A Beginner’s Guide to Getting Started

You have had years to plan, plot, dream and scheme.  If you know what you want, now is the time to begin.  Because I know “beginnings” can be hard, I have outlined 10 simple steps to help you get going:

1.  START HERE.  You can only begin where you are.  Telling yourself, “I should have  started earlier” is a waste of precious time.

2.  CHOOSE & MOVE.  There is more than one right way to begin.  Waiting until you can decide on the perfect place to start will keep you stuck.  Choose your next step and then take it.

3.  COUPLE LEARNING WITH ACTION.  If you hear yourself saying, “I need to do more research and planning” wash your mouth out with soap.  You can learn and act at the same time.

4.  DON’T GET YOUR SIGNALS CROSSED.  Doubt and anxiety are not signs you should quit or you are making the wrong move.  When your inner critic starts saying, “What you are doing is not working” tell yourself to “Dig in don’t give in!”

5.  IT’S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD.  So what if you turn left instead of turning right.  Life will go on and so can you.  Thomas Edison made 10,000 wrong moves before he invented the light bulb.

6.  GET OVER YOUR FEAR OF FAILING.  Every successful person on the planet has experienced failure at least one time in his or her life.  However, while a successful person fails many times and bounces back, the failure fails only once.

7.  KEEP BREATHING.  Relax and trust the process.  If you hear a voice in your head saying “At this rate you will never finish” yell the word “STOP” and keep going.

8.  STOP LOOKING AROUND.  Comparing yourself to other people will only slow you down and keep you stuck.  Run your own race.

9.  EVERY STEP COUNTS.  We all have our good days and bad days.  On days when the going seems rough, remind yourself that a small step is better than no step at all.

10.  KEEP ON KEEPING ON.  If you focus on starting, finishing will take care of itself.  Let’s face it, the only reason we don’t consistently finish what we start is because we quit starting.

Encouragement Always.