Just Do It!

Now be honest, the first thing that came to your mind when you read the title of this column was a running shoe, wasn’t it?  “Just Do It” has become synonymous with Nike shoes as a point to action.  They are effectively telling us to take action and move on our desires.  There is something about taking action on a project or dream that is inspirational and motivating.  It feels like success.

A number of years ago I worked in the home office for a privately held (family owned) hotel company. We were all given our own personalized note pads for use in communication with each other as well as our teams in the field.  But these note pads were unique in a very special way.  In fact I can honestly say that I have not seen any others like them before or since.  At the bottom of each sheet was the bold command: DO IT NOW!   As I look back on those early days of my career, I realize that the family I worked for had mastered a principle that most people never get the hang of doing.  They had learned how to conquer procrastination.

I was recently working with a client who had all the experience, expertise and ability that her boss had, but she had never strived to move up to the next level in her career.  When I asked her why, she simply told me that the time and circumstances had never been right.  I had to give her the bad news: “The time and circumstances never will be right.”  People who are always waiting on external factors to line up just right, before they make their move, will undoubtedly live lives of quiet desperation as they “wait” their life away.  

DO IT NOW!  Procrastination is the number one dream-killer.   Procrastination will cause you to be a poor employee, business person, spouse, parent and friend.  People that say they will get around to it never do.  Think for one moment of a task you wanted to accomplish this year, and didn’t.   What if you had taken action on that task when you thought of it and not allowed life’s circumstances to get in your way?   How far down the road would you be now?  

My encouragement to you today is simply this:  pick something from your “want-to” list and JUST DO IT!  DO IT NOW!   This is the perfect time and place for you to get started.  Make a small step today, then another tomorrow and so on.  The hardest part for most people is just getting started.  I promise that the moment you take that first step, you will begin getting excited about that fact that you are actually “doing” something.  Take Action Now!

For an easy to print version of this article for use in meetings or trainings, click here.