Procrastination is not the answer to the problems right now.
Waiting for the next bail out or for the economy to bounce back
before taking action is a huge mistake, and unfortunately seems to
be the strategy for many.
Job seekers, sales professionals, business owners, folks selling
a home or buying a home, and anyone that has a goal or objective
needs to get past the negative feeling of having already given it
the old college try and accepting defeat. The next response is not
always going to be “no”, however the next response will always be
“no” if we stop asking the questions or quit on the active pursuit
of our goals and dreams.
Turn procrastination into being proactive. If voice mail
messages and e-mails haven’t yielded a reply yet, make another
attempt sending a different and more compelling message. Notice the
word “sending” and understand the difference between “leaving” a
message and “sending” a message. If you are prepared mentally and
physically to just “leave” a message chances are you will get left
behind. If your intent is to “send” a message you will more than
likely create one that gives the recipient a reason to reply.
Reluctance is just like giving up and feeds a procrastinating
attitude. “It’s summer time now, the kids are off from school so
I’ll get after it again in the fall.” Then the fall comes and the
excuse sounds like this, “The kids are back in school, too many
activities to stay on top of, my buyer is just back from vacation,
I’ll pick it up again in October.” October rolls around and the
rationale is “The weather is really changing, budgets have already
been set, nobody buys homes this time of year, so I will get busy
right after the new year.” January comes and of course the
reluctance continues sounding like, “Everyone is just getting over
the holidays, no one is ready to buy or hire anyone right now, I’ll
just wait until next month to send out my resume or see my prospect
or customer.”
By the time the story ends it is summer time all over again and
the kids are out of school and the cycle continues. It’s time to
break the cycle and shun activity reluctance and call avoidance in
the pursuit of what is so important to our personal and
professional success. Times are challenging, that is not in
dispute. So it is imperative that our personal productivity and
inertia maintain the necessary momentum to propel us through it.
Imaginary predictions of “no” are just that until proven otherwise.
And the only way to change the imaginary outcome is to actually
make the effort.
You have the skills, you have the talent, you have the assets
for success, but talent without effort breeds mediocrity. Skills
and knowledge are important and coupled with the right levels of
activity and positive attitude will significantly increase the
likelihood of winning.
What are you waiting for or better yet what are you going to do
today to make a difference in your life? Let me know at msnorton@comcast.net and make it
a better than good week!
Michael Norton, a resident of Highlands Ranch, is the former
president of the Zig Ziglar organization and CEO and founder of
www.candogo.com.
