Clarity Comes from Action not Theory

There's a great line in Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist that goes “There is only one way to learn. It’s through action.”

It's easy to read all the personal development books, attend the right seminars, and listen to podcasts recommended by colleagues but none of it means a thing if what we learn sits idle. I've learned that knowledge is not power. It is potential power. We learn through doing, not thinking. 

The trouble is often two-fold. Either we're afraid of failure or we don't know where to begin. Sometimes it's both. Again, both are byproducts of over-thinking rather than doing. In time we become over-motivated underachievers. 

I'm not suggesting one be cavalier in their endeavors or be passive about where you invest your time. I'm saying we should stop waiting for permission. 

The truth is nobody ever knows where to start. There is no blueprint for success, or single trajectory for entrepreneurship. Those who succeed stumble, even tumble, but with fortitude a sense of clarity is often revealed. Even then, it's still hazy. We just keep moving.

As far as tackling fear goes you must ask yourself what is the worst that could happen. An endeavor doesn't unfold the way you thought it would? So what? Has anything in your life ever gone according to plan? Probably not. So what's the difference?

Fail fast. Learn fast. Adjust. Rinse. Repeat.

Having Ideas is Not Unique

It's estimated that we have between 35 - 50 thoughts a minute. Needless to say, thoughts are not unique, not even good ones.

We probably all have a relative, friend, or colleague who's been pitching his or her idea for the next great screenplay, book, or film to us for years. You may have even silently concluded, I'd see that movie, or buy that book.

What IS unique is the ability to execute on those ideas. It's the quality that separates those who succeed and make meaningful creative contributions from those who simply go on talking about it wondering what might have been.

As, German philosopher Friedrich Engels once noted, "An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory."