Open up your journal to a new page and write a pledge to yourself today. Take an oath that you will follow every step on the path to your dreams. Promise yourself that you will not try the shortcuts, but you will stay on the road you need to take to reach legitimate success. That means you must be willing to devote time to your project. Make a pledge in this document to practice your skills, learn from others, and help those you meet along the way. Make a promise to yourself that you are worth the effort. You deserve abundance. Show that you are willing to take the less-popular but more-rewarding road to get there.
DAY
343
“Trust only movement. Life happens at the level of events, not of words. Trust movement.”
— Alfred Adler
Yesterday you considered things you don’t trust. Today you can latch on to something you can trust: movement. Taking action is the surest way to success.
Think of the people you know who really live life to the fullest. Describe their characteristics. Why do you consider them people who get the most out of life? What is it about them that feels vibrant and exciting? Which of their characteristics do you want to emulate in your life?
Life is a series of events. Words and thoughts are reflections on those events, but life happens in the actions that you and others take every day. You cannot live out a fruitful life in your mind or on paper. Life requires action.
The twins were almost two years old, and they were a whirlwind of activity. Grandma sat on the floor watching Kate play the drums and Sam “read” a book. Then Sam took over the drums, and Kate decided to make breakfast in their playhouse. Within minutes, Sam took over the breakfast duties, and Kate fired up the miniature vacuum to clean house. Suddenly, Sam became a DJ blaring music on a CD player while Kate danced. Grandma smiled at the pandemonium created by those two blonde cuties. It was a banner day filled with an endless series of events strung together to form a bond between brother and sister and between grandparent and grandchild. Are you enjoying the events in your life? Trust movement.
DAY
344
“You cannot change anything in your life with intention alone, which can become a watered down, occasional hope that you’ll get to tomorrow. Intention without action is useless.”
— Caroline Myss
Randy saw his co-worker coming down the hall, and he ducked into the restroom. Her mother had recently died, and he had intended to send a sympathy card but never got around to it. Best just to avoid her until she recovered from her loss, he thought. During lunch, Randy checked his bank balance online. Rats! He was overdrawn again. He had intended to transfer funds from his savings the day before, but he forgot about it. Randy arrived home at six o’clock at night and found a note on the kitchen table from his wife. She wanted a divorce. He stared at her handwriting on the page, and a deep feeling of emptiness started to creep into his heart. He had intended to tell her how much he loved her . . . but he just never got around to it.
Intention without action is useless. You can be filled with good intentions, but nobody knows it until you do something. Randy had no proof to show his wife that he really did love her, because his actions didn’t reflect his feelings.
Your assignment today is to openly display your intentions. That does not mean simply talking about the things you want to do. It means getting out there and doing them. Don’t get caught in the trap of good intentions. They are useless and will do nothing to help you achieve your dreams. Intentions are not real until you take action.
DAY
345
“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.”
— Edmund Burke
A little bit makes a difference. If you ever feel overwhelmed by the tasks in front of you, know that taking any action, no matter how small, will make a difference. Pick up a piece of trash if you see it on the sidewalk. Put your loose change in the can for muscular dystrophy at the grocery store check-out line. Plant some flowers in your front yard. Help your kids with their homework. When lots of people do little things, great things will be achieved. It is much worse to stand by and do nothing. Every little thing you do has a ripple effect on the rest of the world. You are more powerful than you think.
Give what you can give today; do what you are capable of doing today; help the people you can help today. Don’t give up because you can’t save the world. No one can accomplish great things alone. It takes time and action—continual action—to exact real change.
It is a mistake to do nothing, but it is never a mistake to do even a little bit. Do what you can today, and when you go to sleep tonight, congratulate yourself on taking action. When you wake up tomorrow morning, do it again. You can reach your dreams through a series of small steps, but you can’t get there by doing nothing.
DAY
346
“Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself than of other people, nor does it mean having a low opinion of your own gifts. It means freedom from thinking about yourself at all.”
— William Temple
You will have an opportunity for the next few days to consider humility as it relates to your success. Humility sounds like a bad word to many people. It’s a little too close to humiliation. In actuality, humility is not the same thing as humiliation. Humiliation happens when you are in a state of public disgrace or shame. Humility is a personality trait of being humble or modest.
We talked about humility in relation to pride back on Day 334 and discussed its positive and negative connotations. Now you will have a chance to look at how humility can be a useful tool for success.
Humility doesn’t put you at a lower station than those around you. It also doesn’t mean that you do not consider yourself worthy of success. William Temple described it beautifully in the quote above. Humility is freedom from thinking about yourself at all.
As you move toward success, you will travel the road faster if you turn your attention outward to those around you rather than becoming self-absorbed. You have worked through lots of exercises in this book to allow your talents to emerge and to reveal your personal gifts. You know you have the ability to achieve your dreams. Now is the time to look around and find ways to make a difference in this world. It may sound kind of funny, but you are not the centerpiece of this endeavor. Stop thinking about yourself and start thinking about what you can do for those around you. Then success will be yours.
DAY
347
“We are all worms, but I do believe I am a glowworm.”
— Winston Churchill