When we look back at the great writers, innovators, and artists of history, we tend to believe they shot to the top in a burst of inspiration and genius. But that’s necessarily true. Yes, some ideas may pull to the top out of nowhere — we have the Orson Welles and the Picasso’s. But often, they are born out of the inertia of small, incremental steps.

The author Steven Pressfield, author of The War of Art (one of my top 5 books), wrote for nearly three decades before his first novel The Legend of Bagger Vance was published.

“Hallelujah,” Leonard Cohen’s most famous song was released 15 years into his career. Even then, it took nearly two decades more to find popularity, being re-written and covered dozens of times before landing on the verses we know today.

The impressionist Cézanne produced thousands of works in his lifetime. Nevertheless, he only found financial success well into his mid-sixties.

Some of us may be lucky enough to stumble upon that one incredible idea or talent. We should all be so lucky. But we can’t count on these moments. True masters and innovators are built on small steps and the momentum they create. As Malcolm Gladwell wrote in his New Yorker article: “Sometimes genius is anything but rarefied; sometimes it’s just the thing that emerges after twenty years of working at your kitchen table.”

We must continuously seek to produce and experiment. When we create daily, we slowly build up momentum, and the more consistently we create, the more our inertia helps us. Creating today means it’s easier to create tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day. Focus on creating every day and let the inertia guide you to your goals.