You Don’t Have To Be Great To Start but You Have To Start To Be Great

Take action, then adjust along the way.

The title of this article may sound familiar. I must admit that it is not mine, since it is based on a quote from Zig Ziglar. However, I love the quote so much that I couldn't help but use it for my article.

I constantly meet people who tell me they are waiting for the right time to act. You know that perfect moment that will allow them to succeed for sure. Of course, such certainty is nothing but a utopia in life. However, these people really seem to believe in it.

They think that in order to be great, they have to prepare for years before actually taking action. Such an approach is counterproductive and is what will prevent them from being great in their chosen field.

No great person you admire has done this.

To use a sports analogy, do you honestly think Michael Jordan woke up one morning as the greatest player of all time? A player capable of winning six NBA titles for his Chicago Bulls team? In the same vein, do you think Thomas Edison achieved his most incredible inventions in one try each time?

The answer is obviously no every time!

You can take the stories of all the people who have achieved great things in history, and you will always get the same pattern: these people started where they were without waiting, and then progressed little by little. Failure after failure, they learned the lessons before adapting to do better each time.

In the end, their patience and resilience were rewarded.

So whatever your goals are, you'll need to take action. The sooner the better, in my opinion. I keep saying the same thing: the best time to take action is always now.

You will learn much more by taking action than by preparing to be great. The first initial step is always the hardest, but it is the one that will set you on the path to becoming great.

Mistakes and failures should be sought out as often as possible, as they are a sign that you are moving towards things you have not mastered. They are a sign that you are making progress in your life by stepping out of your comfort zone. These mistakes and failures will be all the more useful if you know how to face them with honesty and learn from them.

By adapting and continuing to move forward, you will move up a notch each time in your ascent towards the greatness we all seek in life.

So, if you think about it further, the simple fact of taking action day after day without hesitation already puts you among the winners. Winners in the making, but winners indeed. The rest is just a matter of time and patience, which you will have to show.

Final Thoughts

To help you adopt this philosophy of life, remember this quote from Thomas Edison:

“I have not failed 10,000 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 10,000 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.”

If Edison was able to face so many failures without ever losing his enthusiasm, you too must do so by seeing each failure as the best way to eliminate a way that won't work.

This is your only chance to succeed in becoming great.