The Key to Gaining Traction is Taking Action

As business owners, we're always busy. There are conference calls, meetings, paperwork, planning - hours and hours of activities that tie us up and keep us moving. But are they really moving us in the right direction?
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At the end of the day, it seems like far too many businesses are guilty of making a mistake that Founding Father Benjamin Franklin tried to warn us about centuries ago - "Never confuse motion with action."

But time after time, we do exactly that...

In most cases, we know what the "one thing" we need to do is, but instead of tackling it, we throw ourselves into a thousand other tasks. Then we tell ourselves we are taking action. And we aren't exactly lying to ourselves, but we are definitely misleading ourselves.

Because taking action isn't enough - we have to take the right actions. 

And nine times out of ten, the obstacle standing between us and achievement is fear.

So what can we do about it?

Finding Courage in the Face of Fear​

Fear is universal. No one is immune. We all know that when confronted with fear, we ultimately only have two choices: fight or flight. It's ingrained into our DNA. And it seems like the majority of folks opt for the later. If you're one of them, it can feel like you have no other choice. But you'd be wrong. You always have a choice. You just need to get into the habit of making the right choice - to fight it out and win, even if it means failing in the process. 

Failure isn't the opposite of success, it's one of the primary materials that paves the path to it. Without risk, there is no reward. So, instead of dedicating your efforts to avoiding risk, why not learn to embrace it? Not recklessly, but intentionally. 

​Here are four powerful yet deceptively simple ways that you can overcome analysis paralysis or the treadmill of useless tasks.

• Eliminate the word "perfect" from your vocabulary. Perfect doesn't exist. It's an excuse we make up to keep stalling. We wait for the perfect time or the perfect conditions and while we're waiting, success passes us by. There's an old Chinese proverb that says "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now." Start where you are, use what you have and do what you can. Do it every day and you'll be further along, have more resources and will achieve more. 

 

• Don't just decide - do! How many New Year's Resolutions have you actually stuck to? The number is likely less than 10%. Goals are great, but without a game plan, they're just a bunch of hot air. You've got to hold yourself accountable. You absolutely must execute. And as you do, you'll likely discover that your fears diminish, if not disappear entirely. That's because action is a remedy for fear.

 

• Eat the elephant one bite at a time. One of the reasons we never take action towards a goal is because the goal seems so overwhelming that accomplishing it seems impossible. Whatever the One Thing is that you've been avoiding, stop trying to tackle it all in one fell swoop. Instead, take small, incremental steps in the right direction and then do it again, and again, and again. As the saying goes, if you're going through Hell, whatever you do, don't stop and try to get comfortable.

 

• Say "No" to distractions. Distraction is just another word for useless tasks. If your goal is to generate more sales, don't waste time on two and a half hour sales meetings. Instead, hit the sales floor running, first thing. If the biggest thing you can do today is respond to a critical email, then why have you spent more time checking your email than drafting your response? Distractions come in a thousand shapes and sizes, and one person's One Thing is another person's time waster. Only you know the countless little things that trip you up. Identify them, then eliminate them. 

If you don't make things happen, you'll become someone things happen to. Empower yourself and your business to succeed by not just taking action, but taking the right actions. Looking for other ways to gain traction in your business? Contact us to see how we can help you along in your journey.