How To Rise Above The Rest

THE ONE THEY ARE LOOKING FOR If you do a quick browse of paragraphs describing the person different companies are searching for to lead, one descriptive phrase shows up over and over: “action-oriented.” What does that mean and how can you be that? Well, there’s a difference between action and motion. Motion doesn’t necessarily mean action. Motion sets the platform of the task which produces no results on its own. However, action is what produces an outcome. For example, you want to build a firepit at our house. You collect ideas, do an internet search for a diagram/instructions, you print it out and show it to your spouse and get an enthusiastic response. That’s motion. It won’t be action that actually matters until you actually buy the supplies, set aside a Saturday, and actually construct the pit. I can hear some wives wanting to send this little paragraph to their husbands! Plans are simply motions until you take action. Action is the only way goals can be achieved. Businesses are well-acquainted with systems and plans that look good on paper and in the idea form. To rise above the crowd and lead to success, you have to be action oriented. Here are some suggestions to help you.

1. Set time limits on planning.

Planning is important. But we can become fixated with this phase. We can make lists and perfect our plans so long that very little practically gets accomplished. Don’t over plan or over think. Take some action every day towards the big goals.

1. Recover from failure quickly.

Failure is part of life. If you don’t fail, you can never taste success. Learn from the mistakes and try not to repeat it again. Don’t give up on a good thing because something didn’t work and your first attempt was less than glorious. A child would never learn to ride a bike if failure stopped their progress. Give yourself the same grace now.

1. Make self-discipline your motivating force.

No one has the capacity to discipline you the way YOU can. No one wants to take long term responsibility for motivating you. When you lack discipline, you waste time and energy, Even worse, you waste opportunities that float by when you are not organized or alert enough to recognize and take advantage of them.

1. Reward yourself.

When you complete an action, reward yourself in some way. Even a brisk walk in the sunshine when the front-end of the day’s project will energize you for more. When you give yourself rewards for action, your brain will actually thrive on more and more action.

1. Cultivate curiosity, and a bit of personal impatience.

Every innovator is a curious cat. Every stuck person says, “Curiosity killed the cat.” You have to want to know and see what will happen in order to get anything done, and being a little impatient for the outcome is good as well. Critical impatience is not what you want—just the impatience for a great outcome that sharpens your urgency to make the right things happen.

1. Picture yourself as you want to be.

When you set a goal, picture yourself already there, Visualize yourself as successful, and having the sense of accomplishment that awaits you. The more clearly you can see yourself as the person you want to be, the more willpower you will have to take the difficult steps to get there. This is the secret of every successful weight loss program—picturing yourself as the healthy and attractive person you want to be. Put it to work for you in every area. Enough planning for right now. Get busy and do something. Take action.