taking action | The Caleb Barney Collection

When will you actually pull the trigger?

You’ve been talking about how you want to do this or how you’d like to do that…but how long have you been saying this?

Stop procrastinating. If you want to do something, make it happen. Just do it.

It all starts with taking action. Sure, you need to plan and prepare. But you can only do that for so long. Eventually, you’re just lying to yourself that you need more time, more money, more…something…

When are you actually going to pull the trigger and do what you want to do? Do you want to get healthier? Start today. Do you want to go on vacation? Book it today.

What if you wait ten years to do something, only to find out you absolutely love it? Wouldn’t you want more time to experience that thing? Start now and live without regret. Because even if the experience isn’t everything you dreamed it would be, at least you would know if you like it or not. You would have clarity on what is, and not worry about “what if.” Stop waiting and just do it.

Failing as a way to move forward

Failing is learning. Do you think a professional golfer has never lost a golf ball, a basketball player hasn’t missed a shot, or a baseball player didn’t strike out to end the game? You will never be 100% successful in everything you try. Embrace failures. If you only attempt to do things you already know you can do, your improvement will be limited. It’s ok to fail! The key is to learn from those failures – to bounce back and try again! True winners don’t let failures keep them down.

The dream killer

Comfort is the killer of dreams.

Most of the things we greatly desire, yet still do not have, are difficult to obtain. With that, you get to make the choice. Do you want to consistently face the difficult? Or would you rather be comfortable and not get what you desire most?

Do you want to look like a fitness model and have big legs, defined arms, and six pack abs? You’ll have to hit the gym with purpose everyday and clean up your diet. You’ll need to stop going out for drinks and eating dessert.

Do you want financial freedom? Then you’ll have to spend your money on assets and live below your means. You’ll need to increase your income and decrease your expenses.

Do you want to become more knowledgeable? You’ll have to reduce your hours in front of the tv and start reading more, networking with people who are already doing what you want to do, and start taking action. Things won’t go according to how you read about them in books and you’ll have to be ok with problem solving and failing from time to time.

If you want “the best,” you usually have to pay for it in some way (sacrificing focused time, energy, money, etc). If you want to live out your dreams, you’ll have to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Because only seeking comfort is a recipe for dream killing.

Practicing patience

The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit.

Most things in life that are worthwhile are either difficult to obtain, take effort, or take time to develop/grow. Some of the best things in life require all three. For example, having a strong relationship (whether between your spouse, best friend, or co-worker) takes time. You don’t have a deep relationship with them the first time you meet them. It takes effort on your part to listen, to show you care for them, etc. The longer you do this, the stronger your relationship grows.

The same can be said for physical success (building/shaping your body how you want it to look), mental (learning a new subject or language), financial (accumulating wealth), or at work (you have to start somewhere, and that place usually isn’t at the top). Most great things take time. We don’t plant the seed and eat the fruit the same day, just as we don’t do one workout and get a six pack the same day. The overnight success is the outlier.

Practice patience. Be patient with others, but be patient with yourself and your goals too. Don’t give up just because you’re not seeing results as quickly as you want. Eventually, if you are consistently working towards your goals, you can achieve great things. Just make sure you’re setting S.M.A.R.T. goals towards things that are actually meaningful to you. If you really want to achieve them, you’ll find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.

Make taking action your default tendency

When you face uncertainty, do you take action or do you pause? There’s fight, flight, or freeze.

There’s not a “one size fits all” answer for every situation. You can deal with each scenario differently, and depending on the urgency of what you’re doing, who you’re doing it with, your previous history with that person/scenario, and the risk/reward balance, you may choose differently.

But we all have a default action or inaction that we take.

I tend to lean towards taking action. Instead of thinking about doing things, just do them. You’ll make mistakes along the way, but you’ll also end up getting much more done than those who default to pausing/talking things over.