It is when you commit to take action now, that things happen. It is not enough to plan wonderful things, you have to actually do things in order to get great results.
It is magnificent to know that if you take action now you can be successful and learn some things in the process. The philosophy behind the “take action now” idea is that in order to get something done, you must take action and take that action now. There is no profit to be gained from planning unless you put some action to the plans. Without action, without putting in some actual work, plans are not worth a whole lot.
No matter how grand and wonderful your plans are, you will never succeed until you take action, and take now. I use this example I got from a Facebook status often to explain the principle:
There are five birds sitting on a telephone wire when half of them decide to fly off to Florida.
Question: How many birds are left on the telephone wire.
Answer: Five. Why, because deciding to do something is not the same as Taking Action Now and actually doing something.
Over the course of the last year, I have worked hard to accomplish a wide and varied set of goals both personally and professionally. Almost every goal I set for myself had a plan attached to it. Of course, some of the plans were complex requiring thousands upon thousands of words. Other plans were simple and just a few words were sufficient to get the idea out and across. None of the plans that I ignored were accomplished. Every plan that I applied the take action now philosophy to was accomplished. I learned and experienced in a real way that action makes my world go around.
I learned every day is a day to TAN aka take action now. I began to hold myself accountable for the success or failure I experienced. I learned that when I decided to TAN my behavior was contagious and made others who saw what I was doing start getting TANs of their own. I learned that I could create a new reputation for myself as a person who gets things done. By taking action now, I became a person who could be relied upon to help others get things done.
If you want to read more ideas about how to take action now and get things done, check out:
Take Action Now and Get Healthy All Over– While it is important to have good physical health, we must also strive to have good health mentally, emotionally, sexually, spiritually, and financially. Click here to read more.
and
Create a TAN Network to Help You Take Action Now– When you are at a point where you need help to take action now and to get motivated to take action, but cannot act on your own, it is time to gather a support network. Click here to read more.
Also, check out our Confidence Tip of the Day YouTube channel for hundreds of videos on creating the confidence you need to succeed.
When I took action, I was able to accomplish:
* Create a focused internet magazine
* Increase the size and reach of the on-line community I helped create
* Participate in joint business ventures with people I respect
* Organize effective study and work plans for my children’s school work
* Live a more balanced and satisfying life
In other words, I learned that when I take action now, I can succeed at whatever I put my mind and action into accomplishing. I learned that just as faith without work is dead, plans without action are dead. I offer those of you who are reading this the opportunity to learn the same lesson. Stop planning without doing any work. Instead, start each day with a plan to take action now and get done what needs doing.
[Tweet ” Stop stalling, take action now and learn you can succeed”]
In conclusion, it is magnificent to know that if you take action now you can be successful and learn some things in the process. So, the question for you this magnificent day is, what is the biggest lesson you learned when you tried to take action now?
I am glad that you like the story. The first time I heard it I had to read it again also.
I like your idea because the best TAN starts with a plan.
Hahahahaha, no I do not tan, but I TAN. Love the play on words.
The first steps are scary, but just like when we learned to walk, we cannot let fear and the falls keep us from moving forward!
It is okay to have a pity party because parties come to an end. After the pity party, take action now!
That is true to take action now while there is still time to do it rather than waiting. Thanks for sharing this informative and interesting post.
Oh my! I could read this blog post every morning. I had to read that bird on a wire example twice to get it! I definitely get it. Thanks for the encouragement!
I like the idea of taking action now! Baby steps count!
Good point! Take action now – the first step is often times the hardest.
I tend to get stuck, and if I don’t, I tend to move forward too quickly. Finding that balance is the key to success, I think!
Very, very true. Deciding to do something is NOT the same as DOING it. Good point!
Oh wow.. when I saw TAN.. I was thinking sunshine 🙂 Yes, I agree! I’ve realized that many times you actually save time by “doing it now” than putting it on a checklist.
Sometimes I just have to sit down and take a deep breath and come up with the best course of action.
even baby steps count as taking action
That is such a great point. I am a little of a procrastanator.
Great post… no matter what it is, getting started always seems to be the hardest step…
This is a good message. I plan on taking a break over the holidays to regroup and decide what I want to do for the next year.
The biggest lesson I learned is that taking action i snot always easy, but hard work pays off!
What a great acronym! I just knew you couldn’t have possibly meant you actually tanned. Great message, thanks as always!
YES! Taking action now is imperative to reaching any goal. Its even imperative to encouraging yourself in the pursuit of larger goals. I feel so great when I take some kind of action – I feel like I can do so much more. Every day I take some kind of action step. This is a great post.
Love the acronym — I’m working on trying not to procrastinate!
Very true, indeed! It’s so important to stop just TALKING about things and DO them. I try to tell people this all the time AND … I try to remind myself. It can be hard and scary to take the first steps!
So true! For the past year, I’ve stopped just talking about what I was going to do and took action!
What a great post that we should be active in our lives. Thanks for the reminder.
I needed that. I was having a bit of a pity party day today. My success or failure is in my hands. I need to stop thinking about it and just TAN.
When I take action now it saves me a ton of stress and anxiety!
I will take action. Been in planning stage for a while and now need to get off my duff and make it happen… Thanks
LOVED reading about those BIRDS!! I am going to tell that story to someone!! Deciding is NOT TAKING ACTION! SO true! TAKE ACTION NOW!
It is so hard to push through the hard times but it is well worth it!
This is so true! My husband is in the process of taking action to build his business right now!
So true. I often wait around and should learn to just do it!
Thank you for sharing this. I suffer from a big procrastination problem that has caused problems before. I have had to train myself to make to-do lists and really push myself… but when I do? Things happen!
I always start with a list and then chip away taking action one step at a time.
You always have so many good things to say!
I love this! I always try to live by this sentiment but it’s a reminder is always helpful. There are some things I need to take action with today.
Wooo hoooo!!!! That is a great lesson to learn! I am happy for you.
I learned that I am capable of a heck of a lot more than I thought I was!
The best thing I have learned is ” Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today!” I try to follow this quote, because truthfully, I can be the queen of procrastination!
I really need to follow this message myself! So encouraging!
I really love that message – TAKE ACTION NOW. I mean, really, everything you want to accomplish has to begin with action!
Breaking things down on a to-do list allows me to take action. Then I can look back at the end of just one day and see how much progress I have made – that motivates me to take action the following day too!
I like your analogy of the birds on the wire. It is so true that our thoughts only matter when we turn them into action!
Sometimes the best thing to do when you are overwhelmed is just begin!
Sometimes you just have to push forward and make things happen!
This is so true. Being stuck isn’t any good, you have to take action and make things happen!