Start more, plan less, get moving
The times I’ve been most successful in my life have been when I have done the least amount of planning and just started something. Conversely it seems the more I have planned, the less action I have taken. Don’t get me wrong, planning is important. But taking action and doing something is more important. It is easy to fall into a pattern of over planning and under performing.
Just starting leads to success
I will share two stories which show how getting moving and just starting something has led to big success for me.
Professional story: In 2002 I was looking for a new job. It was important for me in my new venture to have freedom, make a healthy income, and control my own destiny. A good friend of mine was having great success in the direct mail business and asked me to visit him so I could see his operation. I visited him and saw a lot of potential for myself to succeed. I decided to move forward, without much planning, and made my decision on what I saw he was doing with the business. I started the following week, put my head down and cold called, set appointments, and worked crazy hours to be successful. I had no customer base, no experience in the field, and no salary. I just got moving with small successes, which led to bigger successes and ultimately built an extremely successful direct marketing business, which grew largely from referrals.
Fitness story: In 2013 I swam a 2.4 mile ocean race, called Peaks to Portland in Maine and came in 10th place out of approximately 330 swimmers. I was 45 years old and hadn’t competed in that race for 16 years. I had decided the prior winter to swim the race for a few reasons. I had lost 45 pounds and wanted to keep the weight off. Also, I had started competing again that winter for the first time in many years. I wanted a goal to train for, and I knew it would help motivate me to train regularly. Swimming is a sport that requires discipline, motivation, and hard work to compete. The key to success for me is that I got moving and just started. I didn’t over plan my workout strategy. I just started swimming. At first it was 3 days a week and built it to 4-5 days a week. I travel a lot, so I planned my hotel stays near YMCA’s to make sure I could get my workouts in. I made the decision to just start, and it has changed my life.
Just start: Five ways to get moving
Following are five tips to get in action today:
- Set small goals. Don’t create a goal that’s too big. Big goals can prevent you from getting moving. Small goals are easy to achieve and a lot easier to start. Once you start with small goals and get in action to achieve them, it will lead to bigger goals.
- Find an accountability partner. It could be a spouse, friend, or relative. It helps to let others who care about you know what you are doing and provide support to each other.
- Surround yourself with positivity. A great way to do this is to start your day with a short meditation, motivational audio, or motivational book. 15 minutes is perfect.
- Create your vision. What is your vision? Create your vision and write it down. Read it every day. Take it a step further and create a vision board with pictures of what you want in life. Having a strong vision will help motivate from within to take action.
- Just start. Really.
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Michael Hurd, Executive Coach
mike@hurdmarketing.com
