A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" (Chinese: 千里之行，始於足下; pinyin: Qiān lĭ zhī xíng, shĭ yú zú xià; literally: "A journey of a thousand li starts beneath one's feet") is a common saying that originated from a famous Chinese proverb. The quotation is from Chapter 64 of the Tao Te Ching ascribed to Laozi.

This proverb means that we must begin something if we hope to finish it, something that takes a long time to get finished begins with one first step.

References

Look up a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.