How To Take Your Ideas From Possibility To Actuality!
Many people accumulate a lot of information through books and notes but don’t implement it into daily life…
This is common in people studying marketing techniques where lots of articles are read, books purchased and forums browsed. We are an information culture and this can create a paralysis for action.
Taking in information without implementing it can be compared to eating non-stop without being able to digest any of it! It isn’t just a problem for those pursuing internet marketing but is a pattern many students have at colleges studying class materials always gathering more and more research.
Sometimes we feel we have to get a perfect understanding before acting. Yet we learn through our trials, assimilate through our own synthesis of the materials and focus by the design we put on the materials we’ve absorbed.
If you are the type of person who has trouble making decisions, this can also factor in when you are trying to put a focus on the information you’ve been accumulating and reading.
Did you ever find yourself at the supermarket with a cold reading the many bottles of medication? Seinfeld jokes about the problem by saying, “Should I get what’s long-lasting or fast action? Do I want to feel good now or later?” He muses about staring at all the various formulas and descriptions in indecision.
There can be endless comparisons but at a certain point you need to have a focus and make a decision. In terms of a paper, this means to have a theme and an underlying idea everything else falls under. In a marketing context, it can mean to have a plan to focus on pay per click, article marketing , search engine optimization or press releases. This doesn’t have to be an ultimate decision, but it is useful to not be juggling 10 balls at once or trying to put your finger into every pie.
An example that I think many of us can understand would be growing a garden. A good way to start is to go to a nursery, ask some questions read a few books, find the area in your yard to grow the flowers and plants and then make your decisions on the specific plants based on the sunlight, condition of soil and climate you are in.
Down the road you may want to build a greenhouse, branch into vegetable gardening or even start a flower business, but it’s through the experience of the garden that you’ll have a base to then expand upon.
If you postpone your first garden because you want to visit many botanical gardens, read about Japanese gardening etc etc you will stay abstract rather than get concrete .
Here are some inspiring quotes on action:
“Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living.” Anais Nin
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply!” Goethe
“A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.” Kahil Gibran
Don’t be a perfection before you act, but do study enough to develop a direction that you can implement and test.
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How To Find Your True Inspiration
When you are feeling blue or down in the dumps, what can you do to pull yourself up? First of all you can find inspiration in many sources.
For some it’s poetry or nature. However other forms are music, paintings, movies, short stories, religious writings, autobiographies or popular songs.
It is helpful to keep in both your memory and a journal what has been uplifting for you during times of difficulty. Is there a person in your life who always makes you feel better or gives you a sense of hope?
It can be an aunt, an old college roommate or an elderly neighbor. Get in contact with them for some support. Sometimes watching something innocent and playful can change our moods. For instance, seeing a puppy, kitten or newborn baby exploring the world can open our eyes up.
If you find that depression is something that is a chronic problem, there are effective treatments including cognitive-beahavioral therapy, biofeedback, st john’s wort and group work. Working out is a good way to get psychological benefits along with physical ones. Due to the endorphins that are produced in the brain getting released we feel invigorated.
Additionally if you hold your tension in your muscles, a good workout will often give you a strong sense of well-being and satisfaction and it will continue beyond the actual time of exercising. As a side note, as you get in shape, your confidence will increase because your body is more toned.
For most people, inspiration is needed related to specific circumstances. A friend may be going through an illness and you feel helpless or your boss may have praised a co-worker but not you and you feel unappreciated. We need a pick me up at those times. Draw on sources that have been helpful to you in the past as they are keys to opening up your heart and changing your perspective.
It’s useful to have a little notebook where you can have the stories, quotes and songs that lift you up. Then find the cd or re-read the story a few times so that you feel the changes in your mood.
By disciplining yourself this way, you are transmuting negative moments into positive moments and learning a skill that will carry through tough times.
The Countless Excuses and Ways To Procrastinate
There seems to be some very rational excuses for not taking action that we use to convince ourselves that now is not the right time. This can pertain to starting an exercise program, job hunting, going back to school or even smaller projects such as cleaning out the garage.
What is common about making excuses is that there is a part of us that knows on some level that it is an excuse. When is the perfect time to do something?
Roger Babson said, ” Let him who would enjoy a good future waste none of his present.”
H. Jackson Brown Jr stated, “Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresea, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.”
Often once we start doing something it isn’t as bad as we dreaded and it actually is a relief from the anxiety we feel in putting it off. The things we postpone are still part of our awareness and they eat at us because we know we are in avoidance or distracting ourselves. Inaction actually can be very stressful.
When you think about it, is the time ever perfect for anything we do? When we make time for something it becomes part of our lives. For example , once you decide that you are going to exercise forty five minutes three times a week, you then pick a block of time on those three days that can work with your schedule.
When we are honest with ourselves, we know that we waste more than 45 minutes a day between tv, internet surfing and other activities that give us a breather. Write down at the end of the day for three days in a row what some time wasters are that you engaged in . This can be quite eye opening and you can see you have a little more extra time than you realized.
Of course, there are times when we truly should not add something new on our plate. Self-honesty is what can help us discriminate if our situation right now is one of those times or not. Also you can start slowly with something.
If you genuinely are pressed for time, then take an exercise class one time a week rather than three times a week. Once you see the benefits, you will want to increase your own practice sessions.
When we procrastinate, we don’t get a taste of the activity we are postponing…
The Most Important Influences In Our Lives
Do you remember a person in your life who’s words made such an impact on you that something deep inside of you was altered?
It doesn’t have to be a person who formally was your teacher. It could have been a neighbor, a friend’s parent or a person from a nearby store that was a big influence on your life. Their effect on you may have been from a conversation, a series of talks or just their demeanor.
Remember that you too can have a similar influence on others and each of us is a model for others around us. Whether you think about it or not, people notice you at school, your professional setting or even in the grocery store and your bearing, posture and attitude is noted by them. How we carry ourselves is a teaching to people and it influences them.
When you approach each day thinking, “today I’m teaching” you will find you act differently.
Being open to situations and people that are difficult is also a wonderful lesson. Each time we feel challenged by someone’s judgment or blunt remarks we can look inside and see what sensitivity they’ve hit inside of ourselves.
We tend to prefer gentle teachers, but sometimes someone’s sharp remarks are very good catalysts to change too. The main thing is to be open and keep in mind that people say things for various reasons . Someone’s remarks may not be accurate because people can speak out of their own jealousy, irritation and past experiences.
Nonetheless, people’s comments may contain a piece of truth and that can be something to reflect upon despite their projections or misperceptions. See if there is something in what someone says and if there is you can study it and if not you can forget about it.
What lessons have you learned from others? Often we learn something from a book or even a movie that changed you life. However, there is something special about having a dialogue with someone in person and the power of their words in the moment.
In the east, they say to review every situation and person as a teacher and find the gem in the lesson that is right in front of your nose.
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