DO IT NOW

Do It Now

When going to school many years ago, I decided to challenge myself by setting a goal to see if I could start my own business. But I don’t have any clear idea about it. I had tried out with some different things like coaching class, Website designing, software projects. I didn’t get that much success because my goal is not precise.

Now my first step is to know exactly what I want. When I work for myself, it's easy to spend a whole day at my desk and accomplish nothing of value. This almost always happens when I aren't really clear about what it is I am trying to do. In the moments when I regain my awareness, ask myself, "What exactly is it that I'm trying to accomplish here?" I must know my destination with as much clarity as possible. Make my goals specific, and put them in writing my goals must be so clear that it would be possible for a stranger to look at my situation objectively and give I an absolute "yes" or "no" response as to whether I've accomplished each goal or not. If I cannot define my destination precisely, how will I know when I've arrived?

The key period I've found useful for defining and working on specific goals is ninety days. In that period of time, I can make dramatic and measurable changes if I set crystal clear goals. Take a moment to stop and write down a snapshot description of how I want my life to be ninety days from now. What will my monthly income be? How much will I weigh? Who will my friends be? Where will I be in my career? What will my relationship be like? Be specific.

Just as an airplane on autopilot must make constant corrections to stay on course, I must periodically retarget my goals. Reconnect with my clear, written goals by re-reading them every morning. Keep them on my cell, especially my financial goals. I continued setting specific income goals, even amidst occasional setbacks, and I found this process very effective. It wasn't just that it helped me focus on what I wanted -- perhaps even more important is that it made it easy for me to disregard those things that weren't on the path to my goal. For example, if I set a goal to earn $10,000/month, this can help I stop doing those things that will only earn I $5000/month.

Most people allow way too long in the state of "I don't know what to do." They wait for some external force to provide them with clarity, never realizing that clarity is self-created. The universe is waiting on you, not the other way around, and it's going to keep waiting until I finally make up my mind. Waiting for clarity is like being a sculptor staring at a piece of marble, waiting for the statue within to cast off the unneeded pieces. Do not wait for clarity to spontaneously materialize -- grab a chisel and get busy!

I believe that having a clear goal is far more important than having a clear plan. In school I was very clear about my end goal – become not an ordinary man -- but my plans were in a constant state of flux.

Most people seem to have an innate fear of failure, but failure is really my best friend. People who succeed also fail a great deal because they make a lot of attempts. Those who have the most successes also have the most failures. There is nothing wrong or shameful in failing. The only regret lies in never making the attempt. So I did it.