Adebola Alabi
If you belong to the human race, I’m pretty sure you want something you desire to achieve.
For some, it may be to buy a new house, pay off debt, lose weight, get more education, start their business, write a book, compose a song, and so on. You may have been thinking, deliberating, and planning about these things for quite a while now, but you have not seen any results – because you did not take action.
Action is what separates winners from losers. After careful deliberation and planning, every successful people get into motion by acting on their plans. They don’t necessarily wait for the perfect time; they don’t wait because they do not have all the details of what they need to do. They start and build momentum. They make mistakes but quickly learn from their mistakes until they get better.
Jack Canfield had an excellent illustration of why taking action creates results. During one of his seminars, Jack held up a $100 bill and asked the seminar participants – “Who wants the $100 bill? Almost everyone in the audience raised their hands to indicate their interest in having the money. He will keep his hand raised, displaying the money to watch for more reactions from the participants. After a while, some will start waving their hands, some will shout “I want it” or “I’ll take it,” or “Give it to me.” He will continue until someone in the audience gets it by standing up, running up the stage to retrieve the money from Jack’s grip. The one that gets it is the one that took action.
Most of us are like the audience in that seminar. We know we want certain things, but we often sit back – we deliberate, think, reflect, and contemplate, but we refuse to do the one thing that will lead to the result we desire. We don’t take action.
We have come up with various reasons why we didn’t do anything about what we wanted:
(Does any of these sound familiar?)
– It’s not the right time.
– I am not qualified.
– I will most likely not get it.
– There are too many people looking for the same thing.
– What will people say if I go after my goals.
– I don’t deserve it.
I want you to know that: You cannot cross a sea by merely staring into the water.
Nothing happens until you take action.
My friends, it’s time to take action. I encourage you to take action because:
Taking action creates results
Taking action builds your capability.
Taking action improves your skills & competencies.
Taking action takes you out of your comfort zone.
Taking action helps you to accomplish more and become more.
Taking action indeed creates results.
So what exactly do you want to accomplish?
– Lose weight: (Remember you can’t cross a sea by merely looking at it), – so go exercise and control your diet.
– Write a book: (You can’t cross a sea by merely looking at it) – Start writing.
– Get more education: (You can’t cross a sea by merely looking at it) – Enroll yourself into the program.
– Pay off debt: (You can’t cross a sea by merely looking at it) – Make more money, control your expenses, and start paying it off.
– Start a business: (You can’t cross a sea by merely looking at it) – Do your feasibility study, write a business plan, connect with mentors, and start.
The universe rewards those that act. Everything may not be perfect on day 1 (It often doesn’t), but do not let that thought stop you from following your dream. Do not allow the thought of not knowing the path stops you in your track. You’ve got to take action.
Here are two quick tips to help you take action starting from right now.
- You must be willing to take the first step in faith: This is when you are just starting out. You don’t know the kind of result you will get, but you are willing to take action and follow where the path leads you. Just this week, Elon Musk became the first person ever to attain a wealth of over $280 billion. He did not get there in just one day – I’m sure he had a dream of being financially independent, I don’t know if he had a goal of becoming the wealthiest man in the world, but he took action. He started multiple businesses, and the universe blessed his effort with the financial reward that the whole world sees today. So, you’ve got to learn from Elon Musk, start with a step of faith. Do something about your desires, don’t just sit on the sideline wishing and contemplating; you must take action.
- Stay hungry & curious: The way to keep moving forward is to be hungry for your desired outcome. You have to want the result so bad that you make it a mission. You have to be willing to get up in the morning and work passionately on your goals. Elon Musk wanted a career in business earlier on and started a company, Zip2, which was later sold to Compaq for $300million. That alone is enough for most people to live on for the rest of their lives. That wasn’t Elon, he stayed hungry, and he remained curious about the business world; he co-founded another business, which was sold for $1.5billion in 2002. He did not stop there; his hunger game continued; he started SpaceX, an aerospace company, SolarCity, a solar energy company, and later formed Tesla. He actually got the title of the world’s wealthiest man due to the success of Tesla. You can learn from Elon by staying curious and hungry in any specific area of life where we choose to explore.
- Be a learner: The way to get better and improve is to continuously learn. Learning is a continuous process. It should never stop. We must continue to find ways to get better, innovate, and improve our skills and knowledge. Individuals that stop learning will become obsolete. Organizations that fail to innovate will fall behind and may go bankrupt. Imagine if Elon had stopped learning or exploring after he sold his first company. I can guarantee he will not be the world wealthiest man we all know today. So, make sure learning is part of your DNA as you lean in and press forward in your dream.
Action creates results; it is not always an immediate result; it may not even be the result you expected sometimes. But one thing that guarantees to keep you in the status quo without any result is to do nothing.
What’s your choice?
