Courage – The First Step

“Waiting to do something” is a complete trap. There are always reasons to wait, but the truth of the matter is, there are only two things in life…reasons and results. Reasons do not count, results do. The most successful business people are ones that are action-oriented – or results-oriented. The ones that fall short of the mark are talk-oriented – or reasons-oriented. There will always be obstacles or distractions in your way. There will always be problems on your horizon. Your journey to the next level starts with that first step, but you cannot wait for obstacles, problems, or reasons to disappear. Take the first step and keep moving forward; you will find the road ahead becomes easier. Soon your momentum will become strong enough and some of the obstacles will take care of themselves. But you cannot do anything until you take that first step.

Many of us are familiar with the following scenario: Improving Our Fitness! We go to the local sports store and buy some new shorts, t-shirts, and a nice pair of running shoes. We are going to turn over a new leaf; we are going to start working out again and start running. We say okay, we will run 3 days a week, Monday –Wednesday – Friday. Tuesday and Thursday we may do some weight training and take the weekends off. We set our calendars to reflect this, and we tell everyone this is my new leaf. First day comes and the alarm goes off, we get dressed, and run two miles… “Wow that felt good, I feel a difference in myself already” is what most of us say. Next morning is the weight training day, and the alarm goes off, and we are a little sore, but still get up and hit the weights…again, we feel good. Now comes Wednesday morning and since we had to work late the night before, we say to ourselves, “I need to get an extra hour of sleep so I can be more effective in the big meeting today, so I can skip the run.” Thursday morning comes, and we say, “Well since I didn’t run yesterday, I don’t want to do back to back weight trainings so I’ll skip today and hit Friday with the normal two mile run,” and we go back to sleep. Now comes Friday morning and it is raining outside – “I can’t run in the rain, so I’ll just wait and start over on Monday.” Monday comes and we are tired from the weekend. Next thing you know, a month goes by. Our “improving our fitness!” goal is out the window. What happened? This is a difference between being interested in doing something and committed to doing something. This is a difference between “reasons and results” or “talk and action.”

Remember: Life is not measured on where you start or where you finish, it is a matter of whether or not you start. You may have a decision you have to make, a problem you have to solve, a project you have to start, a goal you need to reach, an opportunity you need to seize, or a dream that needs to be fulfilled. You cannot wait for everything to be perfect before you start acting on these things. If you wait, that chance may be long gone. People who are successful and passionate are the ones willing to pay the price today. Millionaire Andrew Carnegie once said, “You cannot push anyone up the ladder unless he is willing to climb himself.” The point is, you cannot move forward unless you are motivated to do so. Every step you take today and everything you do today will build on what you accomplished yesterday. What you do today will help build your tomorrow. See, you can have the best idea in the world, but what good does that idea do if you do not act on it, if you do not pursue it, if you do not keep marching upon it?

Make an impact on yourself and others. The old saying by Anita Roddick – if you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to sleep with a mosquito in your room – applies here. You have what it takes to make an impact, no matter what the issue is. Take a step, and take action. Persistence is the key to continual movement. There is no such thing as instant success. You will be surprised on what you can do with your life if you have the courage to take the first steps toward your goals, dreams, and aspirations. Thomas Edison once said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” If we would have just stuck with our goal of “improved fitness” a year ago, who knows where we would be today. Set your goals, reach for them, stick with them, and do not let the obstacles and reasons get in your way. An English Playwright James Albery once wrote, “He slept beneath the moon; He basked beneath the sun; He lived a life of going-to-dos; And died with nothing done.”

Do not let this happen to you. Take that first step, and keep persevering. Do not make “Someday Island” your home. “Someday” never comes. That “someday” needs to be now, the present. Allow me to compliment James Albery’s quote by adding my own: Courage will test your talent, passion will help you persevere; The step you take today will make your tomorrow even more clear; Learn from your failures and keep reaching for your dreams; For the stars are much nearer, closer than they seem.

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.” – Mark Twain