What’s the hardest part?
Someone once asked Nikita Koloff, with whom I wrote “Wrestling With Success,” “What’s the hardest part about writing a book?”
Nikita replied, “Getting started.”
How many things have you wanted to do in life – but never started? Let me ask you a tougher question. What would it take for you to get started? That is the $64,000 question.
Confucious reputedly said, “A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.” Millions of people have millions of ideas, brainstorms and goals but never take the first steps needed to make them a reality. How many of them have you had? I’ll bet too many.
Two factors play a primary role in not taking the first step: the “Roll Over” factor and the “I’m Gonna” factor. The “Roll Over” factor deals with your personal self-discipline and dedication that lies somewhere between getting things done and personal excellence. Your alarm clock goes off. You hit the snooze button and roll over. The alarm goes off again, and you hit the snooze button again. The alarm goes off a third time, but this time you hit the “off” button and roll over for good. You think to yourself each time that you really should get up, but just don’t feel like it.
The “Roll Over” factor is the easiest one to explain because everyone has done it at least a hundred times. Some of you may have done it that many times this year.
At one point in my life, I considered myself a runner. I would wake up in the morning, most of the time before the sun came up, put on running clothes appropriate to the weather, and go out for a jog. Two miles, three miles, four miles, sometimes more. I never came back from a run without feeling great. Every run, however, started with my self-discipline and my desire to take the first step.
Then I quit. I had a good excuse. I was busy, I had speaking engagements, sales to make, appointments to keep. Excuses, whether they’re yours or mine, are all lame.
The only way it will get done is if I decide to do something about it and take the first step.
The stepchild of the “Roll Over” factor is the “I’m Gonna” factor. I’m gonna lose some weight. I’m gonna quit smoking. I’m gonna read that book. I’m gonna take that course. I’m gonna write that book. I’m gonna start that business. And then you never take the first step.
One of the main reasons people don’t take the first step is that they have no plan and no vision of the outcome. And they haven’t figured out what benefits they would enjoy as a result of achieving success. For reasons too many to list, the best thing to do is list your own reasons. Take a moment and make yourself more determined (maybe even angry) by listing the reasons (excuses) that you have failed to take the first step.
Pretty pathetic, huh? Any really good ones? I can tell you that mine stink. I have no good reasons for not exercising. I have no good reasons for not eating better. I have no good reasons for not staying healthier. I have a hundred excuses, but not one good reason. Neither do you.
The good news is every human being suffers from the “I’m Gonna” factor. The better news is if you want to differentiate yourself from a sluggard, all you have to do is develop a deeper self-discipline, desire, determination, and a game plan to begin.
That leads me to a factor that will help you later in the first step: the “I Did It” factor. For years, I’ve preached that the easiest time to make a sale is right after you made one, because you are on a roll. You’re in that euphoric state of achievement. You did it.
The secret to taking the first step is to visualize previous first steps, combined with the feeling that you got when you were victorious. That’s the beginning of your self-confidence, your self-determination, and your desire to take the first step. You can do it.
Free GitBit. Want some real-world examples of “I Did It”? Go to www.gitomer.com, register is you’re a first-time user and enter the words FIRST STEP in the GitBit box.
President of Charlotte, N.C.-based Buy Gitomer, Jeffrey Gitomer gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts Internet training programs on selling and customer service. He can be reached at (704) 333-1112 or by e-mail at salesman@gitomer.com.