Have you ever wondered how successful you might become if only you could stop talking about it and start doing it?
Don't misunderstand. Talking about and clarifying for yourself what "success" means to you is very important, but talk only gets you part of the way to your goal. It's the doing that gives your dreams their best chance of coming true.
Talk about what you want to achieve, include the plans of how you might do that in your talking, then get to work doing it
For a long time now we've agreed that "talk is cheap," but we might be discovering the exact opposite to be true. The expense of talk-talk-talk is how it siphons away valuable time that should be spent doing-doing-doing.
If you're looking for more of the results that, up until now, you've only talked about, here's how you can stop talking and start doing. Oh, and the newfound silence, free of all your talk, will become music to your ears (and to your earnings, too).
First, a bit of wisdom
"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing."
—Walt Disney
If ever there was a person who dared to dream then decided to make dreams come true, it's Walt Disney.
What he envisioned, in his films and in his dream of dreams (Disneyland), was only made possible by his decision to take action. He talked about his goals, then he got a team together and got to work. There'd be plenty more talk along the way, but there was plenty of activity and marked progress to prove to himself that his words brought results.
You might not aim as high as Disney did in your endeavors (you might just want to earn enough this quarter to take the family to Uncle Walt's "happiest place on Earth"), but the message stays unchanged: Talk about what you want to achieve, include the plans of how you might do that in your talking, then get to work doing it.
That's all that Walt did, after all.
The new era of the 'chatterbox'
chat · ter · box: A person who talks constantly, especially about trivial matters.
One of the best ways you can get out of 'talk mode'… is to generate a plan that you can see, hold, and read
Who hasn't known someone who never seems to be at a loss for words and yet, in so many words spoken, doesn't seem to have accomplished nor offered much for the effort?
This isn't to take aim at those with the gift of gab, but is the gift really giving or is it only taking? What are we getting from the time spent engaged in such chatter?
These days, more than ever, we have the tools and technology to talk nonstop, on phones that we take everywhere, on social sites where we engage faithfully, and even through email. Every day can be filled with chatter, endless monologue and dialogue where we dream out loud about the success for which we so yearn—or so we say.
The first challenge of advancing from talking to doing is the corralling of the talk itself: putting boundaries around it and attaching litmus checks to ensure it doesn't become an activity in and of itself.
"What shall I now talk about?" you might ask yourself, "and for what purpose?" Really, what will be the meaning of what you'll say and what positive value (if any) will it have?
Careful, though, you needn't slide into some sort of automaton-like state of being where you mechanically monitor and meter your words; that would be weird.
There's usually always value in the act of conversation, but when it comes to achieving something you yearn for, you will need to be more selective in what you say, why you say it and for how long. Social media is great for connecting with friends, associates and even customers, but you really need to keep such activity from taking away too much of your valuable time, time you should be using to get something done.
Planning to 'do'
Talk that helps you clarify your goals, verify your understandings and crystallize your path forward is valuable. Just work to limit your talk-for-talk's-sake
And, as usual, it comes to planning what you'll do to begin doing. Are you going to have to talk about this plan? Maybe, or maybe the first step in doing will be writing or mapping out what you'll do.
One of the best ways you can get out of "talk mode" and into "do mode" is to generate a plan that you can see, hold, and read. It's a first act of doing that puts you on the path to taking subsequent steps.
How can such a plan, perhaps a roadmap of activities and milestones that lead to a goal, help you in your quest to do more and talk less? Consider this:
You'll clarify your purpose: By taking time to establish a plan of action (doing), you'll lock in on what you want to achieve and, most important, if it's what you really want to achieve.
Idle and endless talking can go around in circles, skirting the reality in your notions. Planning breaks it down into truly actionable steps, those that help you properly understand for yourself what you're about to undertake.
You'll gain focus: With your "Do Plan" in hand, you'll eliminate dalliances and distractions that come in open-ended chatter. With a plan and actionable steps in front of you, you'll know what you should be doing now to achieve your goal.
You'll track your progress: The best way to know you're on course to a goal is by looking at which to-dos you've checked off your list and which are remaining. If nothing's getting checked off, you're not doing what you should be doing. And if that's the case, then what are you doing—just talking?
Talk is good. There's no question about that. Talk that helps you clarify your goals, verify your understandings and crystallize your path forward is valuable. Just work to limit your talk-for-talk's-sake, especially when it comes to executing to your business plan.