What are you waiting for?

What are you waiting for?Have you ever wondered why some people are successful while others are not? What is it that separates the haves from the have nots? While some people toil away at unfulfilling jobs, linger in overweight bodies or struggle with difficult relationships, there are a select few who seem to sail through life. They write the great American novel, create wildly successful businesses or strut their rock hard abs. What is their secret? Successful people take action.

You may be saying, "Wait, that's the answer to the great big secret to success? That's too simple." Yes, it is simple, however, simple does not mean easy. Take for, for example, weight loss. Loosing weight is not rocket science. We all know to lose weight you have to eat fewer calories and expend more energy. Of course, there are different methods to this process, but it all pretty much boils down to calories and energy. So if it's so simple why are we not all walking around in super svelte bodies? It's because knowing something and DOING something are completely different. You must take ACTION to see results. You must get your ass to the gym!

If we know what to do, why are we not all racing out of our houses to get to aerobics class? Because it's hard and makes us uncomfortable. In order to be successful you are going to have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. You will have to do things you don't feel like doing. Many people think they will do something when they get properly motivated. They hire coaches or read inspirational books. And while those things are all great helps, YOU are still the one that has to do the work. But here's the good news. Once you START to take action, you DO start to feel like doing the work. You DO start to feel motivated.

Most people think the emotion will come and then they will take action. That's backwards thinking. When you start taking action you start to create a cascade of positive emotions that keep you motivated. You start to see progress and glimpses of your success which gives you even more energy to take more action. It's an upward spiral. 

Here are three tips to get you and keep you on PAR with success:

1. PREPARE-What do you need to do to set yourself up for success? Are there supplies you need? Do you need to put things on your calendar? Are there people you need to contact? When you know WHAT you need to do, it will be easier to get started.

2. ACT-What one thing can you do each day to move you closer to your goal? DO IT. Make a phone call, write your outline, buy some damn carrots! Do SOMETHING. Even doing one small thing will help you feel motivated to take the next step. All action is physical. Even if you think for a living, you still need to physically write down your thoughts. So get out of your brain and into your body.

3. REBOUND-If you try an action and it fails, GET UP AND TRY AGAIN. Imagine you were running an important race on a track with hundreds of spectators. Now imagine you tripped on your shoelace and fell flat on your face in front of all those people. What would you do? Would you just lay there? No, you would get up and finish the race and hopefully, you would have learned to tuck in your laces for the next race. The only way you really fail is if you stay down and let the world trample on you.

Stop waiting to feel ready to act. ACT like you are ready succeed and soon you will be the one winning the race.