a lot of heart.

But the important thing is: I started. “Progress over perfection,” became my new mantra.

Whether it’s my step counter or my career path, the lesson is the same: you don’t get to 10,000 without the first step. Building my equine enhanced professional development practice didn’t happen in one leap. It happened one certification, one client session, one trust-building moment at a time. You don’t build a business, a community, or a legacy without being willing to start — uncertain, imperfect, and with no guarantees. Just like my daily walks, the real growth came from showing up over and over, through the doubt, the messiness, the learning curves — and trusting that each step was taking me somewhere worthwhile.

Now I know…

• That tiny first step isn’t small — it’s sacred.
• Consistency is more powerful than intensity.
• And starting again each day is not failure — it’s commitment.

So when I see that little “1” on my tracker, it’s not a discouragement. It’s a reminder: everything I’ve built — my practice, my path, my purpose — started this way.

So here’s to first steps: The big ones. The small ones. The ones no one sees but you. They’re the beginning of everything worth doing.