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Do you talk about the great things you want to do in life but never get around to actually accomplishing them? If you want to achieve success, now is the time to put your words into action. This is the point where many individuals get discouraged. It’s fun to dream up lofty accomplishments, but when it comes to the part where you have to put in some real work, the exercise loses some of its appeal to the average person.
But you are not average. This is where you have the opportunity to separate yourself from the pack. You will find that taking action is not as tiresome as you imagine. You don’t have to do anything that requires too much sacrifice. You just have to act.
You will now break away from the crowd simply by doing. You’ve already worked on becoming a good observer. That is one type of action that will lead to success. What are other things you can do today to send you on the road to achievement?
Don’t put undue pressure on yourself. You don’t have to come up with something brilliant. Just button your lip and get off the couch. That’s a great first step. Do you have unfinished projects around the house? Pick one and do it. You will feel great when you’re finished. Don’t get overwhelmed by all of the things you’ve left undone. Just pick one job and complete it. You can worry about other stuff another day.
Your assignment today is to pick one thing around the house that you have been meaning to complete and finish it. When you’re done, congratulate yourself with something fun and a little frivolous.
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You are now becoming a person of action. How does it feel? It can be quite a powerful experience. Even a little bit of work gives you a large return in the form of pride and accomplishment.
Jonathon became a man of action. He started with little tasks and stayed in motion, and soon he found he was accomplishing things he never thought possible. He even built a workroom onto his house where he could follow his dream of woodworking.
When Jonathon’s wife entered his newly-finished workshop, she gasped as she gazed around. She had always known he was quite an artist when it came to woodworking, but she had no idea he had the gumption to follow through with something like this. Jonathon started many projects in the past, but he finished very few. Just months prior, she had been badgering him to get his unfinished woodblocks off of her craft table in the basement.
“This is beautiful!” She smiled.
Jonathon hiked up his pants and looked around, busting with pride. “Yep, I thought I would start off by building you a birdhouse; then I’m going to re-do all of the cabinets in the kitchen; next, I think I’ll design and build an entertainment center for the living room . . .”
Your assignment today is to continue to be a person of action. Don’t interrupt your efforts with talk. Get back to work.
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Jonathon’s wife in yesterday’s story was at first impressed by his new workshop, but then she became immediately skeptical of his actions when he started to talk big about his future plans. At that point, she had only seen him carry out one project to completion. She didn’t have much evidence to suggest he would finish all of the other schemes he boasted about.
You must remember to be modest in speech even when you start to become a person of action. You will want to talk about what you’ve done, because you’re happy about your accomplishments. You are proud that you made a very important change in your life. That is a great triumph! But avoid the temptation to talk about what you’ve done. Pile up more actions instead to build your success.
Push forward in the action category, and you will be happily surprised with the results. You don’t have to tell anyone what you are doing. They will look at the evidence and realize you are someone who gets a job done. No further explanation is necessary at this point.
Your job today is to exceed in actions. Today you will avoid lethargy and stay in motion. Find out just how much you can accomplish in twenty-four hours. At the end of the day, make a list of everything you did in your notebook. How does it look? Could you have done more? This list is for your eyes only. Don’t show it to anyone else. The next day you will get back into action and keep the secret of your success to yourself.
