President Theodore Roosevelt once said – “There is nothing brilliant nor outstanding about my record, except perhaps one thing: I do the things that I believe ought to be done… and when I make up my mind to do a thing, I act.”
Who does not want to be productive and master success? But the real challenge comes when actually things need to be done. People, procrastinate. Many times, people fall into the fever of paralysis of analysis.
Now in this post, we are going to discuss those 4 incredible questions which you should ask yourself to get started. I would request as you ask this question to yourself, be truthful to your own answers:
- What do I really want?
- What will it cost?
- Am I willing to pay the price?
- When should I start paying the price?
Notice that the last question is designed to prompt ACTION. If someone doesn’t answer the last question and make a commitment to a start date, the first three questions don’t really matter. And of course, the best answer to the last question is NOW.
What do I really want?
Be truthful to your own answers. Without any filter in your mind jot down all your needs and want that you really care about and value a lot. Few questions which helped me to decide what I really want:
- Where am I spending most of my time?
- Who are the people getting benefits from my work?
- Who are the people I am hanging out with?
- Do I really create any value for my time?
- Is anyone out there getting benefited with the work I do?
- Is this what I can do for the rest of my life without any hesitation?
- Does it make me feel happy and satisfied?
- Is it going to give me freedom in my life?
- Can I make sure what I know and that if I pass on the same knowledge to my kids, they can live a purpose-driven life?
This list could be much more customizable. As you answer these questions be true to yourself. Don’t judge yourself and be realistic. Give it a read again and again till you are convinced with your answers.
You must quote me at this point, you must be feeling relaxed as you do it. But let me tell you the best feeling you will get when you get what you really want and what you don’t want from this exercise.
When knowing what you want gives you the focus, knowing what you don’t want gives you the conviction why you chase what you really want.
So, it is absolutely important to know both – What you want and what you don’t want.
Now, skim through your answers to each question especially pay attention to those questions where you are not satisfied with your answer. This time answer what action on those will bring satisfaction. The magic will happen when you read those final sets of answers. Those are nothing but what you really want.
What will it cost?
Perhaps you might have heard the saying, “Nothing comes for free”. Every action and choice we make has a cost to it.
Activities below will facilitate to come to a point:
- List down the activities that you do outside of your work
- See what are your activities are keeping you away from your dream
- Figure out the time slots you can devote to the activities to reach your goal/s.
A few frequent common cost elements are as below:
- It may cost to letting go of a few habits
- It may cost you to push yourself to go get it even if you don’t want to do it
- It may cost you to face rejections and challenges
- It may cost you to let go of a few friends who really don’t add value to your goals
- It may cost your late-night gossip and hangout
- It may cost of skipping a few movies as you use to put on your daily habits
Is that worth trimming those times off from your calendar and dedicate for your goal?
If you don’t do what you want, what are the possible shortcomings in the future you need to pay the price for?
Am I willing to pay the price?
Once you decided on those costs for your choices the real question is – Am I willing to pay the price? This means, are you ready to sacrifice a few things and do whatever it takes to make it happen in order to get closure to your dream?
A few follow-on questions help in this section to get to a point:
- Do you see the value in your sacrifices?
- If I don’t pay the price now, can I pay that later in life?
- What I am gonna lose by not doing what I want?
- Am I ready to challenge myself?
- Am I self-motivated?
- Am I scared of hardworking?
When should I start paying the price?
Are you gonna do it now, give up or delay getting it?
Without committing a timeline, it is meaning less of this exercise. There is an epic story back from February 14, 1876, in order to illustrate this concept.
“That was the day inventor Elisha Gray finally went to the patent office with his idea about a device that had the potential to transmit voice over wires. Gray had been experimenting with ideas for the device for quite some time. But even on that in February, he wasn’t applying for a patent— only for a caveat, which was a document declaring that he intended to create the invention and try to patent it. But at the patent office, he learned that just a few short hours before, another inventor had been there and filed for a patent on a very similar device. And that person is no other than – Alexandar Graham Bell. Gray tried to challenge Bell’s claim in court, saying he, not Bell, had come up with the idea first. But the court sided with Bell.”
Nobody would like to see themself in the same position as like Gray in their life.
To be successful you need to master the practice of “Do it Now”.
As per W. Clement Stone – for thirty days each morning before getting out of bed, you should repeat out loud, “Do it now”, fifty times. And at the end of the day before going to sleep, you should say it fifty times again. At the end of the month, you will automatically respond positively to any opportunity!