Just Get Started

Stop waiting, take action today.

That's it. I could end the post there and that would be the entire message. If you take it to heart it is enough.

But I know you probably want more so let's get into it.

For any goal you have, for any change you want to implement in your life, for anything you desire to have or accomplish or be, do not wait for the perfect time, the right conditions, or the stars to align.

Instead take action, no matter how small, today.

The “right” conditions will never come. There will always be an excuse of why this is not the right time or the right reason to move forward but do not let an endless list of excuses stop you from taking immediate action today.

In the book Traction, author Gino Wickman illustrates a great outline for crafting a 10 Year Target, which creates a 3 Year Picture, which helps you develop your 1 Year Plan, and that is where you get your 90-Day Rocks also known as the tasks to focus on for the next quarter.

This all also incorporates your own core values, your core focus, your marketing strategy, and most common issues or obstacles to reaching your goals. It is not just creating a target to aim at for the next ten years, it is taking what is most important to you and crafting a practical path towards the main goal while weaving those core values throughout the entire picture.

Ok so maybe you don’t know what you want in 10 years. Maybe you just want to lose 25 lbs. this year.

Start today.

Go for a walk. Sign up with a local gym. Add a workout time block to your calendar. Download a workout routine geared to weight loss. Purchase workout clothes and some home equipment like a jump rope, resistance bands, or dumbbells. Change the circle goals on your Apple Watch. Download a calorie tracking app.

“Johnny, why is it always about weight?? I want to write a book!”

Then write one sentence. Add writing time blocks to your calendar. Download Scrivner or Fetch. Find a YouTube channel where authors give advice about writing and subscribe to it. Make a list of all the major plot points that happen in your book. Join the NaNoWriMo community and become active in the various challenges.

"My goal is to travel!!!"

Look up air travel, lodging, local transportation. Add it all to a spreadsheet. Make a vision board full of pictures of the places you want to travel to. Set up a separate savings account specifically for travel expenses. Find a travel blog or YouTube channel focused on traveling. Reach out to a travel agent to get basic information and create a checklist.

"I want a new job!!!"

Update your resume. Sign up with a recruitment agency. Dust off your LinkedIn. Let your network know you are open to new opportunities. Purchase a copy of 48 Days To The Work (And Life) You Love by Dan Miller, or The Proximity Principle by Ken Coleman. Reach out to 3 connections in a field or position related to either the one you are in now or the one you want to move into.

Do I need to keep going?

Whatever your goal is, find one small step or one small action you can take today and do it. Begin implementing progress towards what it is you want, towards that ideal future you have for your life.

Craft in your mind the future you want and move towards it with a single step. Then do it again tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that. And the day after that.

In The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale we learn about the notecard many high achievers use to reach goals. Writing down what it is you envision in your life, when you envision having it, and what you are willing to give up in return for what you desire.

We also learn of the 6 steps to realize success. Here is an exert from The Strangest Secret, the actual 6 steps themselves.

An outstanding medical doctor recently pointed out six steps that will help you realize success.

1. Set yourself a definite goal.
2. Quit running yourself down.
3. Stop thinking of all the reasons why you cannot be successful and instead think of all the reasons why you can.
4. Trace your attitudes back through your childhood and try to discover where you first got the idea you couldn’t not be a success if that is the way you’ve been thinking.
5. Change the image you have of yourself by writing out a description of the person you would like to be.
6. Act the part of the successful person you have decided to become.

The doctor who wrote those words is a noted West Coast psychiatrist, David Harold Fink, MD. Do what all the experts since the dawn of recorded history have told you you must do: pay the price by becoming the person you want to become. It’s not nearly as difficult as living unsuccessfully.

You can define what success means for you (that new book written, traveling to a destination, changing careers, a different physique than you currently have) but then begin working towards it. Put in the work. Take the actions.

Opportunities most often present themselves when you are already in motion, and the path becomes clearer the further you walk down it.

I once heard the quote “When driving at night you can only see as far as your headlights will reach, but you can make the entire journey that way.”

I started this by saying act, to take action today towards your goals, I will end by not only reiterating that sentiment but also encouraging you no step is too small when taken with intention.

You never know who is watching, who is waiting, who is following your journey just waiting for you to raise your hand or cross their paths.

Do not overthink it. One step forward is called progress. You have everything you need to get started today, and if you don’t, you have everything you need to go get everything you need to get started today.

It is not as complicated as we like to make it. If you have a dream or a goal (a dream with a deadline) never stop working towards it.

So, stop waiting, think of what action you can take today, and just get started.