Tag: taking action

What would you do?

What would you do if you knew that you only had five years to live? You‘re not sick. But you will die and you know the date. In this made up scenario, you’re not allowed to accumulate any additional debt (you can’t just put everything on credit and live it up).

Would you live a lifestyle similar to what you’re living now? What would you change? Would you act differently? Would you work at the same job? Would you work less so you can spend more time with your friends and family?

The point of this thought exercise is to get you to think about the actions you’re taking on a daily basis. Often, we waste too much of our lives because we think we have such a long time on this planet. We lose days, which turn into months, and those months turn into years. Next thing we know, five years have gone by and we’re still doing the same thing, complaining about the same thing, and not doing anything to improve our lives.

So what answers did you come up with to the above questions? What is stopping you from doing those things? Is it fear or a limiting belief? Or did you just not realize that you’ve been wasting time and that we are all dying (only some more quickly than others)? We all have a finite amount of time on this planet. We might as well make the most of it.

Where is the knowledge?

“Where is all the knowledge we lost with information?” – T.S. Elliot

We are so inundated with information, most of which is irrelevant, that we lose the part that is actually important – the applicable knowledge.

Don’t confuse the two. Start/continue to listen to audiobooks and podcasts, to read articles and books, and to try to learn as much as possible, but make sure you occasionally take a step back and figure out if you’re just consuming noise (information), or if what you’re letting in will help you. Then apply what you’ve learned. The best teacher is experience. You can read as much as you want, but you need to actually start “doing” to gain a complete knowledge of a subject.

Sharpening the saw

Just like the analogy of “sharpening the saw,” you need to take time to sharpen your body and mind. Take the time to prepare for the future. When you a sharpening the blade of a saw, you may feel unproductive because you’re not actually “using” the saw to cut something down. But, in reality, you’re being extremely productive. Because of you being proactive in sharpening the saw, it ensures that when you do go to use it, it will be more efficient and cut more effectively with less energy being expended.

This is why it is important to work on “sharpening” your body and your mind. Eating healthy foods, working out, and stretching (which I enjoy the least, but need the most) are a few ways to sharpen your body. Reading, writing, drawing, painting, doing puzzles, building things, and meditating are ways you can sharpen your mind.

By working on yourself today, reducing your weaknesses or improving your strengths, you prepare yourself for the work of tomorrow to be easier. If your training is harder than the actual event, the event will seem easy to you and you’ll be able to perform better than the competition.

Success leaves clues

Who are you modeling your actions and behaviors from? Who has already succeeded in what you’re trying to accomplish? How did they do this?

Try to tease out the similarities between multiple people who have achieved success in whatever field in which you are interested. What sets them apart from their peers? Is it their mindset? Their overall strategy? What specific tactics did they use to obtain the results you desire and are there any pitfalls by using those same tactics? Will they still work in today’s world or are the tactics outdated? For example, if that person did something in 1980, the specific tactics they performed may or may not work today. But can you figure out the concept behind what worked and apply that to fit in today’s market?

Success leaves clues. It is up to you to investigate and determine how others’ successes can help improve your situation.

Quick wins are different than big wins

Make sure you balance between getting quick, easy wins and working to overcome a difficult challenge. Getting those quick wins can provide a boost to your energy, but if you only focus on the little wins, you won’t ever achieve the unrelated big wins, which are often going to take much longer and require more consistent effort.

The best way to win in each scenario is to tie the little wins to the big wins. What small project can you conquer that will act as a stepping stone to winning the bigger projects? If they are related, you can directly work on one project goal while indirectly bringing you closer to your other project goal(s). If the two projects are unrelated, you will have to make time to complete both projects.