“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” - Thomas Edison
Do you ever notice how many people seem to have big plans, yet have very small accomplishments? You know the type. They are the ones who can always tell you what’s wrong, but are doing very little constructive to make positive changes. They’ll spend more time determining how to get around performing a task than the task itself would have required time to complete. These folks all seem to live in a different time zone. It’s called “Someday”.
We’ve all known residents of “Someday”. Perhaps we’ve even visited there ourselves. You will have no problem recognizing “Someday” inhabitants. They identify themselves constantly by stating that: someday I’ll have a nicer car…start to eat better…spend more time with the family…make more money. You get the picture. Residents of “Someday” all seem to have great plans.
The problem is that plans are all that they have. The critical element missing is execution, sometimes known by that dreaded term: hard work. While planning may be fun, and even occasionally necessary, over time I have discovered a funny thing about plans; they only seem to work when I do.
Intentions do not count. Virtually all decent people are filled with good intentions. There is nothing rare about that. However, nobody ever accomplished anything meaningful by intending to do so. Results are only accomplished when we put some fuel into our tanks, turn on the engine and begin the journey from “Someday” into “Now”.
Only then will we see our results change from the limited success that “talkers” realize to the unlimited success that many “doers” achieve. The reality is that we all have to go to our jobs every day. Since we are going to put in the time anyway, it seems to make sense that we reward ourselves by actually achieving measurable results rather than just talking a good game. Not only is the paycheck more pleasing, but you will find that time actually goes by at a much faster pace when you are able to begin measuring your accomplishments rather than just thinking about “all of the things that you want to do – someday”.
As the famed automaker Henry Ford once said: “You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do”. Now is a great time to begin your journey from “Someday” to “Today”!
