People are always talking about how they are thinking about doing something. The more you think about something the harder it gets. The only way to get out of this rut is to do something. When you start doing things it becomes easier and you realize that the effort it takes to do something is less than thinking about it. I’ve laid out a simple set of concepts that will help you go from thinking to doing.
Hit the Ground Running
Getting started is the hardest part. This is the point where you have to create an idea, decide it’s worth doing and then do it. The process of getting started can be broken down into two parts. Those two parts are “Think of an Idea” and “Take Action”.
Think of an Idea
Thinking of your idea is the easiest part. You can start this part many different ways and it’s most about what makes you feel creative. When you have a good idea make sure you write it down so you don’t forget it.
Take Action
Taking action can be difficult. Depending on what your idea is it can be difficult to take the first step. This is where planning comes in. During the take action stage you will want to break down your idea into parts that you can do. Don’t overthink this. Pick 5 things that you will need to do or learn to reach your goal. List them in order from most to least importance and start checking them off.
Expand Your Understanding
The next step in the process of doing instead of thinking is personal development. In this stage you are “evolving” and “learning”. There is no correct order for this because you are just trying to take the knowledge you are gaining from doing and then adapting it to make it better.
Evolving
This part of the process is when your idea grows and changes as you learn more about what you are doing. Your initial idea may be great but as you get more involved you will see that some things won’t work as well as you would like and you will need to change what you’re doing.
Learning
This is probably the most important part of doing something rather than thinking about it. When you are thinking about something you will constantly be looking at the same information and the amount you learn will be small. When you start doing you take in more information because of the new experiences. At this point take in as much information as possible. Learn from mentors, mistakes, videos, books or whatever you find that makes learning easy.
Don’t Give Up
Giving up is the biggest mistake you can make when you are trying to do something rather than think about it. When you give up on something before you are done you essentially turn all of the time and effort you put in into a waste. You don’t want to waste time because time is your most precious asset. If you are at the point where you want to give up look at your options and see if you can take your newfound knowledge in a different direction. Whatever you do don’t give up.
Achieve Success
This is the last stage in doing instead of thinking. Your hard work pays off when you become successful but don’t forget that success is what you want it to be. When you have finally achieved your goals you will be able to look back at all of the things you went through. You will be able to appreciate what you have done for yourself. You will now have a new skill set that you can apply to your next idea. Every time you have an idea stop thinking and start doing.
Life changing books are hard to come by, you might not have even found one yet. One of the only ways to actually find one is to constantly be reading. We know that reading can be tough so we decided to pick 5 of our favorite books on success to share with you!
Our goal was to pick 5 books that we thought had a life changing message. Everyone wants to live a happier, more fulfilling, and successful life. The ideas in these books can create the foundation for your success. We took the big ideas from these books and brought them together in an easy to read format. We hope you are inspired to read these books!
This first book is the book that inspired many people to change their lives. Without a doubt this should be required reading for anyone that wants to achieve more in life. If it was possible every student should have to read this book at least once. It is not only inspirational but it helps open up your mind to new ideas.
Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! By Robert Kiyosaki
Rich Dad Poor Dad is by far one of the best books on success and motivation. It’s a story about Robert Kiyosaki growing up with influence from his real dad (poor dad) and his best friends dad (rich dad). His poor dad focused on security and education while his rich dad focused on success and entrepreneurship.
Financial Freedom Creates Real Freedom
The main idea of this book is to become financially free. The only people that truly enjoy life are the ones that don’t have to worry about bills or where they will be fed. Robert Kiyosaki brings the idea of real estate investing to the average person. This is where many real estate investors first realize it is possible to do.
Mentors Make a Difference
Mentors and surrounding yourself with people that will help you improve your life is another key factor in making this one of the best success books of all time. The people you surround yourself with will either bring you up to their level or pull you down. Picking the most positively influential people is a must.
If you take anything from this book it should be, the average person can succeed, build good relationships, and find a way to invest in your future.
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Think and Grow Rich is an amazing book created by Napoleon Hill. He was one of the first people to get involved with motivation speaking, personal development, and success coaching. This book brings what he learned from years of first hand experience in becoming successful. He spent years researching to be one of the best in his field. It shows because this book is still one of the top 10 best selling personal development books of all time.
