Marketing guru Seth Godin recently posted a piece about challenging difficult but achievable hills in your pursuit of success. He continues by talking about picking the right hills, ones you barely make it over, that lead to new hills that become the mountains careers are made of. I like the image created by this description.
When looking at challenges or goals our first steps are based upon our ideas. Once, when working with a very savvy client, she told me she had so many ideas in regard to a new plan, that it would take twice as many hours in one day to achieve a fraction of them. She continued that she didn’t have nearly enough time. You can imagine how I was ready to pounce on this topic!
We all are given the same amount of time in a given day. How we manage that time can separate us from anxiety, stress, overwhelm, and to some degree disappointment. What hills do we choose to climb? Are they too steep or not challenging enough? An idea is simply a good thought unless you make it actionable. Taking action means evaluating where you are, where you want to go, and how you’re going to get there; [think about those hills]. To me, an important piece is placing a “when” value on actions. When puts the pressure on, like beating a snow storm when setting out to conquer a mountain climb.
When is the accountability button that draws attention, comments, and sometimes unsolicited feedback from others. When is a contract word that implies a state of readiness or completion. When is time bound.
So, when the idea strikes, put it into action, take bold strides up the first hill on your way to the top of the mountain. Time is on your side when you use it wisely.
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