“Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.”
Don Marquis. (1878-1937, American Humorist, Journalist)
With anything we do in life, action is required to move forward. We can have the best plan in the world, set realistic goals, and put everything in a journal, but without action, all of it is useless. I believe a lot of people get caught up in the “rocking chair” syndrome. That is where they are busy, but not doing the things that move them forward. A rocking chair moves, but never forward.
Here is the challenge. Ask yourself, “What action can I take that will move me forward? Even if you only move an inch, that is better than standing still. Also ask yourself, “What action do I need to get rid of, so I can move forward?” Get out of your “rocking chair” syndrome and start moving in the right direction of your dreams and goals.
As you take action consciously keep in mind the enemy, procrastination. Have you ever procrastinated? I know that I have. Do you have an idea for a business? Do you want to do something for your sweetheart, your family, yourself? I think everyone has an idea that can make their life or the life of others better either spiritually, physically, financially, mentally, or emotionally, and now the key is to take action!
Sarah and I are in the middle of making a lot of decisions both personally and professionally, and the key is action. My parents once told me that when you have an idea, “do something” to make it come true. You might do something wrong, you might have to start over, but action creates progress. Either you gain momentum from your actions or you learn from them on what to do and what not to do. Momentum is the key to watching an idea come to fruition. I am learning along the way, but every day I am gaining momentum which creates excitement, and more importantly, results. If you want to start a business, go back to school, or make a relationship stronger, I say start now. Some might say, “But it will take “years” before I see results. My answer is this, yes it might, however where will you be in “years” if you don’t act? One thing for certain is that time will not stop. So in 2-5 years from now will your life be different? Or will it be the same and you keep looking back saying those famous words, “I wish I would have”.
Why don’t people take action? I learned many years ago from Doug Wead that many times it boils down to two major reasons, FOF and FOP. FOF is the fear of failure and FOP is the fear of people. Why are we continuing to conform to a society that gives us a 90% chance of being dead or broke at the age of 65? I am not trying to scare you or make you mad, I am just trying to make you think. You don’t have to take it from me, if you will follow 100 people, at the age of 65 you will find that 25% of them will be dead. As for the lucky ones that live to be 65 here is the rough breakdown: 40% have to rely on relatives to survive, 30% will rely on welfare and social security to survive, 20% will still be working to survive. I am sure that not one of the 90% said I can’t wait to turn 65 so I can end up in one of these buckets. Why then do so many end up this way? Real simple, they didn’t take action and they conformed to a society that says, “don’t take risks, you can’t do it, just get a good job and try to save a little money for retirement.” Here is what I say; “Life is too short, take action and take it now!” forget about FOF and FOP. As far as what people will think about you, my dad put it this way; “don’t worry about what people think about you, because they don’t think about you”. Best of luck as you travel down your road to success. I believe you will get there, but the most important thing is that you believe you will get there and EXECUTE to make it happen.
