The Key to Get out of INERTIA and into ACTION

A woman sitting next to me at a conference last week said, "I understand you help people with their books. I've wanted to write one for a long time, but can't decide what to write about."

"Want to brainstorm it to see if we can move that project forward for you?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?"

I nodded at my ever-present notebook and said, "Let's draft your book cover right now."

"But I don't have a title yet."

"I understand. But 'not knowing" can be a barrier to entry. We think we need clarity to start. But the only way to get clarity IS to start.

Clarity doesn't happen in inertia, it happens in iteration. Drafting a book cover gets your goal out of inertia and into action because it's a catalytic lever."

"What's a catalytic lever?"

"It's any pivotal action that causes you to you stop WAITING and start INITIATING.

Mocking up a cover only takes a couple minutes, but it gets your book out of your head (where it's vague and abstract) and into the world (where it's visual and empirical.)

"I'm game. Let's do it."

"Okay draw a big rectangle. Now, put a couple squiggly lines in the upper right hand corner. That will be your cover endorsement.

Next, we're going to draw your title in huge letters on an up-slant across the page so it stands out and draws attention and captures eyeballs."

"Why on an up-slant?"

"Because titles on a horizontal just sit on a page. They don't engage. Titles on an up-slant give people the subliminal feel this will be an upbeat, uplifting read.

Now, let's play. Write these words across the page as a sample title, WHAT'S YOURS TO DO?

She gasped, "Where did you get that title? I LOVE IT."

"You said that! I was taking notes while you were talking about your leadership lessons, and you told me that asking, Is this mine to do? keeps you from taking on everyone's problems."

"I DID say that, didn't It? I just never realized it could be the title."

"Well, it's a working title for now. But it's progress, which is better than waiting for perfect.

Now you can start formatting the book by pre-supposing you'll share 10 of your most surprising leadership lessons. That immediately uplevels your content because you're not insulting readers' intelligence by sharing information they already know.

Next, you'll put us in the scene of a real-life situation where you learned that lesson. The AHA from that interaction can serve as your chapter title which will give you an intriguing Table of Contents that will get people's eyebrows up and motivate them to want to read the book."

She looked at me, stunned, "I just made more progress on my book in a half hour than I have in 3 years!"

"That's the power of A.G.E.N.C.Y. - it's a series of catalytic levers that get us unstuck.

"What's agency?"

'Well, Archimedes said, 'Give me a place to stand and a lever long enough, and I can move the world.' A.G.E.N.C.Y. is a way to give yourself catalytic levers strong enough to move your world.

As soon as you get an intention out of your head (rhetoric) and into the world, you Velveteen Rabbit it and it becomes real.

It's no longer swirling around in your head, it's straightforward and right in front of you.

You're no longer all over the map. You HAVE a map and you can iterate from there.

Your dream is no longer vague, it's visual.

And that is crucial because you know what people say when something confusing becomes crystal clear? "Oh, I SEE now."

I handed her the draft cover and said, "Now, carry this with you wherever you go. If you think it, ink it. If an idea or story occurs to you you'd like to add to the book, WRITE IT DOWN so your book becomes a living, breathing think (intentional) that stays top-of-mind.

Post a copy of your cover on your refrigerator. That way, you're keeping your dream of writing a book in-sight, in-mind instead of allowing it to drift out-of-sight, out-of-mind.

Every single client who has posted their cover on their refrigerator has finished their book because they continued to work on it instead of it getting lost in all their other priorities."

So, how about you?

What is something you've been wanting to do? Something you want to start or launch?

Don't wait, initiate.

Get out your phone right now, text a friend, schedule a call, put it in your calendar.

Sign up for a class and post the confirmation on your refrigerator.

Book that vacation or biz trip and turn a picture of your destination into your screen-saver.

Make your goal visual, tangible so it's empirical (not abstract) and stays in-sight, in-mind.

And if, for any reason, you're feeling stuck, ask yourself, "What's a catalytic lever I can use to get clear and get going?" Then, do not wait, initiate. You and your dream will be glad you did.

- - -

Excerpted from Sam's book A.G.E.N.C.Y. Get Clear, Get Going, Get Results (2025) which is how to turn your NOW into an even better NEXT. Want Sam to present these ideas to your group?