Get Off of Your Butt, and Get in the Arena

Recently, I posted a quote from Theodore Roosevelt, and I have been thinking a lot about it ever since.  I first read the quote in Success magazine over fifteen years ago.  At the time, I was a college student who had a few ideas for businesses that I wanted to start.  I hadn't done anything to move forward on any of my ideas until I read that quote.  It inspired me to take action, and I started making plans on one of the businesses ideas.  I drafted a business plan and set up a meeting with a potential investor, but then I got cold feet and never pursued it any further. 

Fast forward to today, and I still haven't started any businesses.  I still have a few ideas, but I have been paralyzed by fear.  Whether it is the fear of failure, or as Seth Godin discusses in his book Tribes, the fear of criticism, I have not done the necessary work work to get anything of my own started.  That all changes today!  I am going to take the following steps to get myself into the arena, and you can do the same to get yourself in too by: 

1. Deciding exactly what you want to do.  Before you can plan on getting in the arena, you need to figure out exactly which arena you want to enter.  In my case, I have an idea for business that I would like to start.  For you, it may be a business idea or could be any other activity that you want to pursue.  The important thing is to decide exactly what that thing is that you want.
2. Writing down exactly why you want to enter this particular arena.  Be clear on what gives you a true, burning desire to accomplish what you want.  List all of the "whys" for doing what you want to do, and then list all of the benefits for doing it.  For instance, how will it make your life better if you started what you want to start?  How will it help you make other people's lives better too?  What will happen if you don't pursue your dreams?
3. Imagining what your life would look like if you successfully entered your arena.  Close your eyes and picture in your mind exactly what your life would look like if you started what you have been putting off.  Think about what you would be doing on a daily basis; how you would be spending your time.  Who would you be interacting with?  As you are picturing these things, try to use as many of your senses as possible.  The more senses that you can involve the deeper the penetration on your subconscious mind.
4. Writing down the things that have been preventing you from pursuing your dreams.  Identify all of the obstacles that are standing in the way of your successful accomplishment of your goals and dreams.  These may be limiting thoughts like "I don't have enough time", "I don't have enough money", or "I don't know that I am good enough".  It is critical that you write these thoughts down because the act of writing them down makes them less intimidating.  Writing out the obstacles also makes the next step easier. 
5. Planning what you need to do to overcome the obstacles identified in the previous step.  Take the obstacles you defined and then figure out what you need to do in order to overcome them.  These things could be something as simple as taking an action, any action, to start moving forward.  Other obstacles may take a multi-step plan to get past, but determining what needs to be done is a crucial first step in burying these obstructions.
6. Enlisting the help of others in your pursuit.  As the U2 song says, "Sometimes you can't make it on your own."  There is no shame in needing help from others to accomplish your goals.  Often times it takes a stronger person to ask for help than the lone wolf who thinks he can handle everything on his own.  In his book Who's Got Your Back, Keith Ferrazzi, talks about the need for Lifeline groups.  Having a person, or multiple people, who can help pick you up when you need it, give you praise when you deserve it, or to give you a kick in the pants when that is what is called for, is critical for most people who are attempting to reach bigger and better things in their lives.
7. Keeping a journal.  Many thoughts and ideas will come up over the course of your journey, and there is no way you can remember them all.  Taking the time to write in a journal will ensure that you have these for future review.  Also, the act of writing can make some things clearer for you.  A journal also provides a great way to go back over the things that you needed to do to successfully reach your goals.  This can come in handy as you move to new goals and dreams.
8. Reviewing all of these steps weekly.  Moving forward towards the life you want takes consistent and persistent action.  Establishing a weekly habit of reviewing the previously listed steps will help ensure that you are continuing to travel in the direction of what you want in life.  It will help to not only get you into the arena, but to keep you there as well.

Haven't you put off living the life that you want long enough?  Why not take the few steps listed above so that you can move closer to your ideal life?  Each of us has our own reasons for why we aren't where we would like to be right now, but don't look back five or ten years from now with regret.  Take the time to do what you need to do to get off of your butt and get into the arena.

Photo courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lorentey/ / CC BY 2.0