Start Right Now

Babson College’s performed an extensive research on their graduates. This longitudinal study went for 13 years to determine how many of college graduates launch a business and what differentiates them from their peers who didn’t. The study concluded that success in business comes down to just two essential things: get going and keep going.

That’s the recipe for success in any area. Both the above elements are tricky. They are found to be simple in theory, but not easy to execute.

Part of my personal philosophy is the belief that if I don’t try, I won’t know the results. I will always wonder, “What if?”

Start Right Now to Expand Your Possibilities

When I started thinking about writing, publishing and getting paid for my work in this area, I had no idea that such a thing like Amazon even existed.

For a few weeks I played with the idea of writing. Then I wrote my first blog post. After that I continued blogging for 2-3 months and realized that writers write. I decided to write every day. I started writing fiction in my native language. After my short story was criticized on the literary forum I reconsidered the course of action I took. I was encouraged to write self-help content in English. The rest is history. In a bit more than two years tens of thousands of people read my books.

When I started writing I had no idea that big pages, like The Good Men Project, even existed. Yet, my first article on that site was published on the 2nd of July 2015. It wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t post that first blog post of mine. I had no idea that it would serve as a launching pad for my future success.

I was recently offered a new job. After the first interview I met with the director of the department. He was trying to sell me the idea of taking the responsibility for the whole project as a team leader. But I didn’t need any convincing because I was ready for the challenge.

He spent a great deal of time and energy trying to picture how easy and manageable this project would have been for me. He was prepared for counterarguments. Well, for the last couple of years I was hellishly busy expanding beyond myself. I want to change the world. Such little things like managing a small project and small team of people no longer scare me.

Pshaw, I organized online book events with self-published authors. It was like herding cats. Jim Rohn said that if you learn to herd cats, you will be compensated more than adequately, because it’s a very rare skill.

If I wouldn’t have started my personal development business in September 2012, I wouldn’t have these experiences and I wouldn’t have been ready for that proposition.

Avoid Regrets Afterward

It’s true that the start opens those distant possibilities.

One step led to another, but without that first step nothing would have happened. You are not getting any closer to your goal, whatever it is, by standing in place. You need to move, you need to gain the momentum. The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.

Examine the five common regrets of the dying. See what Kimanzi’s father told him before death. At the end of life you will regret things you had neglected to do, not the things you had done.

That’s why it’s crucial to start right now. Each second you let to pass away may finish with remorse. This time is wasted and time is the only resource you can NEVER reclaim. As my mentor Aaron Walker says, “You can always make more money. Nobody makes time.” Think about it, you cannot add one little millisecond to your day.

The longer you wait, the less experiences you will be able to collect. You should always live your life to its fullest.

In reply to the question: “What do you wish you would have done differently?” successful people repeatedly answer:

“I wish I would have started earlier.”

Target Your Excuses

Don’t listen to your doubts and fears. They prompt excuses to keep you dormant in your comfort zone. You know them well. Here are a few common ones:

-I don’t have time (wait and you will have even less time)

-I am not ready yet (this comes in variations: I need to learn more/ train more/ plan more etc.; (surprise: you will never be ready, the experience comes from doing, not learning)

-It must be perfect (God is perfect; are you Him?)

-I have to wait for… (no you don’t; even if you really lack something, you can start now from a different angle)

-I can’t succeed (that’s debatable; until you actually start doing something you just don’t have enough data to determine whether you can succeed)

Ditch Your Doubts

Those excuses differ only in details. They are very easy to disarm. Just use the four questions to rebut them:

-Is is true?
Your mind usually prompts a swift answer: of course it is. Your goal is to question this excuse, so use additional questions: Is this belief beyond a shadow of a doubt true? Is it possible that there is at least one person on the planet that could prove this wrong?

-How does this excuse make you feel?
For example: thinking that I don’t have time makes me feel helpless. I can’t do anything if I won’t dedicate some time to it.

-What would the opposite of this excuse be?
For example: I have 24 hours a day, exactly as much time as the richest people on the planet.

-How does that opposite belief make you feel?
For example: I feel empowered to act now. Even the smallest step forward is better than waiting for miraculous multiplying of my time.

Start right now. Don’t waste your most precious asset: your time. Well started is half done.