I’m sure you heard all of these adages:

  • It’s not about getting it right, it’s about getting it going
  • Ready…Fire…Aim
  • Keep on keeping on
  • Fake it ‘til you make it

The point with all of them is the same:

Taking action…any action…is the first step towards success.

Taking the 100% right action is not as important as just taking action. My first business mentor provided me with some sage advice that I have never forgotten:

“Upgrade your conversation every day”

I had no idea what that meant. Even after he explained that if you keep asking the same questions every day, you’ll never progress.

I understood it in my brain…I understood the words…I did not feel it in my heart.

Suddenly he refused to provide any more mentoring until I took the action. I told him I couldn’t…there were still so many unanswered questions.

His reply: “I have answered them. But you can not hear me because you have no experience. For that you need to take action so we can upgrade the conversation.”

With no other choice…I took action. And suddenly the questions I had were answered, and I had a new set of questions.

My conversation was upgraded.

I understood his advice.

So here is what I say to you. Stop using the excuse that you need to be 100% certain of what to do before you move forward, because you know what?

That will NEVER happen.

You’ll never feel 100% sure.

If you take action, and it is the wrong answer…you have still learned something…even if it is just what not to do.

Yes, reduce the mistakes by finding a mentor who can guide you in the right direction. But even Michael Phelps can not teach you to swim if you never jump in the water.

Believe me, I know how frustrating it can be to start something new. You feel like you are in a huge fog and not sure which direction to take.

I currently find myself in that situation with a new business venture my wife and I are pursuing.

But we do something everyday. And from each action we learn…and more important…we understand more which allows us to upgrade our conversations.

The questions we are asking now are so far above the questions we asked just a month ago that I almost feel embarrassed by the questions we were asking. The answers now seem obvious.

But they weren’t obvious a month ago.

And I am sure a month from now, the answers to today’s questions will be equally as obvious.

Be smart. Get educated. Follow good directions. And get started whether you have all the answers or not for they will be revealed during the journey.

Enjoy the ride.

 

Expect abundance,

Lou Castillo