Change Your Life Faster and Better by Learning and Thinking Less

Elvis had it right: “A little less conversation a little more action please”

Just do it.

There’s a reason why Nike’s slogan is number one in the world…all time.

It’s great advice.

Sometimes you gotta “Just Do It”.

But often we don’t just do it (and maybe never do it).

Especially when it’s something big like a life change, career or job change or improving your health.

We get in our own way by overthinking, waiting for the right time and conditions, allowing fear to hold us back, doubting our ability, believing we gotta know and do more. The list goes on.

We overthink, over prepare and over plan.

But when you just do it…you do it!!!

Learning more by doing

This is where I have self-sabotaged my New Way Forward .

I have been thinking about it too much.

I have been planning, developing and studying too much.

I’ve had way too many “conversations” with myself and not enough action.

Elvis had it right

Elvis sang, “A little less conversation, a little more action, please.”

Less studying, planning and thinking.

More action, realizing, pivoting and succeeding.

All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me

A little more bite and a little less bark

A little less fight and a little more spark

Elvis is singing to me.

This song stuck in my head recently after listening to a Dan Koe vodcast and reading a Tim Denning article.

Both were, in their way, saying “Just Do It” because you’ll learn more, progress faster and be more successful.

Don't procrastinate, don't articulate

[Paul], it's getting late, gettin' upset waitin' around

A little less conversation, a little more action, please

All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me

Elvis is speaking to me from the dead.

It’s less cogitation and more application

Take note that I did not say we don’t need to read, learn and study.

There is a need and a place and a time for all of that.

But I now know that you and I need to replace some (a lot?) with action.

I would say about 50% of my cogitating was a waste of time.

I didn’t get a return on all the efforts and time I invested.

It’s not just the time, it’s the delay.

I am way behind where I could be right now.

By just doing it I would have known exactly what I needed to learn and plan out and I would have made faster progress.

“The greatest skill one can develop is decreasing the time between idea and execution.” -Dan Koe

Yeah! Just Do It!

From the Tim Denning’s article ,

“Gurus say reading is the holy grail.

“I think this is [a] lie taught by college. Reading is fine but without experimentation, it’s silent procrastination.

“It’s faster to take action and learn from the mistakes than it is to read the highlight reel of some successful person who’s 10,000 steps ahead of you and wrote a book as a form of PR for their new business venture.

“Doesn’t mean you quit reading. Just means you start reading with intention. And that you apply the 80/20 rule:

·?????? 80% experimentation and action

·?????? 20% reading.”

Thank you, Tim. You’re now elevated to Elvis status and so are you Dan.

“If you are lost, the answer is?education. If you are educated, the answer is action. If you are acting, the answer is consistency.” - Dan Koe

Fear can be a good option

Like anyone pursuing a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) I have felt the pangs of fear launching my New Way Forward.

As a web-based business putting it out there on Substack, YouTube, Linkedin, X, Facebook and a website has been daunting if not scary.

What if I fail? What if it bombs? What if I make a mistake? What if nobody likes it? What if it’s mediocre? What if I’m not doing it right?

When I finally started doing it, here’s what happened.

Sometimes I fail.

Sometimes it bombs.

Sometimes I make a mistake.

Sometimes nobody likes it.

Sometimes it’s mediocre.

But most often I succeed, people love it and…wait for it…I learned much more by trying and doing.

I learned what works and what doesn’t.

I learned what I need to learn more about.

I learned where I am weak and strong.

By doing it I got better and I moved it forward.

No amount of thinking is going to fix the problem that is solved by doing. -?Dan Koe

What do you do?

Yes, learn. Yes, plan. Yes, cogitate the vagaries of who, what, when, where, why and how.

But keep in mind Tim’s 80/20 rule and my rewritten Elvis lyrics:

A little less cogitation, a little more action, please

All this contemplation ain't satisfactioning me

A little more try and a little less thought

A little less taught and a little more brought

Close your book and open up your heart and satisfy you.

Thank you very muuuuch.

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