The Power Of Action

Action. One word, six letters. This single noun, described by Webster as, “The manner or method of performing,” is perhaps the most important word in all of human history. I’ve said for years that the world cares little for you the person, except in an arbitrary way. You take up space, you eat food and you are there, so to speak.

But do something notable, worthwhile or even despicable and people know who you are. The richest, most successful, and yes, even the most murderous of men got that way by their actions. Mountain climbers or champion racers win by doing, not by standing on the corner. But, none of these people would do more than take up space on this planet had they not acted on something, at some point in time.

I’ve noticed a tendency among today’s younger people, by contrast, to do very little. Many are content to stay home with their parents well into their 20’s, or even 30’s, and make nothing more of themselves than that. They like to ‘hang out’ with their friends and if asked what they are doing, respond, with “Oh, not much. “

I suspect the root of this attitude is our highly touted and civilized ‘social welfare system.’ I can't prove it - but I suspect it. The welfare system's intent is, of course, caring for the truly poor and infirm. However, what started as people caring for people has morphed into the modern expectation that somehow “the System” will take care of you; that someone will step forward to provide you with that which you want or require. In that case, why do more than wait for the program, grant or handout to come your way?

The problem is, there is always a price. Someone who has achieved something in life pays for these handouts, and often grudgingly so. This means there is also the expectation that you, the recipient, accept being dictated to by those who give the handout. Once you get used to it, in other words, you do what they say to keep it flowing freely. Not everyone gives in to this way of thinking, but far too many do, it seems.

What has been overlooked is the notion that if you want something, the only person who will ensure you get it is you.

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My son Daniel had these two extremes, action vs. handout, driven home recently. He has a friend who has a pressure washer sitting around the yard and some folks asked the two of them if they would wash some houses for them. Daniel was waiting to go off to school and they were paying pretty well, so why not? When the job was finished, his comment to me was something like, “Dad, it was nice to get paid for that simple work. It wasn‘t really hard, and now someone else wants us to come and do some washing for them. Man, it sure beats trying to find new ways to bum money from you!“

Did you catch that? Now, he could have asked me to hand him some money, but he knew that was wearing thin with me, real fast. "Others people money running out..." in other words.
Instead, by sheer chance, he had taken the action needed to earn more money than I would have thought to give.
And he hadn‘t had to beg for a handout to get it, nor put up with my enslavement or expectations. It took only the simple action of washing with a pressure hose to open a world of possibilities and get the message across - DO something, and in turn, become something. In Daniels’ case, he became a man with money in his pocket

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It’s not what you dream about or wish for that gets you where you’re going. Dreams and wishes give shape to your desires, but they are just a place to start. It’s not what you say, talk or complain about that does it, either. “Talk is cheap,” as they say. The world is full of pundits and boors to tell you how bad things are, but that gets no one anywhere.

No, it’s taking ACTION that gets you where you want to be. It’s the “DO” part of your Human Charter, the Charter that places before each of us the challenge to GO, DO and BECOME in our life. Some will say that there is a risk of failure in all this doing, but there is also the chance that you will succeed - or even exceed your own expectations. In the end it‘s about performance, either way.
That is the only thing that gets you noticed and which brings you success at anything. Besides, everyone who succeeds at anything has also failed more than a few times. So get over that fear, right now.

So, what are you waiting for? You know what you want; get a plan together and don’t let anything stop you from getting there. Make no complaints, offer no excuses.

Man, it’s time for you to take action. It’s time to GO, DO, and BECOME!