ACTION
We’re going to talk about action. And how, in order to be a Dreamer, you have to know how to take action…
“Dreaming is a verb. It requires action.” – JG
And oftentimes, The ONLY difference between your dreams and your reality is action.
We’re going to talk about Dreamers Action. Cuz action for the sake of action is no strategy at all. And busy for the sake of busy is not a strategy either. Dreamers take action in a certain mode.
“Being busy is a weakness. It’s an excuse to not do what’s hard and uncomfortable.” Darren Hardy
We’re going to talk about what action feels like when you’re a Dreamer, because Dreamers take action that requires all of them so it actually feels different. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 1,000 time… “Dreaming is not for the faint of heart, it’s for those of heart.”
“This life can be gross and self absorbed in misaligned priorities. Gross. Do something worth doing that costs you everything.” Rachel Platten
Are you ready?
You ready to take action?
Jack Canfield said, “We only have control over three things in this life – the thoughts you think, the images you visualize, and the actions you take.”
Clarifying, verifying and visualizing your dreams are incredibly powerful tools to manifesting your dreams but in and of themselves, they will not change your life. You can clarify, verify, visualize and even strategize all that you want but without doing something about your dreams, they will have no impact on your life.
Therefore the impetuous for change happens when we actually take action and do something with what we’ve learned. Information is cheap. Applied information is a game changer.
We live in what’s called The Information Age. Anything we need, it’s attainable with the click of a button, 24-7. We can Google just about anything and either find the answer or hell, a whole heap of opinions. Like no other time in history we’ve got information literally at our finger tips and yet, we are dealing with unprecedented, escalating statistics and a CRAZY world.
We know but we don’t know.
We comprehend at a head level but we haven’t taken it to heart level. We hear but we don’t believe.
So how does one cross the line from knowing to knowing? From head to heart? From hearing to believing? I’d like to propose to you, action. We don’t just think our way to acting; rather, we act our way to thinking.
Action is the answer.
But I’m not talking about any kind of action. I am talking about whole – hearted action.
What is whole – hearted action?
When you look at the meaning of the word and the synonyms of the word you find words such as; hearty, whole – souled, single minded, fervent, zealous, gung ho, spirited, genuine, unrestrained, sincere, unaffected, absolute! I mean these are powerful, powerful words and immediately will confirm whether or not you’re in the zone. DO you know what I mean? You can feel it can’t you.
Lets also look at the antonym, the opposite of this: apathetic, disinterested, indifferent, spiritless, tentative, doubtful, resistant, unwilling, hesitant, reluctant, lukewarm, halfhearted, grudging. Come on now. If that isn’t convicting, I don’t know what is?!
But lets face it, whole hearted action is hard.
We like the idea of action more than we like taking action. Which leads me to my reasons why we don’t take action…
MAIN REASONS WE AREN’T TAKING ACTION
Avoidance of the hard.
One of my favorite Instagram quotes says, “People romanticize their plans but dread the execution. The magic you’re looking for is in the work you’re avoiding.” @thefemalehustlers.academy
Can I just tell you right here, right now, the magic is absolutely in the work you’re avoiding, guaranteed! The work reveals you to you. You see what you’re made of. You wake up to you. You wake up to your life. You wake up to what you’re actually capable of and not just what the mind chatter tries to convince you of. Watch your life transform. Watch the “impossible” turn possible. Watch as you no longer sit on the sidelines of life but rather get in the game. Watch as you move through ups and downs, good days and hard days, overcoming obstacles, hard conversations, and learn about all the stuff you didn’t once know. Watch as you feel every emotion.
Watch as you laugh, cry, feel fear and move through it, feel peace, love, and pure joy. Watch all of it. It’s called life my friend, a life live with your whole heart. Do it with ALL your heart. Do it with your limitless vision in mind. Do it with you conviction in mind. Do it because you can’t not. Do it because God ordained and destined and commissioned you to.
We limit ourselves… we are waiting for “freedom”
Freedom isn’t about being able to do what you want to do. Freedom is about doing what’s right for you. It’s about alignment with yourself. Byron Katie said, “Isn’t it marvelous to discover that you’re the one you’ve been waiting for? That you are your own freedom?”
Lemme ask you this, if you are free, completely free… free to have your dreams, free to pursue your dreams, free to obtain your dreams, what would you do today? What would you do this week? What would you do this month?
You are free to choose because you are free to choose. Action isn’t therefore about “waiting until ,” it’s about moving your butt to where your dreams are and knowing that your freedom is found in that choice.
We’re pawning off our own accountability onto somebody else.
The person you should be most accountable to is you. “But Julia, you don’t understand, I need accountability or I won’t do it.” Exactly! That’s my point exactly. That’s called laziness. That’s called misalignment. That’s called no limitless vision and no conviction and you’re better than that. You know more than that. If you struggle with self – accountability, HERE’S MY BEST ADVISE: Instead of continuing to put off tomorrow what you could do today or putting on someone else what you can do for yourself, start working your own muscle of self – accountability and start today. SELF – ACCOUNTABILITY IS A MUSCLE. It’s a practice. It doesn’t happen overnight nor is it given to him or her but not you. The only reason that “he” or “she” is accountable to themselves is because they’ve practiced it. START HERE: Hold yourself accountable the way that you would want someone else to. Give yourself the kind of tough love you want from someone else because that person will come and go but you are with you forever. So really, the object of your affection is you.
