Stop Waiting & Start Winning

We are nearing the end of David J. Schwartz’s classic, and this week the focus shifts entirely to execution.

 

You can have the biggest ideas in the world, but without action and resilience, they stay just that—ideas.

 

Chapter 10: Get the Action Habit

 

 Schwartz draws a line in the sand between two types of people: Activationists (those who do) and Passivationists (those who don't).

 

The number one reason people stay "Passivationists" is that they are waiting for conditions to be perfect. Schwartz’s advice?

 

 Don’t wait.

 

Conditions will never be perfect. There will always be a risk, a problem, or an uncertainty.

 

• Action cures fear. Inaction feeds it.

• Use the "mechanical" way to start. Don’t wait for the "spirit" to move you. Just go through the motions of starting, and the spirit will catch up. The hardest part of writing a letter is finding the pen. Once you start, the rest flows.

 

Chapter 11: How to Turn Defeat into Victory

 

 Here is a hard truth: Big success involves big setbacks.

 

The difference between a winner and a loser isn't that the winner never fails—it’s how they react when they do.

 

Schwartz urges us to be constructive, not critical, when things go wrong.

 

• Salvage the lesson. When you hit a wall, don’t get angry. Study the wall. Ask, "What caused this?" and "How can I avoid it next time?"

• Blend persistence with experimentation. Don’t just bang your head against the wall (that’s mere persistence). Look for a door, a window, or a ladder (that’s experimentation).

 

Your Challenge for the Week

 

 Be an Activationist. Identify one task you have been putting off because you were waiting for the "right time." Do it today. Even if you do it imperfectly, doing it is infinitely better than waiting.

 

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Let’s get moving this week!