“There’s no such thing as a million dollar idea, only million dollar executions.” –Chris Hawker
I remember in the early days of Metabolic Effect, Jade and I were doing a Group Instructor training at a gym in North Carolina. ME had been growing steadily for about a year and at this point we had over 100 instructors certified in our methods. Jade was giving the hormonal fat loss lecture, and then we started going over the format and the Rest-Based Training concept. It was about half-way through the day when one of the instructors shouted, “This stuff is so awesome! Why didn’t I come up with it!!?” We all laughed and indulged the comment, but I remember thinking, “Heh. Anyone can have an idea, but it takes a whole other level of dedication to make an idea into something.” Metabolic Effect has, of course, grown by leaps and bounds in the last few years in a not-so-hot economy, but that has happened, not because of an idea (though it’s a very good one), but because of sheer gall and grit.
So what makes some people good thinkers and others good doers?
Confidence. Audacity. Willingness to make mistakes.
That’s it. Putting your stuff out there and seeing what happens. It’s the perfectionist’s nightmare, but honestly, there’s no place for perfectionism if you are someone who wants to learn, grow and succeed. I recently read, “The Tools” by Phil Stutz & Barry Michaels. In short, it’s the anti-victim manifesto. Meaning, it presents an actionable way to deal with struggles so that we don’t feel like victims of circumstances. In other words, instead of being passive observers in our own lives, we get to actively create what “happens” to us. Ready for the best part? The authors say that in order to do get to the next level of success, you have to RUN AT potentially-painful situations. Huh? Here’s some illustrations from the book that I think will help.
In essence, in order to get to the next level in success, you have to be willing to be vulnerable and open yourself up for the potential of failure. In fact, expect it. Failure is a good thing, however. Doesn’t feel great in the short-term of course, but it’s a means to an end–which is, ultimately achieving more than you ever imagined possible. When you charge those tough situations (instead of shying away), you are gifted with inner strength that can carry you to the next level of success. And adversity is the way.
So, what does this have to do with execution and doing? Well, simple. Many of us don’t do what we feel driven to do because of a fear of failure or looking bad or “what will others say?” Well, consider this the permission you’ve been waiting for. What’s the worst that can happen? You fail. You mess-up. You fall down. Don’t you always have the opportunity to get back up again? And in those moments of resilience, aren’t you stronger than you were before the fall?
So if you’ve been waiting for “the right time” or for a risk-free time, there simply will never be one. The difference between thinkers and doers are that the latter just DO. Like Nike :) They do, and then let the chips fall where they may. They pick up the chips and keep moving forward. So if it’s a career move, a competition, a relationship or simply starting a blog, the time will never be right. Remember, there’s always risk in getting started. But the risk of not starting is greater. The time is now.
Loved what Jade said the other day about this (and if there’s anyone to whom I look up in terms of grit and gall, it’s him): “Those who truly desire change can’t wait to get knocked down because they know growth comes from getting back up.”
Related: Problems vs. Solutions
