The biggest threat to your big goal isn't obstacles - it's opportunities.

Start with a list of things you can do right now - skills, actions or projects you know you're capable of completing.

Then define your real, long-term goal - the thing you want to do but can't quite get there yet.

Now cross off all the items on your 'I can' list that will take you directly towards your main goal.

What is left? That's the danger zone!

These are the seductive alternatives - projects and achievements that give you a sense of progress but quietly pull you away from your true path. They're easy, they're available, and they offer results. But not the results that matter most.

Someone once said: "The greatest threat on the way to a great goal is not the obstacles, but the opportunities - the chance to take an easier path to a lesser goal."

Choose consciously. Not all progress is the same.