Ready, Fire, Aim.
A concept I first heard about from Carrie Wilkerson, the Barefoot Exec in early 2009.
The idea behind it? Take action, imperfect action, ANY action, today. Now.
Recovering perfectionists like you and me know the drill.
We don’t take action unless it’s perfect.
There can be nothing left to chance. Especially failure.
All the I’s have to be dotted, the T’s crossed. Ducks neatly in a row. Then, and only then can we take action.
Or not. Invariably, many projects and ideas get left by the wayside because A hadn’t happened for B to have happened.
And weeks, months or even years down the line, you finally take action on that thing you couldn’t and almost always think “That wasn’t so bad / hard to do! Why did I wait so long? Wow, I sure wasted a lot of time being scared / under-confident / unsure”.
Now sometimes it may turn out that the timing was perfect when you finally DID take action and on the flip side, there’s nothing you did today that you couldn’t have done yesterday.
All it required was some courage. The extra knowledge, resources and opportunities you were waiting for? Could have done without them.
If something is really important to you, do yourself a favour and get focused.
Commit to making your dreams a reality and ask fear to come along for the ride instead of holding you back.
I learned this lesson YET again last week. For 9 months I’d been talking about doing a teleclass and / or starting a radio show. 9 months of watching other people do it and thinking “I’ve got to do that soon”.
It was a chat with a friend that propelled me into action. I had NO idea what I was going to talk about but I decided I was going to announce it in my August 15th ezine (sign up for the next issue on the top right of this page), which was 2 days away.
At the last minute I picked a topic, “Overcoming Procrastination”.
Oh, The IRONY!!
Once done, I decided on a date and announced it to all and sundry. Next, a moment of panic. What would I say, how would I structure it, what if no one showed up? Omg I was going to fail, who was I to think I could pull this off?
Wanna guess what happened?
I stayed up the night before researching procrastination and remembering all the times I indulged, and why. Along the way, I worried some more that no one would show up and even told my mom she had to call in case no one else did 😉
Finally, after a couple of hours, I asked myself why I was doing this, and what I wanted from it. Realised that if taking bold, imperfect, inspired action could inspire even one person to do the same, it was worth it. The rest of it was a buh-reeze!
When you focus on what you can do for someone rather than what something can do for you, it takes the fear away. There’s no charge, no desire to look good anymore. It’s all about giving. That focus, that goal makes it all the more worthwhile.
The tele-call was informative and interactive, many people showed up and it was hugely fun for all involved! And I thought “OMG this was so easy to do, WHY did I wait so long!”? Ha! You can catch the recording here to know more about WHY we procrastinate (and why it isn’t all bad).
Let’s go over a quick recap of how you can take Imperfect Inspired Action today inspite of all your excuses:
- Commit to an idea, name it, put a ‘use by’ date on it
- Tell someone (or many ones) about it
- Fill the gaps – do your research
- Take action now, don’t wait for the big “AHA” moment – we all want the *lighbulb* to go off signifying some great moment of truth…
- But the reality is, it’s often the small steps that lead to big changes.
So give up waiting for that perfect moment, till you have more confidence, practice, experience, knowledge, resources, support, time, money, energy, motivation and what have you, to take action on something you’ve been putting off for a better day.
Just get ready, fire that torpedo and let loose!
After all, the best part is that you can keep correcting course till you get to the destination.
An airplane doesn’t fly in a straight line from A to B, it changes course and altitude depending on the weather conditions …. if it waited till the weather was absolutely perfect, you wouldn’t be flying home for Christmas!
The path to success is paved with Courage and Commitment.
Promise yourself you’ll do what it takes and ask for help and guidance from your higher self if you need a dose of the 2 C’s?
_____________________________________________________________________
Would love your take on this: where could you do with more action instead of timidity? What are the payoffs keeping you stuck in “tomorrow land”? What’s ONE thing you’re going to do today that you’ve been procrastinating on?
For more on Imperfect Action, check out this great read by Christine Kane, a fabulous inspiring blogger.
Great post Tia. The ironic thing is that I have the opposite problem. When I get an idea or an inspiration, I cannot wait to act on it immediately. And, I expect immediate results 🙂 Sometimes I need to let it go in order to allow it to happen. I’m working on that.
Judie
Judie, you’re talking Inspired Action girlfriend! And when THAT happens, you run with it as fast as you can. That’s just plain smart and part of being in flow.
