Do something with it, damn?it!

I have written about poverty, long term unemployment after 50, nutrition and health, leadership, teams, etc. My most popular post ever was about team building. It was promoted to one of the platform channels by the editors and had more readers than I ever expected, but I wonder how many people implemented any of those recommendations. Probably no one.

I have seen amazing presentations from Greylock Partners and others about customer engagement, getting people to do something, and doing it so well that people won’t stop doing it. All that is achieved by more than social media though, it’s a complex web of apps, marketing, products, … adding value that leads to a “purchasing action”. There are other actions that matter beyond buying and selling, but we see less of that.

Yes, reading is an action. If we as readers elevate ourselves by reading social media posts, including this one, great. Unfortunately, that’s not enough. We, authors, must examine our own ability to truly engage, to get our readers’ asses off of their cozy chairs and do something for humanity, or even for themselves! Everybody I know understands the essentials of losing weight: burn more, eat less. We understand nutrition, and the power of eating well for longevity…and yet, we all take shortcuts when it comes down to actions, even for our own benefit. What do we need to DO stuff? 

I just wanted to write this post as a ranting about my own inability to engage people to act beyond reading. Even if I know it’s a topic people are interested in, they go there to read, but very few take a simple action. If I ask you for advice, and you have something to say beyond giving your good opinions, please give it, even if it’s in private. If you read about setting goals, but you don’t set them, what’s the point? If you read about dieting, but you don’t take action, what kind of effects do you expect? I’m not complaining about you, I’m complaining about my own writing. I’m using this post to thank you for reading, but also to ask you to do something this week that’s different. Ask yourself what you really really want in life, and why you don’t have it. I have asked myself many times. Even something as stupid as winning the lottery, right? How many times I dreamed about winning the lottery, but I don’t have time to buy the damn ticket. Really? We are not an accomplished society if we don’t get our asses off the couch and take actions beyond reading. 

So…thanks for reading, but damn it, go do something with it! When a reporter from NPR asked John Grisham what advice would he give to “wannabe” authors, he said, “write one page a day, or just don’t even think about being an author”. I would argue that everything we write as authors should encourage people to do something every day, other than reading our pages.

#BeWise and do something every day that aligns with your dreams, and in doing so, include ways to help others take action too. We need an active “work-hard-and-reap-the-rewards-later” mindset. Do something, damn it! I promise I will keep working on my writing.