It's Time You Take Action

Photo by Rana Faure

Do you have an idea for a business? How about an idea for a great project? Or plans to start exercising and eating healthily?

If you do, how come you're not executing them?

This is actually the problem of most people and the primary reason why they are not successful or are not where they want to be, the lack of execution. I'm sure everyone has a great idea in them. An idea that can propel them to fame and fortune. An idea that can positively impact a lot of lives.

The problem though is that it just remains an idea. It never becomes reality because the person who though of it didn't take any action to make it a reality. I've read in a book (forgot though which one) a statement that rings true, "if you want to know a place on earth where you can find a lot of great ideas, just go to the graveyard." It's true though. The graveyard is a place where there are a lot of great ideas, because these great ideas died with the people who have thought of them.

Why is that? It's because of fear. The fear of failure, the fear of rejection, the fear of being ridiculed and laughed at, the fear of the unknown, etc. A lot of people who have great ideas don't start it because of fear. Well I've got news for you, yes you will fail, you will be ridiculed, you will be rejected and so on.

But so what? It's not like the end of the world for you. Just because you failed, doesn't mean you can't try again. And just because some people rejected, ridiculed and laughed at you, doesn't mean that everyone will do the same. Mos of the successful people experienced that as well. But they didn't let it faze them. They kept on going, they pushed on, they persevered until they reach the success that they are aiming for.

Yes it will be hard, it will be messy and it will be full of challenges and obstacles, but that's ok. All the failures, rejections, ridicules and bumps you'll experience along the way can be used added to your learning experience. Use these bumps as a learning tool. It is in these failures that we would magically see what we need to do to successfully execute our idea.

So take action first and execute your idea. Who knows what success might be waiting for you if you do. And if you fail, don't fret. Use it as a learning experience to improve on your idea. Remember your idea or plan won't just magically build itself. You have to make it happen.

Don't Just Be A Spectator, Take Control Of Your Life

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Are you in control of your life?

Do you make things happen or do you just let things happen?

Do you do something about the things that you don't like or do you just accept things as it is, even if it makes you miserable?

More often than not, people just let things happen in their life. Content on being just spectators in their own lives. It's like they are watching a blockbuster movie of themselves. Laughing and feeling happy when they see that things are going well. Crying and feeling depressed when things are really down. Angry and feeling irritated when things are not going their way.

Friends, if you want to be successful or want things to go your way, then you better take control of your life. Stop being just spectators in your own movie. Take control of it, write it, direct it and produce it. It's time you make things happen then just let things happen.

Successful people have control over their lives. They don't just let life direct what will happen to them. They take control and make things happen.

It's not easy to do though, because if you take control of your life, you have to be in control of everything. From your actions, emotions, words and thoughts. As in everything. But with practice and committment, you can do it.

How will you take control of your life?

You be the scriptwriter of your life. You dictate what will happen in your life and write it down. Put what you want to happen in words and be very specific. 

To know more about how to write your own script, check out my previous post on how to write your own script.

Never Stop Learning

Photo by Alex

Do you believe that you've already learned everything you need to learn in your business and career?

If yes, are you already where you want to be? If you answered yes, then congratulations on achieving what you want to achieve in life. If you answered no, then it only means that you haven't learned everything you need to learn in your business or career.

One secret of successful people is that they never stop learning. Even if they are already successful, they still look for ways to improve themselves and increase what they know. They don't assume they know everything, because they know there are always new things to learn in their business and career. They are always looking for people who have achieved more than they do and strive to learn from them.

They are eternal students.

Why do they do this? Because they believe that their success is determined by their value. The higher their value, the most likely they would succeed. And in order to increase their value, they need to keep on learning and improving themselves.

Just look at Kobe Bryant. He's already considered as one of the best shooting guards to ever play the game of basketball. Despite all of the championships and individual success that he has achieved, he still strives to improve his game. He still practice hard, learn new moves and skills and just gets better every year. That's why even at the age of 35, where most players would start to lose much of their physical abilities, he can still consistently play at a very high level. Much like Michael Jordan, arguably the best basketball player who ever played and who Kobe patterned his game with.

Successful people are always students of their respective field. They know that in order to be successful and to remain successful, they should never stop learning.

Don't Be Afraid To Fail Or Make Mistatkes

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Are you scared of failing or making mistakes?

How do you usually feel when you fail or make mistakes?

Do you feel bad or horrible about it? Do you mope around all day feeling worthless and ineffective? How about feeling angry and frustrated?

If you feel all that and more, that is normal. Everyone usually feel that way whenever they fail or make a mistake. You feel horrible, you feel angry at yourself, you feel worthless, it's all normal. And no one is expected from it, even successful people feel it. The difference though is that successful people don't let it get them down. Yes, initially they feel bad, they feel worthless. they feel angry. Then they get back up, learn from the failure and mistake, make adjustments, and try again. Even if they make fail again or make another mistake they just repeat the cycle, not stopping until they succeed.

This is because successful people know that failing or making mistake is not the end of the world, but the beginning of learning. They know they failed or made a mistake because there is something they did not know, so they use that mistake as a learning process. They examine the failure or the mistake and look for the lesson that they need to learn, then make the necessary adjustments and try again.

