Bird by Bird (and Lead by Lead)

Recently I was watching an interview, and a comedian referenced a story from Bird by Bird that stuck with me.

Anne Lamott’s little brother had a school report on birds due the next day. He’d had weeks to work on it but left it to the last minute. Now he was panicking, surrounded by open books, totally overwhelmed.

Their dad put a hand on his shoulder and said,

 “Just take it bird by bird, buddy. Bird by bird.”

That line stopped me.

The book is about writing, getting the first draft down, pushing past perfectionism, but so much of it applies to sales and business.

Some days, sales feels exactly like that:

40 untouched leads

5 proposals due

3 deals stalled

and a blinking cursor in your CRM where motivation should be

That’s when Lamott’s message hits home.

You don’t need to close the quarter today.

Just make one call. Then another.

 Bird by bird.

We all want the shortcut, the breakthrough, the big win. But most of the time, progress shows up in small, consistent steps.

If you lead a team or sell solo, Bird by Bird is worth reading. Not because it’ll teach you how to sell, but because it’ll remind you how to keep going when you’re tired, stuck, or overwhelmed.

And that’s a lesson every salesperson needs.