We summarize the first results from the Herschel Gould Belt survey, one of the largest key projects with the Herschel Space Observatory. Our early findings confirm the existence of a close relationship between the prestellar core mass function (CMF) the stellar initial mass function (IMF). Furthermore, they suggest a scenario according to which the formation of prestellar cores occurs in two main steps: 1) complex networks of long, thin filaments form first, probably as a result of interstellar MHD turbulence; 2) the densest filaments then fragment and develop prestellar cores via gravitational instability.