Most people though react differently. They feel bad and mope for a long time. Then they swear or make a promise that they will never make another mistake. So they become cautious in taking projects or starting something, because they only want to partake in something they know they will succeed at.

Failure or mistakes is actually a natural way of telling us that there is something we don't know. Like in my first attempt at starting a business. I was too focused on making sure that everything would be in order before I start operation. I was always tinkering even the tiniest details to make sure that when I start things would run smoothly.

However, most entrepreneurs would tell you that you cannot ensure that everything would be perfect before you begin. If you're aiming for everything to be perfect before starting your business, you likely won't be able to start it. It's better that start then learn quickly along the way. Something that I had to learn the hard way.

Failures and mistakes will happen. It usually signifies that there is something we don't know. So use your failures or mistakes as a way to learn something new. As Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, said in one of his books, "Winners are not afraid of losing. But losers are. Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success."

Learn To Be Lazy To Be Successful

Photo by Michele Westmorland

That's right, the title of the article is correct. You have to learn to be lazy to be successful.

I don't mean the kind of lazy where you just sit around or lie around all day on your couch and watch TV or play video games. Being lazy here means to be lazy from doing hard physical work. Because for you to succeed you need to be more of a hard thinker than a hard worker.

I'm not saying that hard work is not necessary, it is also important. But hard work alone won't make you successful. Just ask the millions of people who work very hard, but are somehow not getting ahead in their careers or business. Now take a look at the successful people. Yes they may work hard, but not nearly as hard as you'd think.

The difference between average people and successful people is that successful people work smart. They focus on the most important task at hand and just delegate the rest to other people.

Have you heard of the 80/20 rule? It's also known as the Pareto Principle wherein 80% of the results we want comes from only 20% of what we do. In short, in everything that we do in our business or career, only 20% of it will bring about majority of the results that we want. 

Think about it, among the things that you normally do in a day, which among them actually provide them with the results that you desire? Yes you can say that everything you do is important. Perhaps, but which among them actually bring about the results that you really want?

Try not to do everything yourself, focus only on what is important, then just delegate the rest to others. It's not being lazy if you delegate work, you're just working smart. And that's what you need to be successful.

Focus On What Is Right Instead Of Focusing On What Is Wrong

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• 1+1 = 2
• 2+2 = 4
• 3+3 = 5
• 4+4 = 8

What do you notice about the 4 bullet points above?

I'm sure most of you would say that the third bullet point (3+3=5) is wrong. That is true, but did you also notice that the bullet points above have 3 right answers?

One of the things that most (if not all) people do unconsciously is to focus on what is wrong. They tend to look for the bad thing or the negative or what went wrong in their lives, the people they meet, their relationship, their career or business, and so on. "I live in an old and small house," "my wife doesn't cook for me," "my job is hard," "I made a mistake on a project," and so on.

I am guilty of that as well. One of the reasons why I've changed jobs so often is that I always find something that I don't like in my current job. It could be the company, the policy, the job itself, the people, or whatever negative thing that I see. So I'm always looking for a new job in a new company with new people, to get ahead and increase my salary and also to get away from something that I didn't like.

I never appreciated the benefits or the right things that I was getting at in my jobs. Looking back at all of it now, the positives and the right things always outweigh whatever negative or wrong things I see or experience. I don't regret the choices that I made, because I'm happy where I am right now. However, I probably would have done things differently if everything happened today, with what I know now. At least this can be  reminder for me to be more appreciative and focus on what is right.

Friends, if you want to be truly blessed in your life, then you should focus on the good and right things that has happened or is happening in your life right now. Doing this will give you a more positive outlook in life, thus attracting more good things to happen. Use the negative or wrong things that has happened in your life as a learning experience. See what you could have done differently or how you could have reacted differently. Learn what you can from these wrong things, then move on and don't dwell on them anymore.

If you focus on what is wrong, you'll just attract more of it in your life. But if you focus on what is right, then you'll attract more right things. As Oprah Winfrey puts it, "Be thankful for what you have, you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never have enough.

Put Love In What You Do So You May Prosper

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I'd like to share a passage that Bro. Bo shared. It's in Deuteronomy 29-91, "Therefore keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do."

What this passage means is that if we do the covenant, we will be able to prosper in anything that we do.And what is the core covenant? It is actually love. So to translate, the message simply means that if we put love in anything that we do, we will prosper.

Do you love what you do? If you want to prosper you should. You see whenever you put love in your business, people will notice it. They will feel it and they will get attracted to it. Once people feel the love in your work, they'll want to come back because they feel good about your products or service. They feel your love, they feel that they are getting more than what they paid for.

This is also true for employees. If you put love in any project that you do, your boss will notice it. Because if you love what you do, you'll make sure that you'll do a good job on it and deliver on more than what is asked of you.

Just look at Steve Jobs. Why do you think Apple flourished under his watch? Aside from being a creative genius, it's because he loved what he was doing. He made sure that the products and service he would provide is of excellent quality, thus people gravitate towards the products that his company made.

If you can't put love in what you do, then why do it in the first place?

I'd like to end with a quote from Steve Jobs about loving what you do. "And the only way to do great work is to love what you do."