People often tell me what they want to be.
Often, their big goals represent something they are not doing currently… like a new career.
Or something they cannot perform today… such as run a 5K race.
The question is, “Are you doing what you want to become?”
Do What You Want to Be
Wishing doesn’t make things happen.
Hoping can’t make your dreams a reality.
“It is the act of doing that changes you.” (Tweet this Quote)
Doing is what makes things happen.
Doing is what makes you better at something.
Doing is what makes you become what you want to be.
Call it practice.
Call it learning.
Call it new habits.
It doesn’t matter what you name it.
What matters is that you do it.
Whatever your “it” is.
If you want to be a writer… write.
If you want to be a speaker… speak.
If you want to be in shape… exercise.
If you want to be an expert… study.
If you want to be out of debt… spend less.
It doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, often it is quite simple.
It does’t have to be pretty. When you are just starting out, it won’t be.
It doesn’t have to be perfect. Even the best aren’t flawless.
What matters is that you do it.
What matters is that you take that step.
What matters is that you act today.
You are what you do.
So, do what you want to become.
Today and every single day.
Great post. I used this approach when training for a 50 mile bike ride. I trained for 7 weeks and finished the ride in 3 hours (averaged about 15.5 mph). I was not sore and could have gone longer. The reason was prep — training for 7 weeks did the trick. Thanks for creating such a motivational site!
Steve, http://www.aMemoryJog.com
Steve, that is great example. Preparation and practice make all the difference.
For the longest time I put off signing up for a 1/2 marathon because I thought I was too overweight or too old. I finally started practicing and training with a run coach and am now signed up to run my first 1/2 marathon on Dec 7th! This article really rang true for me, you can’t wait. You must do NOW!
Good luck with that marathon! I’d say that it’s something I’d like to do but I aim for strength training more than endurance now. Completing a marathon is still quite an accomplishment that most won’t ever do in their lives — they’ll just keep talking.
Thanks, Shawn! I had an opportunity to train for FREE with a great run coach through my company so I jumped on it! It’s amazing how the right guidance can really help. I would’ve never imagined I would be doing this any time soon.
Good luck, Vickie! @shawnhartwell:disqus and I want to hear how it goes! Sounds awesome. 🙂
Thanks, Craig!
Great post Craig,
Short and sweet can sometimes be the way that you want to put things. Much of the knowledge that gets people ahead in life is common sense that we need to hear through my repetitions. The problem is that repetitions should be done through different mediums ie:
When you read something online write about it, make a video explaining the concepts and you can even make an audio recording explaining the concepts as if you’re teaching someone else.
Repetition is how humans change things when coupled with action as you mentioned in this post.
What are your views on repetitions for getting shit done(and remember what you read online,)
Craig?
Have you discovered any tricks to help you remember?
Anything that is useful gets written down in my commonplace. Ludvig over @ startgainingmomentum.com has written a few articles on the topic and it’s were I got the idea to start my own.
The essential concept is that you use an application or good old fashion paper(though in a digital world…go digital) such as Onenote or EverNote and organize it so when you read content online you can summarise the content – naturally leading to one repetition and stronger neural pathways to the knowledge.
The key here is choosing between useful information that will benefit your life 5 or 10 years down the line and useless trivia that is only stimulating at the moment. it’s all a very new concept to me but I’ve retained much more information and even begun to find links between different concepts. it’s a great way to boost those neural pathways in your brain and naturally start remembering and connecting dots between topics.
So true! If you want to be something, set up the habits that help you become that something. Thanks for the motivation!
Thanks, Joe!
BTW, thought your site was already in my RSS reader… it IS now. Re-added. 🙂
Great to hear! Thank you!
An elusive but simple bit of wisdom!
Thanks, Arijit!
Identify what motivates you and start taking action today. Don’t wait for things to happen but rather make things happen.
Absolutely! 🙂
This is a timely post. Do what you want to become…very simplistic…just start and continue.