Feature: Action is needed more than idealistic dreams

This piece of writing occupied my brains for the past three weeks. Thinking alone wasn’t enough to put it in writing or talk anyone into knowing what brilliant idea was on my mind until I took the action to write. Great ambitions, plans often end up as ‘never implemented thoughts.’ Termination of job contracts, dwindling businesses, in a nutshell, life-time regrets regularly result from “great mind plans without actions.” A common saying refers to, “the cemetery as the richest place ever.” People postpone life changing plans, all the way to the grave. When ‘Pinky and the Brain’ embark on their action plan to take over the world, it should be more than an American animated series; there is a lot to learn in line with putting talk into action. Having a perfect daily schedule in the mind is one thing and accomplishing it is another. That’s why deadlines are vital for companies, workers often lack the guts to complete self-set goals. How often do you make New Year resolutions? Yet its 10 years down the road, with new targets each year, but there is nothing to show? Most are ‘the bad workmen who quarrel with their tools’ while they strictly play their role mind-wise, and produce nothing tangible. This Reminds me of a Pastor that always pointed his index finger to heaven, “God, touch those souls that don’t know you and provide for the poor.” The pastor prayed time and again, but his request never got answered. Later, he realized that his thumb pointed to him, whenever he prayed, meaning; God availed him with money, the gospel, a Bible, all it took to accomplish the tasks, without thousands of verbal petitions to God. The pastor was no different from any ordinary being, verbose, thoughtful but not dynamic. There is no more shortage for the ability to dream big. Often we imagine working from home, managing our time, being big entrepreneurs, traveling the world, writing the best selling novel, exploring martial arts, an endless list. All those big dreams if acted upon could transform even the poorest person’s life, BUT whoever takes a leap of action? The action (the most important) is never easy, not for anyone. There is a flaw in the way and speed most people attack their goals. Yes, they think big, want to build an estate, pay off their debts, want to lose 60 pounds or be established business women/men, which are all great aspirations, but the only problem is thinking big yet end up succumbing to action paralysis. Certainly there is no ultimate action plan to accomplish the biggest dream in just a few days. Take an example of a marathon; it is a daunting task that starts with a tiny step; like running a mile a day, and gradually increasing with time. Thinking big and acting small or never acting at all is indeed wrong. The right approach would be to think big, and break the dream to smaller digestible chunks that are achievable on a daily basis. Imagine if Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO ended at imagining the Facebook idea, he imagined how great it would be to connect people, how much he could earn, and see where that got him when he acted. Great thinkers have an imaginary world that is so rich. Are you classified as a weakling, lazybones or less intelligent at work, perhaps you think a lot and act little. It is crystal clear that even God preferred people of action. In the beginning, God said, “let there be” and there was. Imagine if God had kept hoping and thinking, “I wish there was,” definitely the world would be empty until further notice. ‘A word to the wise is enough.’ Stand up and act or else you will have no place in this dynamic world. Great action-oriented people are needed, not just great dreamers. Like Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change that you want to see in the world.” lillianean@yahoo.com