THE ESSENTIAL FIRST STEP

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Almost all the time I hear people who say they

are stuck or confused or lost and need help to achieve
their goals in life. As much as I can, I respond personally
to those emails, sometimes even following up with a phone
call, and this week's right up comes from some of those
conversations.
There are lots of reasons people get frustrated or struggle
in life, but one of the most common is that some people
never get started! Some people have big dreams but never
take the first steps to make them come true. No wonder they
are frustrated and say they have "failed" to reach their
goals!
The truth is that there is almost no real failure in life.
One of Newton's laws says that for every action there is an
effect. Tony Robbins is famous for his observation that
high achievers take massive action, observe their results,
adjust accordingly, and take more action. There is
tremendous power in a persistent determination to take
action!
There is a famous phrase in the Bible that the "truth shall
set you free" and a key truth is that to achieve any goal,
no matter what it is, some action--some effort, some work,
some activity, some physical exertion is required and the
activity must come FIRST! To achieve your goals, action is
required!
And here is a second truth: Often the required action is
simple, easy and obvious. These are the cases that
frustrate me.
Over my years as a success coach, I've had thousands of
conversations with people who want to reach the ordinary
goals that lots of other people have achieved. They want to
save for retirement, start a business, travel the world, or
do something else that (to them) seems difficult, but in
fact has been achieved by lots of other people. The problem
is that they "can't find a way" to take the first steps
toward success.
They hesitate to get started. They "can't" find a way to
save money, or to develop the first draft of a business
plan. Now, I emphasize that I am not making fun of these
people! For them the pain and frustration are very real,
and I understand that. But to achieve success, they must
also understand that the fear is in their own minds.
Often, the first steps are simple, easy and relatively
obvious. The key is to get started, take action, observe
your results, adjust accordingly, and take more action.
And here is a third truth: Most of the actions people take
when they set out to achieve a goal are WRONG! Of course
they are! We learn by trial and error. When we try anything
for the first time, we are bound to make mistakes, but
mistakes are not failures! They are simply the best,
smartest action we could figure out at the time, but
unfortunately they may not give us the results we desired,
so we learn and try again.
Did you fall down when you first tried to walk? Probably.
Were your first attempts at dating clumsy or embarrassing?
Probably. Were your first attempts to use a computer
frustrating? Probably! There is no failure or shame in
that. We try, we learn, and we try again.
The key to getting anything you want in life is to take
action. Take the smartest, best action you can think of and
see what happens. Start by watching a YouTube video or
reading a how-to guide. If you can, hire a mentor or coach,
but take action! Get started! Observe your results, adjust
accordingly, and keep on keeping on.