Maxim
Great things begin with small steps.
“The tree which fills the arms grew from the tiniest sprout; the tower of nine storeys rose from a (small) heap of earth; the journey of a thousand li commenced with a single step.”
Taoism · Ancient (before 200 BCE)
Translation: public-domain translation (Legge)
Watch on YouTube: Start with a tiny habit | BJ Fogg ↗BJ Fogg discusses this idea
Watch on YouTube: Atomic Habits summary (James Clear's ideas) ↗James Clear's tiny-habits ideas, summarised by another channel
Every large work starts as something tiny and easy to overlook. Taking the next small step, and being faithful in little things, is how anything worthwhile gets built.
Related expressions
“For who hath despised the day of small things?”
“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much:”
Score
Moral Rank 52.4 · Evidence E = 11.73
E = ln(1+2.27) + √2.27 + 3·2.01 + 1.5·2 = 11.73