Follow through

Success does not come to those who merely have great ideas. Success comes to those who have great ideas and who follow through on them. Your carefully crafted plans bring value only when you put them into action. The best of intentions are useful only when you follow through on them. During the course of the day, many thoughts cross your mind. Yet just as easily and quickly as those thoughts come, they recede, so it’s crucial to begin acting on the best ones right away. Before a valuable and meaningful intention gets pushed out of your mind by another thought, do something about it. Set the process irrevocably in motion and begin to bring that intention to life. When you think of doing something, there’s a reason why you have that thought. Listen to what the thought is suggesting, and take action immediately. Don’t let the idea or the intention or the vision slip away. Instead, get up and get going. If you happen to be feeling lousy, taking action will make you feel much better. If you already feel good, focused action will leave you feeling great.

Start small and work your way up. If you’re not ready to climb a mountain, then see if you can walk up a gentle hill. If you’re not ready to walk up a hill, then set out to take a leisurely stroll. If you’re not able to walk that far, then you can take a single step. After taking that step you’ll likely find that you’re ready to take another. If you have trouble imagining yourself persisting all the way until you reach your goal, then imagine yourself taking one small, simple action in the direction of that goal. Imagine it, and then do it. After that first step, there will be another one you can take, something that’s a little bit more challenging and yet not too overwhelming. Keep it up, and soon the ultimate goal begins to come into view. Anything can be accomplished if you are willing to keep taking the next step when it is time to do so. Now is the time to do so. What you lack in brute strength, or resources, or knowledge, or skills, you can make up for with persistence. You absolutely can get where you choose to go, step after step after persistent step. And right now is the perfect time to begin.