An interesting question popped into my mind a couple of days ago while I was driving behind a flatbed truck carrying a brand new Jaguar X-Type. I thought; as it rests now, is that really a car?
Until someone sits in the driver’s seat, turns on the ignition, puts it in gear and actually drives it, is it a “car” or just an assembly of metal, plastic, glass, rubber, and electronics? Think about this.
No, really. What good is the soft craftsmen-stitched leather until someone actually sinks into the seat? And the hand-crafted bird’s-eye maple veneer trim isn’t real wood until one runs his fingers over it to feel the soft grain. What’s the point of a multi-speaker zillion-watt sound system until someone pops a Pavarotti or ZZ Top CD in the player and makes all the windows shake?
What exactly does “Dynamic Stability Control” mean to an inanimate thing strapped down on a flatbed? And what’s the use for those 231 horses under the “bonnet” (it’s a British car!) if no one’s giving them a chance to haul the chariot like a bat out of hell?
“Ok, what’s your point Daniel?” I hear you.
My point is that maybe all things are really nothing until something is DONE with them by somebody, somehow, somewhere, somewhen. My point is that desires, ambitions, ideas, plans, projects, dreams and goals are NOTHING—until some ACTIONS are taken, until passionate energy is deployed, elbow grease is used, sparks of electricity are produced.
Just like that Jag is nothing more than an expensive heap of assorted parts—really totally useless—until someone turns on the ignition and starts driving it, using it for what it was meant to DO. Then, and only then, in my opinion, it becomes a CAR!
Here’s another thing that needs ACTION to become something: knowledge. There are a few statements I hear repeated over and over that drive me nuts because they are either fallacies or half-truths. Here’s one of them: “Knowledge is Power”
That’s a crock! It’s not true. Here’s the truth: knowledge is power ONLY when it is combined with ACTION!
Another truth is that much of the information you find in my articles, eBooks and Special eReports you know already. A lot of it is common knowledge, but the problem is, it’s NOT common practice. The difference between the two is a simple but powerful six-letter word: A C T I O N.
If you’re reading my material (or any other expert’s material for that matter) because you want to flourish on the road to personal or professional success, you must keep in mind at all times that truism from business philosopher Jim Rohn; “Success is a DOING!” Success comes from DOING—not merely knowing!
Here’s a simple example (some would say ‘simplistic’…). Just bear with me.
Let’s say your printer is out of red ink—which means you can’t print your letterhead. You KNOW that a new ink cartridge will fix the problem. And you KNOW you have a coupon in your drawer for a 50% discount at ABC Office Supplies. You KNOW where the store is located. You KNOW how to get there. You KNOW how to ask for it and pay for it. But right this minute you still can’t print your letterhead.
That’s because you can’t stick knowledge in your printer and make it work. All that knowledge has very little power to fix anything. You need the actual cartridge.
Ok, let’s say you ACTED and got the cartridge, got home, and put it on the shelf next to the printer. Well, now you KNOW where it is, and you KNOW you’ll be able to continue with your work after you install it, and you KNOW how to install it, but it won’t do you any good to KNOW all that until you actually perform the ACTION of installing it in the printer … you KNOW that, don’t you?
So, the (blatantly obvious) point I want to make here is that none of the valuable knowledge you’ll gather from the articles you read, from the websites you peruse, from the teleclasses, workshops or webinars you attend, from the videos you watch or from the audios you listen to will bring you any personal or professional success unless you put it into PRACTICE. Period!
I wish you ALL the personal and professional success you desire and deserve. Just remember that…What you “desire” is a function of your ambition, what you “deserve” is a function of your ACTIONS…Are the two aligned?
BE the very best you can be,
DO all you can possibly do,
GET everything you want to have,
GIVE as much of it as you can give.
Daniel G. St-Jean
Aka The Sparkplug of Personal Development
Author of 7 Simple Keys To Spark Change In Your Life Now!
Co-author of 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life – volume 2
Daniel G. St-Jean’s mission is to instruct and ignite the people who are just thinking about making significant changes in their life, and to support and encourage those who are in the midst of making such changes so they get to live the life they really want to live. Visit his web site at http://www.SparkChangeInYourLife.com, read his Blog at http://www.aBlogAboutMakingLifeChanges.com and subscribe to his eSparks at http://www.SparkChangeInYourLife.com/e-sparks.