You likely have an endless list of things you want to accomplish in your life and business.
Every great thing you want to achieve comes with a whole set of tasks, may take an unknown amount of time to accomplish, and often has a learning curve or certain hurdles to overcome.
Goals & ideas are fun, until reality sets in. It's quite easy to get discouraged before you ever even get started...
The solution: Take Action Now!
A common roadblock is needing confirmation that your idea will pan out, or that you can realistically achieve your goal. Maybe you spend your time planning out every last detail to ensure success - which results in a lot of thinking & planning, but very little doing. Or maybe you get worried you can't achieve your goal(s) at all.
Subconscious self-sabotage, perhaps?
Just Get Started!
Whether you're looking at a bigger long-term goal or a single project, it's easy to get overwhelmed to the point that you get stalled on it altogether.
Let's look at writing a report for example. It's an easy enough task, until you start thinking about all the technical aspects. All of a sudden you find yourself overwhelmed with formatting, uploading, payment processing, product delivery, etc.
That sense of overwhelm tends to stall us right in our tracks. It's all so unnecessary, though. Forget everything else and just write the report. You can figure out each of the technical steps as you need to, when it's time to do them.
Those details are pointless without the finished product, anyway. 😉
Take Action Now and Put Things In Motion!
Ideas without action are completely useless. Find a single starting point, and dive in. Action is what gets the ball rolling, then you can figure out the details as you go.
It's impossible to foresee everything upfront, or to calculate exactly how things will go. That includes all of the simple solutions and awesome opportunities that will become available to you... once you actually get started.
When I started my first business almost 16 years ago, I did not start out with even the slightest clue how it would turn out. I had hopes and dreams of course, and I worked toward specific goals, but my main goal was to just get it up and running and then figure things out from there.
I could have never known what would transpire over the next few years. Between changes in technology, evolving markets, and new opportunities... my business grew in directions that didn't even exist when I was still in my planning phase.
Throw in unplanned life events, such as an unexpected divorce and my son becoming ill, and life and business both took a whole new turn. I had to adjust, change my business model, and ultimately ended up where I am today. But only because I never stood still - I kept putting one foot in front of the other. I continued to evolve both with technology and with the changes in my life, and just created new goals.
You can never plan out every little detail upfront, so don't even bother. Just take action toward your goals, because it's that action on your part that gets the ball rolling. Once you do set things in motion, be prepared for the ride of your life! 😀
Of course, nothing will ever happen at all if you don't get started.
While there's a certain power in setting goals and positive thinking and all that jazz - you won't "attract" anything (certainly not success) without investing yourself fully into your ideas. It's only after you take the first step toward them that they become real enough to attract anything at all.
Your goals aren't tangible until you bring them to life!
Writing a report, which I mentioned above, is a great example. I use that method with almost everything I do. If I'm studying a new model or method for my business, I implement everything I learn as I go. Trying to read an entire guide in one sitting (and retain all of that information) completely overwhelms me. I learn best getting my hands dirty, and experiencing the details hands-on.
You can study all day long, but knowledge doesn't bring results. Action does.
As another example, I am currently creating a digital product. I thought I had it all figured out upfront, and in usual form sat down to outline the content first - and then work through the technical aspects one at a time, in proper order.
Once I got started, new ideas surfaced. Ideas I wouldn't have considered, and options I wouldn't have been paying attention to, if I weren't right in the thick of actively working on the project.
What I thought I had all figured out upfront has evolved into something even better! As each idea and option came to mind, I took immediate action on it and implemented the changes. The inspiration for those came from a variety of sources - sources I wouldn't have been tuned into otherwise.
Implementing as you go is the key. Whatever you are considering, studying, or most want to do - take action now. Everything else will fall into place as you move forward, including the right people and the right solutions.
If you need personal hands-on help with your business goals & ideas, see: Getting Serious About Making Money Online. My Private Brainstorming Group is the one place where I help people achieve their goals, every single step of the way. It's a great community of action takers and savvy online business owners on all levels. I invite you to take action, join in, and let us help you get started!
Whatever you most want to do, just get started. Start somewhere. Anywhere even. Everything else will fall into place once you put that first foot forward and start consistently moving in the direction of your goal.
What if you take the wrong action? What if it flops, or you fail? So what! Trust me, that experience will take you in the RIGHT direction. You'll learn something from it, meet someone in the process, or discover a better action to take next.
I've taken the "wrong action" plenty of times in my 15+ years in business, and experienced plenty of "flops" too! Just keep going. Learn and move forward. Because standing still or being stalled will get you nowhere fast...
