‘Luck may or may not be on your side BUT action is 100% within your control’ says Sally Hogshead in Radical Careering.
Sally is so right! As the author of Fascinate she is a brilliant speaker and this quote got me thinking… we need to spend less energy talking about what COULD or SHOULD be done… and just get on with it! Productivity is about all the small choices you make on a daily basis.
It’s not about luck – it’s about taking action.
Get uncomfortable
If you find yourself in a ‘comfort zone’ at work or in your personal life it is time to take action to change it up; increase your activity, focus on your health or do something that takes you outside your comfort zone. I recently hired a personal trainer (holy guacamole batman… boy is that uncomfortable) – ha ha – before I even leave the studio my body is uncomfortable but I know that the discomfort means I am making progress – where do you need to get uncomfortable?
Start small win big
Focus your attention on the small daily decisions that are affecting your action. Concentrate on completing activities within 15 minute increments i.e. answer email, go for a quick walk, call a client to thank them for their business or have a face to face conversation with someone you care about. Your small daily decisions will help you achieve massive results! What small decisions could you make daily that would give you massive returns?
Don’t talk… just do it
Nike’s ad agency Weiden & Kennedy and a group of their employees was onto something in 1988 when they created this simple but memorable slogan ‘just do it’. We need to take this to heart– less talk, more action. If you want to increase your productivity just do it, if you want to reduce your email – stop sending so many, if you want to get healthy – go for a walk! Productivity is not about talking, it is about taking action. What can you ‘just start’ this week to get you closer to your goals?
When people tell me I am ‘so lucky’ I smile … I know it is not luck that achieves goals it is action. All the action heroes I admire (especially Wonder Woman) took action… what action can you take today?
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Now that’s productive!
This was a great post! Another cliche is “hope is not a method.” Think about it…we can’t sit back and hope!!!??? We have to take the action necessary that makes it more likely to succeed. Luck and hope are for lottery players.
Amen! There was a great sales book I saw years ago called Hope is NOT a strategy!