A. C. T. I. O. N
ADVANCE CONFIDENTLY!
“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake up in the day to find it was vanity, but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. This I did.” ~T. E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom
A-ttitude
C-larity
T-ime
I-nspiration
O-pportunity
N-eed
Sitting at the end of this acronym is one more letter. The letter is “S.” It stands for SUCCESS. Success is the natural result of commitment. It is the natural result of taking action. It may not be the ultimate success we’re looking for, but it will be a step in the process moving toward whatever it is we choose to be, become, or create.
Attitude.
Much has been written about this word. Rather than trying to recreate the wheel, sometimes it’s best to just capture the essence of someone who said something really well as it relates to whatever it is we’re hoping to discuss. As it relates to attitude, I believe the following may be the best I’ve ever come across.
Attitude– The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, then education, then money, then circumstances, then failures, then successes, then what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company… A church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string what we have, and that is our attitude… I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you… We are in charge of our attitudes. ~Charles Swindoll
Enough said!
Clarity- Why clarity? The reason I selected clarity is because clarity leads to confidence. The clearer we are about the outcome we desire, the better the chance we have of bringing about the results we seek. If we are unsure about what we want or about the result we’re seeking, then we are liable to get a result different than the one we desire. However, when we’re clear, when we are sure, when we know exactly what it is we we’re after, then we will be prepared to take the necessary steps required, to put in the effort, to do the work of bringing into reality whatever it is we have visualized for ourselves.
Time- the reason time is important is because what gets scheduled is what gets done. If we don’t take the time to schedule what’s important to us, then whatever happens to interrupt our day will take precedence over whatever it is that we are not defending. We must defend our time. We must draw a line in the sand and create blocks of time for ourselves to accomplish whatever it is that’s important to us. If we don’t map out our day, if we don’t run our day, then as Jim Rohn used to say, our day will run us.
There are so many demands on each of us in this fast-paced world we now find ourselves living in. If we don’t defend the most precious resource, the most precious asset we have, then we will find ourselves at the end of the day wondering what happened to it. We will find ourselves asking where the day went. At the end of the day, we can do one of two things, we can either celebrate, or we can wonder. We can wonder what happened to the day, or we can celebrate everything we accomplished. As it relates to time, it is important to schedule in breaks for ourselves as well. We function better when we step off our hamster wheel. Schedule 5-minute breaks or 10-minute breaks in between your blocks of time so that you can refresh your mind and begin the next task with a renewed sense of vitality and energy.
In other words, Pause, Breathe, Reflect…
Inspiration- When we become curious, we will find all the inspiration we need to accomplish whatever is important to us. Inspiration is everywhere and in everything if we have our eyes open and if we’re looking for it. The quote at the beginning of this article is a perfect representation of the difference between dreaming with our eyes closed and dreaming with our eyes open. When we dream with our eyes open, we stand a chance of discovering whatever we need or whatever is required to bring that dream to life. When we act upon our dream with open eyes, we will be in the process of bringing it into existence, of bringing it into the physical realm. Dreams may begin in our mind, but for them to become a reality, we must bring them into the physical world and our dreams are brought into the physical world with A.C.T.I.O.N.
Opportunity- Who knows what an opportunity is? It has been suggested that success is what happens when opportunity and preparation meet each other. When opportunity and preparation meet, during the time allowed to bring ideas to life, there’s a great chance that with some form of action, the opportunity will be turned into something. An opportunity that presents itself but isn’t acted upon will be simply that, an opportunity, nothing more, nothing less.
The opportunity only becomes something tangible when acted upon with effort and an idea. It is wonderful that as human beings we have the capacity to come up with new ideas. However, it must be clearly understood that an idea without action behind it is just an idea. An idea, written down on a napkin, and then acted upon when taken back to the office the next day becomes something much more than an idea. It has been said that entire businesses have been created from an idea written on a napkin. That is only half the truth. It was actually the action taken on the idea that turned it into something in the physical realm. Otherwise, it would have simply remained words on a napkin…
Need- The word need is here as a reminder for us to ask better questions. For some unknown reason we tend to ask how. I believe how is a poor question. I believe there are two better questions that could replace how. The first question is who. Who do I need to become to accomplish whatever it is I want to accomplish? The second question is what. What skills will be required for me to achieve or accomplish whatever it is I’ve decided is important to me? Asking the two questions, who do I need to become and what skills will be required, sets us up for potential success.
If we’re attempting something that we’ve never done before and we’re asking how, it can be an exercise in frustration. However, when we shift the conversation from how, to who and what, we give ourselves a chance to identify whatever is in the gap between where we currently find ourselves and the desired result we choose to bring into the world. When we examine where we are compared to where we want to be, in the examination of those two points we will identify a space and asking the questions who and what gives us the opportunity to fill in that gap with what we need to grow into, and the skills required to achieve or accomplish whatever we desire. All skills are learnable.
If we identify in the process of inquiry the skills we are not interested in learning, then this is just merely an indication about what portion of the project needs to be outsourced. Sometimes, this is the most important piece of the puzzle. When we come to the realization that we don’t need to do everything ourselves, we only need to be able to identify what needs to be done, what actions need to be taken, then we can either, insource, outsource, or manage around whatever it is we don’t want to do ourselves.
When someone says they don’t have enough time, what they’re really saying is they don’t have enough team. TEAM Is what makes all the difference. We each have the ability to assemble a team around us. Who are the people better at whatever it is you really aren’t even interested in doing and how might you get them to cooperate with you on whatever project you’re interested in bringing to fruition?
Here’s an example:
A writer, who up until whatever time they decide they’re interested in writing a book might only need themselves and a second set of eyes to look at their work before they publish their articles. When the writer decides to become an author instead, then they will most likely need the help of some other people to help them bring their idea to life.
For me, I needed the assistance of several people to help me bring my first book to life. I needed the assistance of a content editor. I needed the assistance of a line editor. I needed the assistance of a formatter. I needed the assistance of a graphic designer to help create a compelling cover for my book. My first book is far from ideal, but what I have come to learn, know, and understand, is that version one is 10 times better than version none. I learned so much in the process and as I prepare to bring my next book to market, I am sure I will be learning many more additional lessons as I get closer and closer to my publication date of July 4th.
The one thing I know for sure, the one thing I am absolutely crystal clear about is that the only way my book will make its way into the physical realm is with A.C.T.I.O.N.
My name is Bobby. I am The Inspirationalist!
I inspire people to pursue their gifts!
If my words somehow inspired you to pursue your gift, then I succeeded…
By the way, if you enjoyed this article, I believe you will thoroughly enjoy my next book, Advance Confidently. I look forward to sharing it with you on the 4th of July.
Keep Pedaling, Keep Going, Keep Growing!
Advance Confidently!
If you enjoyed and found value in this article, please share it.
In Gratitude,
Bobby Kountz, Author, Speaker, Sobriety Scholar, Inspirationalist!
PS. You can find out more about me here. You can find my book on Amazon.