Your Ability to Succeed is Directly Related to What You Believe You Can Achieve
The idea that you can achieve anything you believe you can do is what this book is about. It teaches you how to move passed small thinking and focus on viewing the big picture. One of the big parts of this is never stop learning. When you stop learning you lose a way to have new ideas brought to you. It’s also important to surround yourself with good people that want to achieve more (see a trend here?). Remember you are the only person that can make a difference in you life. Use your own abilities to create a wonderful life for yourself.
Start with Why by Simon Sinek
This business success book was originally written to help business leaders and entrepreneurs achieve more. That may be the original purpose but anyone can read this book and find inspiration. Simon Sinek took a spin on how people should view why they are doing something. Normally people look at things from the outside in but Simon wanted people to ask why and start from the inside out.
Why is Your Purpose
You may be wondering what “why is your purpose” means. To put it in the most simple form, why is your purpose because you need to know why you are doing something. Your why should be the thing that pushes you to your limits. For some their why will be their family for others it may be friends, relationships, money, or knowledge. Whatever your why is you need to be emotional about it.
Your why should be something that you are willing to share with anyone. You need to be confident in your why and if you are too scared to share it then it’s not the right why. Your why needs to be built into a how. In business this would be how the company does something. It is the same for you, you are using your why to create a how. Next you’ll be building our why and how into a what. A what is just what you are doing. You can’t have a why or a how without a what.
Use your why to expand yourself as a person. After you have your why make sure everything you do is for your why.
The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure by Grant Cardone
Grant Cardone has created one of the best motivational books of all time. He grew up as an average kid for the most part. His father passed away when he was young so he didn’t have a father figure growing up. His mother did the best he could for the family but by most standards it still wasn’t enough. When he grew up he became a drug addict and alcoholic. Being in sales and making average money caused him to re-evaluate his life eventually becoming one of the best salesman, motivational speakers, and success coaches in the world.
Big Goals and Big Action Create Big Success
The main purpose of this book is to motivate people to do more. If you dig deeper it focuses on how to make big goals and take big action. Grant Cardone doesn’t want people to be average and he believes that everyone can achieve more.
One way to achieve more is by taking responsibility for your actions. Everything that happens to you is because of a choice you made this includes the excuses that you make. You need to take control of your life and focus on the things that will let you achieve more. Success should be your moral obligation. If you aren’t achieve then you need to put more time and effort in because being average is failing. Be more than average and you’ll never fail.
The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason
George Clason followed the story of average men in Babylon. He shows the struggles that you live through if you only strive to be average. One man learns that it is what you do that makes you successful and begins to find mentors and learn how to become successful. Each day is a chance to become more than you were the day before.
Small Steps Will Eventually Lead to Success
The richest man in Babylon got there by creating wealth over time. This book teaches the basics of investing and saving money. A simple personal finance trick that is taught is saving 10% of your income. It sounds like a lot but it can go unnoticed if taken out automatically. This 10% of your income can be used to invest.
Invest Your Savings
As you save up your 10% each month you will eventually have enough to invest. Don’t invest in something that you don’t understand, it’s too easy to lose money. Always pick something that you understand and you can repeatedly invest in. Over time your profits should be reinvested to take advantage of compounding interest. With enough time compounding interest will make you rich beyond what you can imagine making on your own.
If you take anything away from this book it should be that persistence and faith are life changing. Never back away from something because you can’t picture how the future will be. Keep trying to reach your dreams.
Reading Your Way to Success
Reading is one of the most important things you can do to achieve success. This list of books will give you at least 5 different perspectives that you can use to achieve more success in your life. The 5 authors can be mentors to you. They may not be able to speak with you in person but they can teach you through writing. Each book they write is a new opportunity to teach you lessons but you have to be open to learning. Taking the time to read gives you an opportunity to look at the way another person thinks. This gives you a chance to learn a new perspective and expand your mind. The books that change your perspective on life are some of the best uses of your time.
It can be hard to find good books to read. If you know anyone that is struggling to get started or find the next thing to read let them know about this list. Sharing this post on social media may just be the kick start someone needs to turn their life around. If you want to join our community of success driven individuals please subscribe to our newsletter or like us on social media. Thanks for taking the time to read about reading!
