Don’t Ask How, Instead Say What

When it comes to having and doing what you want in life, the key is to just go get it. Just act. Too many times we find ourselves worrying about how we could accomplish or achieve or attain this or that. Or worse yet, we tell ourselves why it’s impossible. The truth is, nothing stops us but us. It’s not about HOW you’ll do it. It’s only about WHAT you’ll do. Just start doing it. Start anywhere. Start gathering information on how it’s done. The answers are there. And if they’re not, then maybe it’s never been done, but that doesn’t mean you can't do it.

Success is about being, then doing, then having. It comes from within. Success is more of a direction than a destination. Finding out how to do anything is not nearly as important a step as DECIDING to do it…and then not quitting until your goal is met. This goes for anything in your life that you’d like to accomplish. Whether it’s getting a new job that pays you what you’re worth, or starting a new business, or buying a new home/car/anything. Just start on it. You don’t have to know the whole path to your objective, just the first step. You can always figure out the first step. It’s what you need to do RIGHT NOW. What do you want to do right now? Take a moment to think about it if you need to. Go on, get a pen and paper and write it down. Next, decide with certainty that you will accomplish this task, big or small. Guess what. You’ve already completed the first step in the whole process once you’ve done this.

The next step will come naturally…if you’re honest with yourself…and you STAY FOCUSED on the question “how can it be done?” Next, no matter what the answer is, do what naturally comes next. It may seem at times as if the next step isn’t obvious. That just means you’re getting too far ahead of yourself. Further planning, or some adjustments will be necessary along the way in most cases, but the key is to keep your mind moving in the direction of your goal at all times. Stay focused on your end result, which should be clear. What exactly should it be? Well, that’s for you to decide, as I said earlier. The answer to that is in your vision of your goal. This is where you must call your imagination into service. That’s what daydreams are actually for. Daydreams are the fuel to motivate you to make your life into the one you deserve (and in case you’re wondering, you DESERVE whatever you DESIRE). See it, desire it, get it. Sustained focus and movement toward the goal is the key.

That means that, yes, there must BE a goal. Goals are the framework of success. Once a goal is identified, the plan to achieve the goal is essential. Once the plan is determined, then sustained focus becomes the next piece in the puzzle. An easy way to sustain focus is to learn to take time out to visualize your goal…see it as being complete, but also see yourself as you’re making progress. Do this every day (preferably in the evening before you lie down to sleep or in a period during the day of downtime). These two visions will help to propel you to the destination; that being the COMPLETED goal. The truth is, most times things are simpler than people make them. Just get started. This was a tough one for me especially. I was always waiting for “The Right Time” or “The Right Situation,” essentially knowing that was never going to happen. Just get moving. Once you’re moving in the direction of your goal and hit a roadblock, it’s then that you should start asking “how” to solve the problem. Now you have the momentum of “progress” to help you to see more clearly and to try harder to keep going (because you don’t want to waste all the work you’ve already done). Too many people convince themselves unnecessarily that the timing has to be “exactly right before they can get started on something. “As soon as I finish [whatever it may be],” I’ll be able to make it happen. You can take action NOW, if you just play through those feelings of fear and discomfort that we ALL feel when we attempt something we’ve never done before (or don’t feel we’ve done well enough in the past).

So there it is. You don’t really have any excuses for not at least getting started, do you? It’s time to make a play, and see where it leads. Consider taking action a success in and of itself. That feeling of success will propel you forward if you let it. It’ll be your fuel and if you keep moving forward, at a certain point you’ll look up an be astounded by your own progress.

This being the first of many posts to come, we’re actually taking this journey together. I’ve been wanting to do this work for a long time, but like you, I hesitated. Doubting anyone would take me seriously (despite all of the efforts of friends and family to convince me to pursue this work because I’m so “good at it”), it scared me to think of actually putting my ideas out there to the masses, subjecting them to possible ridicule, scrutiny and rejection. However, as I continued to work with people (friends and strangers alike), and they ALL continued to convince me that I was destined to do this, my courage grew…and here I am, presenting this to you and those like you who are determined to eliminate those things they’ve allowed to hold them back in the past. Good for us. Talk to you soon.

Donovan Bradley