Watch Out For That Train

I can not begin to tell you how many times I have found myself heading in the right direction, coming up with the right idea, the right plan of action, the perfect fit for what it was I was going to be doing.

I even wrote down these ideas, came up with goals, had a rough idea of what the steps would be along the way, what it would mean once reaching a given step on the journey and had them taped to every surface I would come in contact with on a given day to be sure I would see them.

And yup, there they were. On the bathroom mirror, refrigerator door, front door, back door, pantry, computer monitor, desk drawers, underwear drawer, washing machine, hair dryer, television screen, pool table, radio, CD player, dog's water dish, oven door, coffee table, humming bird feeder, lawn mower, steering wheel, trunk, visor mirror, gas can and bird bath.

They were everywhere.

Problem came that not a lot got done other than having the idea, a goal of sorts and a whole list of things I was going to do to move things forward and a bunch of paper taped on every possible location as you just read. Yes, there was some space left for humans to exist. (just no where to set a drink).

You see, all of these ideas fit. They made sense. They were what I believed I wanted. But that's all there was, these ideas and sheets taking up space. For so long, not much else got done. Sure, I had to go to the office supply place and get more paper and ink, (so I sorta felt I was doing something). But in all actually, I wasn't doing anything about it.

Yes, I was on the right track.

But I was just sitting there.

As Will Rogers has been known to write:

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."

Now, to the best of my knowledge, I wasn't exactly run over by anything. But it did feel as if I wasn't getting anywhere despite having everything necessary to get moving.

Fact is, you need to do something with this information you have written down and act upon it.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

Now don't just sit there, get up, go get that list of dreams, goals, ideas and whatnot you have in that bottom desk drawer you've been hiding from others (including yourself) and read it over. Feel free to add more things to your list(s).

Now look for something you want to begin this moment. What is the first step toward you doing that? Can you do it right now after reading this? Can you do it in less than 20 minutes? Is it within your control to do it or do others need to be involved?

Just do that first simple thing. It's a start. Momentum will begin to take you toward the next step. and the next and the next.

If you get stuck, start again with something simple and go from there.

--David

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David Stoddard
The Unmotivated Motivational Writer
Twitter: twitter.com/imdavidstoddard
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New Goals - Same As The Old Goals (Sing Along, Won't Ya)

Last night, I came across my Sony micro cassette player (complete with tape inside). Wondering to myself just what in the world I was thinking at given moment in the past, I choose to play the tape. --- Well, what would you do?

Picking up speed
 
After about a minute or so once the player learned that it was supposed to play the tape when I press the play button (it's been a while since it was used), I could actually begin to understand the voice on the tape. (once it got up to speed).

And yes, it was me rambling on (hard to believe) about goals for July 2005.Actually, it was more about things to work on during the month ahead. (at least I am thinking it was the month ahead and not me thinking about it on say July 19th or something).

What did I say?
 
The David on the tape talked of getting into the habit of writing every night for say 30 minutes. Then he dropped back and adjusted it to maybe 3-4 nights a week.

He also mentioned the owl book which was started years before. He mentioned newsletters, articles for anthologies, rewrites of ebooks to make them more up to date. And he wondered just where in all of this his writing would fit in.

Is having the same goals a good thing?
 
As I played the tape a 2nd time, I wrote down the above mentioned things the David of 2005 mentioned. Looked at the paper and thought to myself it looks a lot like the things I write down still today. (and for those wanting to know, no, my handwriting has not improved by doing this).

After reviewing the vintage tape, I have come to the agreed understanding of sooooo many others in the past and present that it's important to write your goals down.

For those with crummy handwriting (or printing), feel free to type them into a computer and print them out where you will see them. Then after you see them over and over, act upon them.

It really does make sense.

• Write your name on the top of a piece of paper
• Write today's date 1 year from now.
• Write what you want to accomplish by that date.
• Create milestones which you will need to reach to get to that accomplishment
• Get started on the trip.

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David Stoddard
The Unmotivated Motivational Writer
Twitter: twitter.com/imdavidstoddard
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A List To Live By

When I was putting together my first ebook, ‘Que Sera Sera – The book,’ I wanted to put something in there that would pretty much sum things up. Its one thing to gather columns and put them in a collection, but it is another to have something concise that gives people short sayings to live by.

This list is what I wrote for the back of the ebook. Think of each of the 26 as a piece of advice or in a few of the cases, a MUST DO to live your life as it should be.

With all that is going on in the world as we speak, it’s necessary to understand that we most likely won’t be able to change that. But we can change ourselves. And this is how to begin.

I know it has probably been posted before in another blog I've had over time, but figured it is just as relevant now as before.

A = Abandon what you have thought in the past
B = Believe that life can and will be better
C = Create the world you always imagined
D = Decide today to do what you want to do
E = Eat your veggies
F = Find others who will support you and you them
G = Go out there and get it
H = Have a great day, week, month, year and life
I = I am only one, but I am all I need
J = Join a group that gets you involved in something
K = Keep your eyes on the prize
L = Learn to live like a kid again
M = Make the most of those must-dos
N = Never say never
O = Open your eyes to all that is possible
P = Plan, prepare, partake and prevail
Q = Quit waiting for that perfect moment, no such thing
R = Read David’s books and articles
S = Sing as if no one will hear
T = Today is all you are guaranteed
U = Unveil the you that you once outgrew
V = Visit a children’s hospital when the world’s not fair
W = Write down what you want to accomplish
X = X-amine your thoughts and dreams more often
Y = You are in control of more than you can imagine
Z = Zip up, and get ready for the time of your life


 --David

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David Stoddard
The Unmotivated Motivational Writer
Twitter: twitter.com/imdavidstoddard
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