Having a Bias toward Action

Too many times, someone will have a goal, yet never get going on the path toward reaching it. Many aspiring entrepreneurs have a business idea, yet spend months and months writing the business plan in a state of analysis paralysis—never taking action.  If you are going to be a successful entrepreneur however, you must have a bias toward action.
When I am speaking, I like to illustrate this principle with an anecdote. Imagine yourself at your house, wanting to go to your friend’s house four miles away. You do not want to leave until all the traffic lights on the way are green. Of course, it is clear that you will never leave. This paralysis happens to many in everyday life. If you want to get there, however, you must get going now. Yes, there will be stop signs and red lights along the way, but you’ll get through them—and you’ll make it to your friend’s house much sooner than if you waited for all the lights to be green along the way.
To be successful, you must first define what success means to you. You have to start with a goal in mind, perhaps even a big hairy audacious goal (BHAG). Let’s say your BHAG is to build a business to one million dollars in sales. Once you’ve defined your goal, you can get started on it. Have a bias toward action and get going. You may not know all the steps or the problems and challenges you’ll run into just yet, but that is okay.
As you progress toward your goal, you will continue faster and faster up the learning curve. You’ll build inertia and as you move forward you’ll gain new knowledge and just as important, build new relationships which will be very important in helping you reach your goal. As the inertia turns into exponential snowballing, your new knowledge and new contacts will create new possibilities and opportunities, allowing you, with continued persistence, to reach your goal.
To take advantage of this principle of inertia and snowballing, however, you must have a bias toward action. To initiate the momentum, you must get started. Once those initial small accomplishments begin falling into place, inertia will take effect as these new possibilities snowball you up the learning curve closer and closer to your goal Every important goal you will reach will be preceded by thousands of actions that without which you would not have had the opportunity, contacts, or knowledge to accomplish the final important achievement.