Ready, Fire, Aim!

Success in any endeavor can be linked back to one simple truth... Learning does not always require thinking!

This is a bold statement, but thinking often hinders learning. Hinders learning? Wow. That flies in the face of most of what we know doesn't it?

As children we were often reproached when we made mistakes: "What were you thinking! Don't you ever think about what you're doing?"

Then there's the most successful personal development book of all time telling us to do what. That's right, "Think and Grow Rich".

True it is a fantastic book and a must read for success minded people. But many of us get so tangled in thoughts that we can't get them out of our "heads" and this restricts us form taking the required action for success.

Socrates, one of the greatest "thinkers" of all time said, "Action equals knowledge."

Action, not thinking, is how we achieve results.

Take playing the piano for instance. We could think about playing the piano, but if you did you would never improve until you start just letting it happen and start pecking away at the keys.

If you asked an accomplished pianist to start think about the keys they are playing in the middle of a rapturous concert, the music would probably fall apart into a series of painfully disconnected notes.

The same is true with typing.

Ask a person who flawlessly types over 70 words a minute to think about the keystrokes and you could probably watch the mistakes pile up. You see it's all done automatically. Once you start thinking about it you interrupt the mental process.

Thinking hinders execution - and thinking can hinder success. The fact of the matter is we can intellectualize all we want, but until we take action we will never accomplish anything!

There is a mantra in the martial arts that says "Ready, Fire, Aim". Simply put, this means take action and correct that action as you go.

It is quite probable that many businesses never get out of the starting gate because of over-thinking and over analyzing. Most people want all their ducks to be lined up in a row before they begin. This will never happen. The time will never be perfect.

The key is to dig in and get started - and then "keep on keeping on."

In the martial arts, students practice moves over and over and over again. They rain their bodies to transcend thought and take action in the moment.

Imagine a trained martial artist getting attacked on the street thinking, "Hmm, okay I'm being attacked. Should I turn my body this way or should it be the other way? kay, now I have to trap the assailments arms, tighten my fists, pull back, and trike."

Of course this is not what happens in the martial arts. The key teaching in the artial arts is to ACT NOW - in spite of the mind's tenancy to analyze the situation.

The worst kind of thinking is fear of failure. The "What if" disease. "What if I fail? What if people laugh at me? What if I lose all my money? What if, what if, what if?

Fear is paralyzing. It stops the movement necessary for success. Fear weakens our resolve, cripples our creativity and ultimately stagnates our successes. Conversely, movement overcomes fear. When struck by fear, move. You need to DO something!

So, don't wait to explore your entrepreneurial spirit; take action now - and watch your dreams and goals cascade toward you.