You probably have something exciting that you’ve been thinking about doing for a long time.
Every leader has dreams, goals and hopes.
The challenge is you haven’t done anything about it … yet.
And as a result, so few leaders end up with a track record of accomplishment.
Why?
Because almost all of us struggle with something the most effective leaders in their field don’t struggle with.
What is it?
It’s a bias so few leaders have. But the great ones all possess.
Three Friends—One Bias
A few years ago, I began to notice a trend among some friends that were accomplishing a lot.
One good friend was launching a business and was frustrated with the lack of traction he was seeing that week. So he decided to host a webinar … 10 days later. Believe it or not, 600 people joined him for it.
I had another friend who launched a weekly podcast 18 months ago, as a side-line to his full time job. This was at a time when I was still thinking about launching a leadership podcast. At the time I was thinking a monthly podcast was a huge commitment. But he launched … weekly. Convicting.
Now to a third friend. He’s a prolific reader (40-50 books a year) and a super smart thinker and speaker. I told him he needs to write a book. He said he had thought about it.
I urged him to do it and so did another friend. Within a few weeks he had sent me draft chapters to review. Amazing.
What do all three leaders have in common?
A bias for action.
Maybe You’re Hallucinating
This challenges me because I tend to think about things a lot before acting.
For example, I thought about hosting a podcast for two years before I launched this one (and, yes, I ended up going weekly in the end). To date, I’ve only thought about hosting a webinar.
And my next book has been three years in the making (it releases in 2015 … thanks for your patience… stay tuned).
Shipping is more important than dreaming. If you don’t act, you’ve got nothing. All you’ve got is a desire.
As Thomas Edison famously said, “Vision without execution is hallucination.”
Action Is Stunning
Action is stunning because so few people actually do it. So few people act on their dreams.
Often the difference between you and the leaders you admire is they acted. You didn’t.
And you know what a desire becomes when it’s never acted on, don’t you? It becomes a regret.
Far too many people waste their potential, squander their vision and languish in mediocrity because they just don’t act.
So why don’t you stun someone this week? Act.
I’ll bet you even stun yourself when you do.