Did you read my post on “How to Manifest Almost Anything You Want”? That’s all about not giving up when you don’t see results right away and WHY it takes times for some results to happen (hint: seed, roots, tree 😉
Thanks for the smiles, loving your anticipatory energy!
Tia this is great! I loved hearing about your process and the outcome! I will remember this when I get my first teleclass going. !
Thanks!
Yw Dani and thanks for reading! I hear about so many people taking action but never quite the steps that lead up to it so thought it would be a good idea to share that here.
Even highly experienced radio show hosts and authors started from scratch so we’re in good company. And yeah outlining the process helps ay. I learn a LOT from other people’s stories and mistakes so here’s to more, woohoo!
ps: how about you decide to do one next week ;)?
ROFL – yesterday I did a FB quiz, Which Desperate Housewife are you? – and got the perfectionist Bree!!! (you know, because I live my life by FB quizzes… hahahah)
I’ve struggled with the p-word for years but this synchronicity is too much. I’m getting the message at last, that it’s time to embrace my inner perfectionist with love, then give her something to do (maybe polishing the silver or making me the perfect cheese souffle from scratch) while I get on with taking action.
Thank you my friend, your posts rock (and I will be listening to that call today *blush*) 😀
You’re SO clued in, you’re attracting the hints in droves! Better take the message and run with it hehe. I wish I had an inner perfectionist who could cook .. the yumminess I’d get her cooking for me… Ahh!
How ironic that you post this wonderful blog right after I took inspired action without over analysing it. I just emailed a prospective client in a moment when I felt inspired that this person needed to hear my message. I ended it with a PS that went something like “I am not proofing this email because I don’t want to water it down.” The client is no longer a prospective client; and wrote back saying sign me up and thank you for saying exactly what I needed to hear! I also sent this post to my new client because this subject came up in our discovery session. It is so great to get other perspectives that support, stimulate and motivate us. Thank you for providing that in your blog and the platform for others to add to learning. Woohoo!
He he Berta, how not-a-coincidence- that I wrote this blog post today! This used to happen to me when I read Jeannette`s blog (I mean, this happens to me whenever I read her blog!) – it`s ALWAYS relevant to what`s going on with me and a bunch of others. I know it`s cos we are all attracted to each other`s energy and vibe which are at similar levels.
And I LOVE that it`s happening here! That so many of us are connected to each other and syncing up real good 😀 Yeah, that`s what I`m talking about – like attracting like.
Thanks for sharing this anecdote – it`s a perfect example of Taking Inspired Action and I love how it turned out (of course, it did 🙂 How brave and loving of you! Your client is lucky to have you. Wooohoo INDEED!
I have my mother’s voice forever in my head …
“I don’t care WHAT you do – as long as you do SOMEthing.”
– great if one is seeking acceptance
“It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you DO something.”
– perfect if one is afraid of doing something wrong
“Just do something – ANYthing.”
– perfect for all of the above
She loves it when I introduce her as my mother Theresa.
She’s an expert at getting people going, started, or otherwise off my bu — THEIR butt, THEIR butt… getting them into action. ahem…
I happen to know she LOVES doing it – thrives on it, actually. In fact, I’d say it’s one of her more satisfying experiences. So if you’re looking for a gentle kick…
I should so interview your mom lol!
I have to say, my preferred way is a mix of doing what feels good, inspired action and 1-2 little steps that are just action steps I’m turning into habits 🙂
Gotta have a little of everything esp if taking a action over and over doesn’t get results – then it’s time to find alternative ones (what was that old adage? doing the same thing over and over…. same results?)
Say Hi to Theresa for me!
Tia, I just want you to know this post of yours inspired me to Take Inspired Action today. I set up a blog account and posted my first post “From Judge & Jury to Kids New Story.” http://bertabauer.wordpress.com/
You said “So give up waiting for that perfect moment, . . . to take action on something you’ve been putting off for a better day.”
If you read my 2nd post “Hello World” (my second because I edited the WordPress automated post from my blog site’s set up) it explains how much this post of yours inspired me to just do it now.
Thanks, Tia. You are insightful and amazing.
Celebrate!
Berta Bauer
CONGRATS on your new blog!! Yipppeeee how exciting 😀 Thanks for sharing that Berta! One never knows where inspiration will come from and I’m so glad that this post provided some for you. Heading over to check out your blog now. Rock on sista xo