100 Days of Massive Action

I love reading motivational books. However, it is easy to fall into the trap of spending your evenings and weekends underlining all the best takeout messages from these powerful books, but never, ever taking any action. I have often wandered if the reason is that these books are simply too demanding:  7 Steps to this, 10 steps to that?

So when I found The One Thing,  a New York Times Best Seller at the airport bookstore on my way to Hong Kong last month, the title appealed to me. One Thing. I can do one thing! And to my delight, this book has triggered a domino effect of massive action in my life.

In summary, The One Thing asserts that the secret to real productivity and success lies not in doing more or working longer hours, but in prioritizing what you do on a daily basis, by asking yourself:

“What’s the ONE Thing I can do
Such that by doing it
Everything else will be easier or unnecessary.”

The Secret is in Time Blocking: That is blocking out 4 hours a day to focus only on those things that will lead to the biggest impact in what you are aiming to achieve – success in business, better health, being more present in your relationships, etc.

So it is out with the To Do List and in with the Success List.

As a mum of three, I did question whether it was easier for the authors, both male, to achieve the 4 hour daily time blocking. I’ve shared in a previous post the overwhelm I experienced in trying to juggle my business and parenthood, so was a tad sceptical.

And then as if reading my mind, my mother gave me Dr Linda Friedland’s Having It All, a woman’s guide to health and success. Here is a GP with five children, who is managing to run her busy practice, a large household and an international speaking career. Respect.

Dr Friedland’s book is set out as a Seven Point Action Plan to help you prioritize and schedule your day. And while it did not have the impact of The One Thing for me, the message was clear: Successful people are successful because they organise their time efficiently to achieve maximum outcomes. It seems simple and obvious, but takes structure and discipline.

And it is amazing how the Universe delivers once things click in your head and you start taking action. In the past month, I have been stunned by the incredible, entrepreneurial, and overall delightful people I have met. These interactions have prompted me to take 100 days of Massive Action.

I have set myself 100 Days to see the year out on a high and be satisfied with my achievements. I no longer want to be the person who makes New Year’s Resolutions because I am disappointed that the year didn’t pan out as I’d hoped. I want to make plans for 2016 based on the exponential growth of my business and the shrinking of my stomach!

Why 100 days? Because it will give me time to form great habits that stick. And it gives me enough time to make an impact.

And I invite you to join me on my journey. For daily posts you will find me on Facebook and Instagram as 40ToTheMax.

100 Days of Massive Action starts NOW!

*Image credit: JourneyHomeEct.Org