The Importance of EXECUTION

Have you ever participated in "cliff jumping or diving"?  Here's what I mean. I live in Arkansas and we have a lot of lakes around and I've had the pleasure of living in areas where I had quick access to getting on the lake in a boat and enjoying that time.

When my sons were younger and still at home, we would load up and go out on the lake and spend some time exploring different areas of the lake, swimming and - you guessed it - "cliff jumping" when we could find a safe area to do so. It simply means that you climb your way up to a specific point on a "cliff" or a "bluff" and then you jump off of it into the water.

Here's the thing though - that "specified area" never looks as high from the boat as it does once you climb up TO that point! And, for some (like me), it's hard to "pull the trigger" and take that leap off of that cliff or bluff into the water. I remember one such time with my boys where we would count, "1...2...3!!" for each one for them to jump. NONE of them ever went on "3" that first time. As a matter of fact, it usually took four or five times of that countdown before they would finally jump...and, yeah, I was the same way!

In today's podcast (see links at the bottom of this article) I share some thoughts that I got from John C. Maxwell from his "Minute With Maxwell" that I get delivered to my e-mail every day. (You can sign up and get this sent to your own e-mail as well - I don't get anything for this, I just want to share "good stuff" with you - by going HERE. )

I was listening and catching up on some of the past episodes of this yesterday and came across John addressing the word, "EXECUTE", in which he shared his initial thought and image of a guy being blindfolded, with a cigarette in his mouth, standing before a firing squad. Of course, the "call" that is made by one in charge is, "READY.....AIM...FIRE!" However, John shared that, too often, when we plan to "execute" or take action on some plans that we have laid out before us, we often make THIS call: "READY......AIM.....AIM.....AIM...."

Just like the example I used above about preparing to jump off of that cliff or bluff, sometimes it's hard to "pull the trigger" and take that leap! We may be ready (climbed up to the cliff/bluff) and have taken aim (looked over the bluff to decide where the best place to land would be) but, we didn't really make that climb with the idea of just standing around on that cliff/bluff, did we?

Execution or taking action is a MUST - a NECESSITY - if we plan to ever move forward or experience success in whatever area it is in which we are involved.

John also talks about the other end of the spectrum in this scenario. He says that others will make THIS call: "READY.....FIRE....AIM!".  Now, even though that sounds kind of funny, too many people do just that. Have you? I know I have! Sometimes we get in a hurry and we do make some preparation, BUT we fail to "take aim" or complete the preparation process before we "jump in" or "pull the trigger".

In the example that I used of jumping off of the cliff or bluff, this can be catastrophic! Failing to "aim" or plan where it is that you want to land could even lead to death. Climbing up to the specific area is part of the process but so is looking over that cliff/bluff and "taking aim" or planning where it is that you want to land in the water. Just going up and jumping, without taking that look, could cause one to jump right on top of a big rock just under the surface of the water.

At a shooting range, preparing your weapon to fire but not taking aim will cause one to miss their target and - again with possible catastrophic results - possibly strike another human instead of the target that was set.

So, it is important to follow the course in the correct order, wouldn't you agree?

But again, all of the preparation in the world carries no value if we fail to EXECUTE the plan of action.

How does that "speak" to you today? I'm sure it does in some way, friend. Don't hide from it but, rather, embrace it and address it so that you can take the needed actions in your life to move on toward your intended success.

Join me in the next article as we deal with another area that often prevents us from taking action and experiencing success in and for our lives.

As always, if you haven't done so yet, you need to listen to the podcast on today's topic. Just click one of the links at the bottom of this article to do so. There is SO MUCH MORE information and additional thoughts that I share with you there that is not found in this article. 

If you listen by going to iTunes, please take a moment and leave a review - I thank you in advance! Also, be sure to stop by the FYU fan page on Facebook and let me know that you left that review AND to just say "hello" and let me know that you are benefiting from Future You University. 

As always, THANKS for joining me today and, please, share this with as many as possible and always be sure to keep moving forward, closer to your dream!

And, until next time, whatever you do,  be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

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