The world is filled with amazing ideas that have the ability to transform the lives of others, as well as those who came up with them, yet, in many cases never see the light of day. Ideas, whether we choose to accept it or not, are not rare. What is rare, are people’s willingness to take their great idea, develop a plan for accomplishing them, and ultimately executing on them to the point where they become a reality. Make no mistake, that’s the difference maker.
If you can become a person that executes effectively on your ideas, you will see tremendous opportunities flow into your life. Those with resources, and ideas seek out people with this skill set, and are willing to reward those who have it. If this isn’t something that comes easily to you I strongly encourage you to develop this characteristic.
How to become a “make things happen” person
The first step is to develop the habit of seeing things through. Instead of letting things run through your mind and never doing much beyond that, begin to act on your thoughts. If you feel you should exercise more. Do so. You don’t have to become a marathon runner overnight. Maybe it’s just a walk you go on, or some other form of light exercise.
The point is that you act on your prompting, rather than brush it aside. As you act on things, in time it becomes easier to take action. It’s very much like building up your muscles. As we experience that sense of accomplishment in one area we are more able to do so in other areas of our lives. You will become better at the given undertaking by working on it. Wishing or hoping doesn’t lead to mastery, working at it, and applying yourself in the given area does.
Abolish the idea that things have to happen overnight, and accept that things that are worthwhile are well worth the amount of time needed to see them through. We live in times where we want things to happen so quickly, that in some cases if they take time, we don’t even stick with them long enough to see them completed.
As you learn not to quit halfway through an interesting thing happens. You begin to realize that you are becoming more skilled and knowledgeable in whatever area you happen to be working on. As you gain greater competency in the given area you will find that you begin to experience more joy whenever you are spending time in whatever it happens to be. As you enjoy it more, you experience a greater sense of passion for it.
Lots of people run through life with the idea that to truly feel a sense of accomplishment — in their work life or otherwise that they have to first be passionate about whatever it is they are doing. Over the years I’ve come to realize that passion doesn’t always have to be in the lead. What I mean is that often, overtime you can develop a passion for something only after you have gained mastery over it.
For example, I’ve known carpenters who saw themselves as artists, where their medium was working with wood. When you speak with them about the work they do you can almost feel the passion they have for their work oozing out of them. Yet, I’m certain if you had asked them at the beginning of their careers what it was like — when they were just getting started and didn’t really know anything about the field, and lacked the skills they have now, you might have gotten an altogether different response. In short, their passion for their craft hadn’t developed yet. So it is with a lot of people.
Don’t get me wrong, if you can identify something you’re passionate about and jump head first into it then more power to you. My point is that we should consider that passion and a real fulfillment for things can also build up overtime as well. I would encourage you to give that some thought in the moments that you find yourself wishing for greener pastures. Perhaps the very thing you are seeing as dreadful, given a bit of time will hold an altogether outlook for you when you are able to get a little different perspective.
Practice gratitude daily
If there is one thing that’s made a profound difference in my life it’s beginning each day with prayer and gratitude. You see, I’ve found that when I’m lacking in a sense of fulfillment or just feeling as though I’m not making the progress I wish I were, it’s often because I am experiencing a sense of lack of accomplishment in some area of my life. This tends to occur when I am letting my mind run to far in the future. It’s important that we are able to keep anchored to our past accomplishments because in them we find a sort of fuel that allows us to believe we can pull off whatever we hope to do in the future.
I like to think of reconnecting with my past successes as a way to put wind in my sails. For example, if I’m doubting I can complete a particular article I’m working on, I need only think back on being able to have written the books I have (It’s Your Life, LIVE BIG, Why Perfect Timing is a Myth, and Motivational Quotes for Living Big). Immediately I realize it’s not rational to be doubting that I can complete the article at hand. I’ve done it many, many times before after all.
Prayer helps me for so many reasons — not the least of which is the comfort in knowing that no matter what I’m faced with in life, no matter how insurmountable things may seem, I never have to face them alone. Friend, that is priceless.
Commit to growing every day
I believe that we are designed to grow and become better versions of ourselves. In the work I do consulting & coaching, the common culprit when people tell me they feel stuck or listless, and uninspired in their life is all too often that they aren’t growing. This is illustrated well in the following example. It has been said that some of the early astronauts experienced depression and difficult times after they completed their missions.
Why on earth (excuse the pun) after accomplishing such an amazing feat would they experience these feelings? Well, as it turns out, these people had quite literally been to the moon and back. The problem as they discovered was that after reaching such a big goal, in their minds there was nothing else to look forward to.
We sometimes see this with athletes who reach the peak of their given careers and seem to disappear into obscurity when their short lived athletic career comes to an end. The solution turned out to be having ongoing goals and things the astronauts would work on that would occupy their time beyond the space related missions completion. You and I can learn from this example as well.
Perhaps you have heard of, or even known someone that retired, and didn’t live much past retirement. That may sound morbid, but seeing as how so many of us make the work we do such an important part of our lives it only makes sense doesn’t it?
In short, you want to commit to growing every day. This can take many forms. Maybe it’s traveling, and experiencing different areas, cultures, etc. Maybe it’s taking a course or studying to get some sort of certification. Maybe you want to write, well, you don’t need permission, just begin writing.
Why not make the decision to become one of the leading experts in your career field? It’s easier than you might think. If you watch videos and read articles from experts in your industry, overtime you will gain expertise in that area. Plus, considering how few of your peers are willing to do that — you’re going to put yourself in a position to lead the field. Most importantly, every day you will be growing.
But don’t just grow professionally, also grow personally, and spiritually. For me, the growth and relationship I’ve been able to develop with the good Lord far exceeds any of the others in my life. I’m not here to preach at you in this area. In fact, you can follow whatever path you want. However, I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t share with you the one thing I know has had the most profound impact on the quality of my own life.
It is my sincere hope that the ideas above encourage and inspire you to stretch your comfort zone in areas that need expanding. Life can truly be a grand adventure if you are willing to see it as such. Friend, the world, and those around you needs you to follow your dreams.
It’s Your Life, LIVE BIG
Josh Hinds
P.S. If you enjoyed the ideas above, you’ll love my book, It’s Your Life, LIVE BIG — get yourself a copy here.