instigate before it's too late

When the choice is to lose an hour of sleep or finish that proposal for a new client, what do you choose?

We all understand crunch time - refocusing and re-energizing our work to meet a deadline.

But let's say there is no deadline - that the only deadline is your life expectancy.  Could be tomorrow, could be 70 years from now.  When will you start on what matters most?

"You might well remember that nothing can bring you success but yourself."

Napolean Hill

Can you sacrifice an extra hour of sleep in the morning to wake up early to create?

Can you wake up before a full day of work at the robot factory and spend 5 minutes on your most important task of the day?  What about 60 minutes?

I've heard one idea repeated over and over by renowned businessmen and women, writers, artists, entrepreneurs, leaders, and all around instigators.  The idea is so simple it’s almost underwhelming, but, when implemented, it has the power to build empires.

The idea is this: wake up early and focus on your most important work first.

Earl Nightingale encouraged waking up early to reflect - it's the only time of the day to achieve true quiet.

Brian Tracy explains that all successful people wake up just a little bit earlier than other people to start the important work for the day.

Seth Godin, before he does anything else, writes (and has thousands of blog posts and 13+ award winning books to show for it).

Ford woke up early and invented the model-T.

Edison woke up early and invented the light bulb.

Steven Pressfield wrote three books on the topic of doing the work, day in and day out, no matter what.

The list of examples could go on for pages.

So how much is that extra hour of sleep worth to you?  You're tired, so why not sleep to the last possible minute before you MUST get up and go to work...

After all, we've trained ourselves to procrastinate, haven't we?  To not act until right before the deadline?

Here's the thing: the deadline you’re waiting for before you take action – it will never come.

Nobody will ever tell you when your important work is due.  Nobody will set a deadline for you.

So when you eventually reach your final deadline, will you be left with something to show for it, or will you be one of those people who always wanted to travel around the world, or always wanted to write that novel, or always wanted to start that project that would change everything?

Life is short.  You don't know how short.  Don’t be an always wanted to person.  Act as if the deadline is tonight.

Instigate before it’s too late.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

4 comments on “instigate before it's too late”

  1. It's true that the earlier I start writing, the more I get written. It's a challenge when there's nobody but me setting deadlines and procrastination is definitely a problem.

    Once past instigation, there's the opportunity for continuous effort and implementation, deadline or no deadline!

    1. Hi Loran, thanks so much for posting! It's crazy how long I can push something off if I don't have a deadline. But if I can get myself to wake up early and work on what matters most, the momentum is powerful and creation becomes self-propagating.

      Thanks again for posting and keep instigating!

    1. Hi Courtney, thank you for the post!

      Yeah, Seth Godin is one of those insanely productive and consistent individuals I think many people can learn from. Going to his conference in a month and I can't wait!

      Thanks for posting and stay inspired 🙂

cross