"Well Done Is Better Then Well Said"

The title to this post is attributed to Ben Franklin.  Considered by many to be the greatest of all the Founding Fathers (of the United States), Franklin was diverse in his achievements throughout his life.  He was a printer, inventor, statesman, and author.  Many of the ideas he presented are still in use today.  In addition, the last two centuries have witnessed thousands of people studying his life to garner glimpses of what made him so successful.  Part of this is going to apply to the personal revolution we are now waging.

Action Not Words

I will start by stating that it is actions that you take, not the words you speak, which are important.  Other judge us by the tasks that we perform.  The world is littered with people who were well-meaning but lacked the necessary resolve to act.  Action is the one thing that differentiates people.

The Law of Attraction deals with taking an idea and manifesting it in the physical form.  While I will agree with the concept that everything starts as an idea, the truth of the matter that it takes action to move something from the invisible to the visible world.  This is the step that many miss.  I believe many fail because they mistakenly believe that things will magically transform from their mind into some type of physical form.  Without action, this is not possible.

Another area that people get tripped up is in matching their actions with their words.  Go into any bar and you will hear the drunken braggarts boasting about all they will accomplish.  Make a note of it while returning to the same bar 3 or 6 months from now.  Do you know what you will see?  The same people sitting on the same bar stools talking about doing the same things.  Here is a group of people who excel at verbalizing their ideas but lack at acting upon them.  Therefore, they accomplish nothing.

One resolution that you need to make is to have your words match your actions.  If you are one who continually says you will do something only to fail in that endeavor, then you need to change immediately.  You present focus needs to be to do whatever you state you will do.  That is what someone with good character does.  Regardless of what the activity is, no matter how insignificant, get it done.  You reputation and integrity are on the line.

Becoming A Task Master

Inactivity is death.  People spend way too much time basically doing nothing.  We live in an age where we expect others to entertain us.  This is the MTV generation.  Everything is sent to us digitally while we sit on our rumps taking it all in.  Our televisions have hundreds of channels broadcasting everything under the sun 24 hours a day.  The average person spend 5+ hours a day looking at this device in an effort to escape from what is his/her life.  All this time, one is inactive.

You goal is to be a Task Master.   Simply put, you need to have the ability to do.  Above, I mentioned that it is imperative that you do what you say you will do.  Now, I am going to go one step further: it is crucial that you do what you think.  If an idea pops into your head, you do it.  People always err on the side of inactivity.  It is time to develop the habit of "getting things done".

We all make promises to ourselves.  However, the easiest person for me to break a promise to is myself.  How many times have you "told" yourself that you would do something only to not do it.  No more.  It is time that you follow through.  If you think it, you can do it.  No matter how menial the task, get it done.  If you are not able to keep your promises to yourself on the small stuff, how can you expect to do it on the larger things?  The truth is you will not.

Many state that it is crucial to do the most important things first.  I do not subscribe to this theory for the simple fact that the majority of people just need to do something.  They are so conditioned for inactivity that it permeates every part of their life.  While I will grant there are actions that offer more benefit than others, the best thing to do is to get started.  I want everyone to do whatever task is in front of them regardless of the importance.  This is what becoming a Task Master is all about.  Eventually you can distinguish between the value of particular actions.  But, for now, as Nike says, just do it.

One final thought.  People, including myself stress the value of planning.  One would not wage a revolution without a plan.  To attack without any forethought is a strategy which leads to annihilation.  Therefore, you must spend time planning your life.  However, to me, planning is an activity.  When one engages in this behavior he or she is not sitting around idly.  Instead, a concrete task is being tended to.  That being said, a plan is ever evolving.  It is not something that is developed once.  One needs to focus upon it while making appropriate changes on a regular basis.  For this reason, get busy.  Take action.  Do what is in front of you.  As your plan develops, other actions will arise.  In the intern, strive for "well done".


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