Just Take Action

For those of you that follow me on Instagram, I posted something on Friday about Tony Robbins. Tony Robbins is one of the most well-known speakers in the world. When I went to do a little research on him to post something, they kept talking about how he inspires people to take action. Shortly after creating that post, I was watching videos on YouTube and came across someone talking about what they called MINS. That is short for Most Important Next Steps. They talked about doing things that take only a few minutes, but they build momentum towards whatever is next. It reminded me a lot of the article about boredom. When you are bored and can’t get going, you need to find a way to take action. You need to find a way to take that next step. Months ago, I was going through one of those periods where every single day I would think of a new topic to write about. I took most of those topics and created an article, and in some cases, I found a way to combine a few topics and turn them into one article. Last week when I was going through my notes, I noticed that there was a topic that I never got to. The article was going to be me taking us all the way back to 1988 and looking at one of the most brilliant ad campaigns ever created. If you grew up in the eighties and nineties you know exactly what I am going to say, the brand was Nike, the slogan was “Just Do it”! In the late eighties Nike went from a running shoe company to a lifestyle brand that celebrated anyone willing to move.  In the nineties, Nike took off! I remember Michael Jordan and Bo Jackson being the face of the brand. Just Do It became shorthand for attitude and confidence. I remember being in high school during this time and Just Do It was written everywhere you went and on every surface you could see. All these years later, you can still hear the cry from Gen X’ers everywhere, Just Do It! Why after all these years do we still love to say it? Why after all these years is it still important? Right now, we live in a world where anything is possible, you can create anything, information is available everywhere and you can make as much money as you want. No game plan? Ask Chat GPT. No excuses! The only thing preventing you from getting whatever you want is you being afraid to take that next step. The first thing we need to acknowledge is that being afraid of the next step is ok. You are afraid because you know that it’s a big step. I can’t remember the exact quote, but I know there is quote that talks about how you have to pay the price either way. You pay the price of hard work and pushing yourself or you pay the price of regret.  Fear is proof that you’re standing on the edge of growth. You can pay the price of effort now, or the price of regret later – but either way, you pay! Either way it costs you, so recognize that you are feeling a certain way because it’s a huge step. Next, break it down into smaller steps. Instead of saying I want to write a book, maybe just start by writing down the topic and the titles of each chapter. When that is done, figure out the next step and work on that. I don’t need to write a book by next week, but I can think of a title and some chapter topics by next week. After that, focus on your why to keep you going. Why do I want to do this, and if I can do it, what will the future look like? The last step is more important than people realize. Think of all this as a shift in identity. If I want to lose weight, my new identity is someone who eats well and works out. When I talk to myself, I need to talk to myself as someone who eats well and works out. If I want to be a content creator, I need to think and act like someone who creates content. I need to be writing every single day. I need to be putting something out there every single day. Why? Because that’s what a content creator does!

Focus for the Week

Spend some time this week thinking about what you want. What do I want my future to look like? After you do that, what is the next step you need to take? Don’t think about the next ten steps, what is the next step you need to take. Just Do It!