Take Action Now 😀
Best,
p.s. If you're struggling with the technical aspects of creating digital products, or creating a solid Product Funnel for your online business, I highly recommend you tune in to http://www.diyproductpipeline.com This is what I am following myself as I work on my own products. But remember: don't just study, implement everything you learn as you go - and get that ball rolling... today! 😉
About Lynn Terry
Thanks I really need this post today, I have sat and looked at a blank piece of paper most of the morning.
Time to do something (even if it's wrong). Thanks again
I really appreciated this article and the simplicity behind action Lynn. One of my favorite sayings is "Getting ready to get ready" and I come across this all the time. People feel like they need to spend so much time getting ready for all the obstacles by researching and preparing, that they never get started. I wrote an articled called 3 Steps To Get Your Life Back On Track, http://www.rohitrohila.com/2011/11/29/3-simple-steps-to-get-your-life-back-on-track, that talks about similar things, about moving forward with your life. Simple steps can help you feel better about yourself and help you gain momentum. Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts.
Planning before doing something is a good part. But, just thinking and planning forever, and not putting it into action will make no good to a person. Once you have planned and decided what you want to do, quickly go ahead with the plan so that it does not get too late for you to achieve success in that part of work.
Great article, Lynn. Let's see ... action steps. Here's where I am:
- I've bought my domain name (so-so, IMO, but so many of the good ones are taken) and I've got hosting.
- I've done the initial content for my Home and About pages.
- I've no idea how to upload images. Everybody assumes you know this.
- I'm being very careful with my rates. I ask myself, are they too high, are they too low? I'm in a competitive field. This is one thing you can't get wrong even at the outset.
- The tech aspects of putting my site together ... WordPress is confusing!
- I'm not sure how to choose a theme for a service site.
- I'm trying to get my testimonials together. Those providing them have not gotten back to me.
So you can take action and still not be ready. Some steps depend on knowledge I don't yet have, other steps depend on others' actions, and still others require money I don't have.
But I keep on keeping on. Somehow ... I will have it ready to go live.
Hi Ana,
A good community will help you through most of that. You'll have questions, and hit stumbling blocks, along the way. Feel free to come ask at http://www.clicknewz.com/members/ so you can get through those a little quicker! 😉
This is a great post. These are great advices for all bloggers. Thanks!
Loved this post, Lynn. Feels good to know that even you took some wrong turns every now and then, got stuck and then just found the motivation to keep going. I think if you ask every successful entrepreneur out there, every one of them will tell you the same story: you have to fail a few times before you succeed ! 🙂 Thanks for the motivation !
Hey Lynn,
I know when I stall on an idea or project it is because there is some doubt in my head. I hate that feeling. It's so paralyzing! When it happens you really have to go on blind faith and keep plowing forward.
I guess for me I fear that the project will flop and I wasted all that time on it. But you will never know that until you see the project forward to it's completion.
This was a great post Lynn. I know a lot of entrepreneurs struggle with this including myself.
Great post. Sometimes I just can't seem to figure out a starting place and that's the hardest part! I always find that once I just get started it always goes much better then I kept thinking in my head.
Thanks for your response, Lynn. And I love reading the other respondents' views and hearing about their progress. I've stayed away from forums for a while only because I don't know if it's wise to broadcast my niche, etc., with questions especially in a competitive field. But it seems I've no other choice for now except to trust your forum.
That is what's great about a private forum or private group. Inside my Private Brainstorming Group on the ClickNewz Forum http://www.clicknewz.com/members/ only active members can interact and view threads & details. It's a great group, and even members in the same niches find ways to work together or co-promote in a way that benefits everyone. 😀
I was in the private brainstorming forum for a while last year. Unfortunately I had to leave for a while. I'll join again when I'm in a position to do so. Meanwhile ... I can only take part in public forums, which is a risk.
I don't seem to be able to respond in the public forums. It says I don't have access. Lynn, do you know why?
Looks like you got it resolved via the email I sent you earlier. 😉 See you on the forum!
I'm always amazed, Lynn, at how you talk to me. I've been feeling this analysis paralysis a lot lately since I've created a new website but need to write my new content and I'm enrolled in two courses (for some time) and haven't yet made my way through them. You are so right; I'm paralyzed by the technical aspects, time consumption, fatigue of info overload.
Thank you for yet another reminder to "just do it" one step at a time and it will get accomplished.
I like to micro-task. In fact, I'll write more on that this week as it's a great way to overcome that overwhelming feeling. 😉 *cheers*