"Never mistake activity for achievement." — John Wooden The year is 2001. Carrie Bradshaw is my idol. "Drops of Jupiter" is my favourite song. And I'm gearing up to spend $27 000 on an English degree. I loved University. I read Shakespeare. Virginia Woolf. And Jack Kerouac. I wrote a thousand essays at 2 in the morning. Did I learn how to function on 12 cups of coffee and 3 hours of sleep? Sure did. Did it prepare me for my chosen career path? Hell no. And therein lies the rub, my friends (ok, so the Shakespare comes in handy every now and then). So often, we spend a shit-load of time preparing for life to happen. But very little time actually living it. I've always admired people who live life by the seat of their pants. People who say "Screw it! I'm just gonna do it." People who kick procrastination to the curb, and take the first step -- even if it seems outlandish. Because if there's one thing successful people all have in common, it's that they all started before they felt ready. Exactly one year ago, I quit my job as a Librarian to become a Personal Trainer. And let me tell you, the best advice I ever got, was to get certified as fast as possible, and just get coaching. I wasn't used to operating under the dive-in-head-first mentality....but I embraced it with everything I had. And it worked! Way better than I could have ever imagined. And so I think about how much time we all spend over-preparing vs. producing. I think about how much time we all spend getting ready vs. actually achieving. And guys? Let's be honest. Fitness is one of biggest ways we delay action. How often do we allow preparation to become procrastination when it comes to working out?! I'll go tomorrow when: I'm more well rested. I've eaten breakfast. I've had a chance to wash my favourite gym shorts. I've convinced my buddy Geoff to come with me. I've done my physio. I've nailed a few laps around the block. We convince ourselves that we need to get it all "just so" before we do the thing. And why do we do that? If I had to wager a guess, I'd say it's because we are trying to delay failure. We can't fail if we don't try. But if we don't try, we also can't succeed. Having the balls to take action, will get you a long way. As naive and nerve-wracking as it is. Because whether you're trying to start a business, write a book, or lose weight.....who you are, what you have, and what you know right now is good enough to get going.
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