Metaphor: How do you eat an elephant?

I once had a very insightful and motivating instructor that gave the best advice I've ever heard. He knew the class was getting frustrated and discouraged with the ton of information he was throwing our way. So he gave us the simplest, most comprehensible, advice I'll never forget. He said, "Think of everything you have to get done and learn as....an elephant. An elephant is a very large animal. Now pretend you have to figure out how to eat all of that elephant. How do you eat an elephant? The whole elephant. Sounds impossible, doesn't it? It's not impossible. Don't focus on the large thing in front of you and freak out, focus on tiny bits at a time and keep at it. Before you know it, you're all done. So how do you eat an elephant? A little bit at a time!"