ONLY THE TIME IT TAKES

"One must pass through the circumference of time before arriving at the center of opportunity."

Baltasar Gracian (1601-1658) Spanish philosopher/writer.

But only the time it takes to reach the center of your opportunity.

Don't delay arriving there, the result of useless procrastination or lack of planning.

Understand what you need to do to get where you want to be, to become what you want to be, then do it.

ORGANIZING?

"For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned."

Unknown

Organizing is the time first spent thinking about what is to be done, plus the time required to create a plan to get it done, plus the time required to actually execute the plan provisions.

Shortchange any of that and you diminish your chance for success.

INDECISIVE INACTION

"Most men ebb and flow in wretchedness between the fear of death and the hardship of life; they are unwilling to live, and yet they do not know how to die."

Seneca (4 BC-65) Roman philosopher/playwright.

Our fear of what may come often outweighs our fear of what is.

While not a solution, remember this, it may help if you become more decisive.

What may come, possibly something worse, will more likely come as a result of you doing nothing.

And given thoughtful planning and action on your part there is a better chance that what will come will be preferable to what is.

IN FAVOR OF (PLANNED) ACTION

"You know more of a road by having traveled it than by all the conjectures and descriptions in the world."

William Hazlitt (1778-1830) British essayist.

Considered only as far as the statement itself, I agree; however there is a little more to it than just that.

If you know the "road" well and are fairly certain what you know hasn't changed, get on with what you wish to do.

But if you don't and you just start out, taking things as they come, you will undoubtedly encounter obstacles you may not be prepared to handle.

As is often true, the best course is a combination of two, in this case, preparation and action.

Prepare to go and go when you are prepared.

YOUR CHOICE

"To reach a port we must sail, sometimes with the wind, sometimes against it. But we must not drift or lie at anchor."

Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894) American author/poet.

You have the power to determine your future, the excuses you make for failing to act notwithstanding.

If where you are isn't where you want to be, chances improve greatly you will succeed if you create and execute a plan to get there.

FOOLISH BEHAVIOR

"The wise man does at once what the fool does finally."

Baltasar Gracian (1601-1658) Spanish philosopher/writer.

Don't worry if this labels you foolish, you can always change.

But do so immediately.

WHAT YOU PURSUE, NOT WHAT YOU WAIT FOR TO PURSUE YOU

"Life leaps like a geyser for those who drill through the rock of inertia."

Alexis Carrel (1873-1944) French surgeon/biologist.

Sooner or later you have to break through your own, personal "rock of inertia".

Nothing much good will come looking for you, you must find it.

FEAR THE OPPORTUNISTIC SNAKE

"There is far more opportunity than there is ability."

Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) American inventor.

For you as well.

Seize the moment but only those you are ready and capable of handling.

The fact that you can also seize a boa constrictor doesn't mean you should.

WALKING THE WALK

"Between saying and doing, many a pair of shoes is worn out."

Italian proverb

Think all the great thoughts you want but whatever that is will mean nothing without actually doing something.

RECIPE FOR ACCOMLISHMENT

"To reach a port we must sail, sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it. We must not drift or lie at anchor."

Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894) American author/poet.

"Getting things done" implies taking action, often accompanied by hard work, for good reason.

LEST YOU THINK OTERWISE

"Thought makes every thing fit for use."

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) U.S. poet/essayist/lecturer.

As a seed can grow to become a tree so too can a thought evolve into something great.

However, in the beginning, each is only a suggestion of what it might become.

RIGHT OR WRONG, CHOOSE

"In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) 26th president of the U.S.

You might think Mr. Roosevelt overstated the value of action; clearly there are times when no action is preferable to the wrong action.

But notice he qualified his statement as pertaining to "any moment of decision"; the point in time where making a decision is mandatory regardless of how well prepared you might be.

Still don't see it?

Think back to school. You are taking a test and have one last question to answer. Get the right answer, you pass. Pick the wrong answer, you fail. Choose not to answer you also fail.

What would you do?

OPPORTUNITY WHERE YOU LEAST EXPECT IT

"Let your hook always be cast. In the pool where you least expect it, will be a fish."

Ovid (BC 43-AD 18) Roman poet

How much opportunity have you missed because you decided it wouldn't be where it actually was?

Big "wins" come infrequently, never if you aren't looking for them.

MAKE DO

"Arrange whatever pieces come your way."

Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) British novelist/essayist

She's talking about opportunity and the need to do the best with what you have.

WAITING FOR . . . ?

"How much of human life is lost in waiting."

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) U.S. poet/essayist/lecturer

Waiting, itself, is not a bad thing, in fact it often turns bad into good.

It's doing so not thinking about why you are waiting that often leads you where you'd not like to be.

I HAD TO THINK AWHILE BEFORE DECIDING TO USE THIS

"I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a week, sometimes, to make it up."

Mark Twain (1835-1910) U.S. humorist/writer/lecturer

Taking time to think things through is a good thing.

I think.

I'll have to think about that and get back to you.

MAKING HAY, SUN SHINING, ETC.

"I have known many who could not when they would, for they had not done it when they could."

François Rabelais (1495-1553) French writer/priest

Less poetically, get it done while you have the chance.

I'D BE PATIENT BUT I DON'T HAVE THE TIME

"All human errors are impatience, a premature breaking off of methodical procedure. An apparent fencing-in of what is apparently at issue."

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) Czech writer

There's a fine line between patience and missed opportunity caused by inaction.

But how many of your mistakes were the result of acting too late as opposed to too soon?

DOING THE UNDOABLE

"When one is trying to do something beyond his known powers it is useless to seek the approval of friends. Friends are at their best in moments of defeat."

Henry Miller

20th century American author

Because being beyond your known powers means the only conclusion your friends can reach is that you will fail.

Maybe so, maybe not.

Consider what they have to say but don't base your decision solely on that.

PROCEED WITH CAUTION QUICKLY

"Even moderation ought not to be practiced to excess."

Unknown

It is difficult to know when too much or too little actually is, and certainly impossible to always know.