We don’t have strong enough conviction or we’re not working the muscle.
Here’s what I’ve come to learn, after being a straight A student all my life to running my own business at the age of 21 to coaching hundreds and hundreds of entrepreneurs on strategic planning and setting goals, deadlines and dates to accomplish things, the best thing you could do for yourself as it pertains to taking massive action is to consider and reconsider your conviction in light of your dreams. It’s your can’t not… you’re “I don’t know how I’ll live with myself if I don’t do it,” you’re God ordained, purposed mission statement for your life and no mid term final, strategic plan or deadline ever compares with the fire a true conviction has.
When do I want to “live unapologetically uninhibited” to see every one of my dreams come to pass? Right now. Right here. So what does my daily and weekly agenda look like? Anything in support of that cause. Otherwise, you don’t want it that bad. “No, Julia, you don’t understand, I do want it that bad.” No you don’t. You want to be comfortable more. You want to be right more. You want to “stay safe” more. I’ve been there honey. I said I wanted “it” soooooo bad but when it really came down to it, I wanted control, safety, and to not be wrong more.
HERE’S WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO DO. You’re going to take your conviction, align it with your dreams and then from the bottom of my heart, with all the love I can possibly muster, you’re going to prove it. Prove that it matters. Prove that it matters more than the fear. Prove that it matters more than the doubt. Prove that it matters more than what someone else might think. Prove that it matters more than the potential failure and trial and error along the way. PROVE IT! But don’t just prove it to me, prove it to you. Every. Single. Day.
If you have to side hustle to make it happen. Do that.
If you have to quit your job to make it happen. Do that. If you have to stay up late, get up early. Do that.
If you have to ask for help, get a shorter to do list, learn something you don’t yet know. Do that.
If you have to eat different, make a few more calls, take a few more classes, practice a few more times. Do that.
Do it because it gets you one step closer with each step you take. Do it because it honors your soul. Do it because it defies the fear and stands against everything you protest. Do it because you were born to.
The achievement of our dreams, like self – actualization, is the tallest peak we can summit in our lives. Self – actualization, defined as the realization and fulfillment of one’s talents and potential, in Maslow’s Hierarchy, is the highest level of psychological development after basic and mental needs have been fulfilled. This Hierarchy is a “triangle of human needs” which he (Maslow) charted in 1943 as a set of human requirements that are important for an individual to achieve development and self – actualization in this life. The levels of hierarchy, similar to the climb of Everest, start with our physiological and safety needs – air, food, water, shelter, clothing, sex, sleep, and protection. These are also known as deficiency needs, which means once we achieve them, we don’t need more of them. He puts love and belonging as well as esteem needs – dignity, accomplishments, reputation, at the middle of the pyramid and self actualization – realizing personal potential, self – fulfillment and peak experiences, at the very top, labeling these growth needs. Too many of us only set our eyes and attention on survival based needs which is why we never summit our own Everest in life.
HOW TO TAKE ACTION:
Jack Canfield said, “We only have control over three things in this life – the thoughts you think, the images you visualize, and the actions you take.”
THOUGHTS
So everyday, you are going to check in with yourself by embodying the heart of a dreamer first. You are going to remind yourself that your dreams want you more than you want your dreams. You are going to remind yourself that you are born to dream and to chase every dream you can imagine. You are going to remind yourself that the God of this Universe has your back. You are going to remind yourself that you have your back. You are going to take the time to create the space, to “be still and know”. To really know. Do not put your thoughts anywhere other than where they need to be.
VISUALIZE
You are going to visualize your dreams. Literally meditate on them, familiarize yourself with them, ask yourself who do I have to become? How do I think when I’ve accomplished my dreams? How do I feel? What is my “MO”?
You are going to incorporate all of your 5 senses, in no particular order. And if you don’t know how you’re going to feel or act or behave, guess! Or call someone who has accomplished a similar dream and ask them. With all of you, every fiber in your being, visualize, visualize, visualize! What you see within you has to be bigger and realer than what you see around you. By visualizing you’re making your dreams bigger.
TAKE ACTION
And then, you are going to act like it. You are literally going to bring your future into today by acting as though now. Don’t wait for “when you get there” to act like it. Live the way you will live THEN, NOW.
THE TIME IS NOW.
Live with vital energy, as the published author, the present mom, the unapologetic activist, do it now! Don’t wait to act like the person who has lost 30 pounds or the author who has published handfuls of books, begin to act like that person today.
Right now. Don’t wait for the accomplishment of that dream to all of a sudden become that person, practice being her/him right now, in this moment! Ask: What does the accomplished writer think about this issue? What does the marathon runner eat to stay lean? What does the mom of 4 do when she feels stressed out? What does the daughter of God do when she doesn’t know the next step? And on and on and on. Take action as though. Every. Single. Day.
Once you’ve got you right, it’s easier to take action. Here’s a fun list of ways to take action, in no particular order:
- Put your dreams first. Do “the hard things” first
- Consider what you want to accomplish the night before
- Highlight the important tasks so you know the difference
- Time block
- Hire a coach to help you in “finding your way” or better understanding your your model
- Set way points or deadlines for yourself
- Hire someone to help you. You cannot do it all alone
- Burn other ships. Don’t have competing commitments and hunker down and get focused
- Reward yourself if you do
- Create consequences if you don’t
- Set micro goals to help you achieve the macro goal
