The Power Of Now
I think too many people wait for other people to tell them what to do before they do it. It's almost like there's some sort of gratification we receive from hearing the words "it's your time. Go get it!"
The only problem with this is that this type of succession rarely happens!
Seriously though! It rarely happens. Other than in relay races and some family run businesses, it's not a very common thing.
What's even more interesting to me is that a lot of us know that this succession does not exist.
Yet... we wait.
Why do we wait?
- We think we have more time.
- We are afraid of failure
- We are afraid of success
- We don't feel ready
What are the consequences of waiting?
- Our dreams die everyday
- The world doesn't wait
- We miss out on a chance to grow
- We miss out on a chance to make an impact
Doing nothing while the world around us changes makes us victims to excuses. We begin to give ownership of our dreams to outside forces and before you know it, you become lost in a world you never imagined for yourself.
So how can we change this?
It all starts with self-discipline or self-love or self-discipline...
AHHH... They are the same thing!!!
Self-love = Self-discipline.
Will Smith once said, “when you say that you love yourself, that means that you have behavior towards yourself that is loving” and he was right. That's exactly what discipline is.
OK let's get started on that loving.
State Your Legacy: The first thing you need to do is to state your legacy. What do you want to be remembered for?
Set Targets: Give yourself deadlines for goals you plan to achieve in three months, six months, 1 year, 3 years and 5 years. You need to give your brain and heart something to train for.
Rearrange Your Environment: Get rid of your depressors and surround yourself with elevators. Your depressors are people who constantly bring you down by whining, complaining or being negative. Your elevators are those who elevate and challenge you to be the best version of yourself. You're the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
Create Accountability: Find someone you can trust and respect and tell them about your mission. If you're feeling ambitious, find several people for different goals but whatever you do, be clear with why you chose them and why you want to achieve this dream. This makes them feel part of your mission and it builds trust. Great accountability is a two way street.
Examine your day to day habits: Keeping track of your day to day habits. This not only helps you form new habits to achieve your goals; it also helps you break your bad habits as well. Track your activities everyday and see how they relate to that legacy plan you set for yourself.
Don't get stuck with paralysis by analysis! Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try. It doesn't matter what others are doing. It matters what you are doing. It's not how you start, it's how you finish. As Ralph Marston once said, "what you do today can improve all your tomorrows." There is power in the now so START & USE YOUR DIFFERENCE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.