In this day and time where there is so much information around, I rarely go to a meeting where I don’t hear people say these two words, “I know”. Most of us know a lot, but what is amazing is how much we know, but how little we actually implement.

For instance, we know that if we don’t take care of our bodies they won’t last, we know that if we don’t exercise we may not have good health. We know if we don’t work our businesses there is a good chance they might fail. For most of us, it is not the knowing that’s the problem it’s the doing.

Most of us have really good reasons for not doing what we need to do, we’re busy, we’ve got a lot on our plate, etc. We know we need to get it done, but we just haven’t made the time. Many people have the same challenges my clients have they know what to do they just aren’t doing it.

What I’ve found in my own life, as well as those who I serve is there is never a perfect time or a good time, there is only the time we make. Most of us had to get started in the most inopportune times, after a job loss, sickness, during times of uncertainty. The only thing that was clear was that we knew we had to get moving. The cash flow won’t ever be perfect. The time won’t ever be clear. The budget may never line up. Yet the right time for each of us is now!

What’s required?
We have to take the bull by the horn and move. Progress requires stretching it requires us to become uncomfortable, and make changes. If we’re waiting for the right time, we will be waiting forever. Most people find that they are able to move forward not when things are perfect, but when they make the decision to move. They don’t wait around for the right time to come they create the right time.

The biggest change we must make is the change in our thinking.
We must be willing to believe the unthinkable, to do the unbelievable, and to trust that everything will work out. If we don’t, we will be stuck at the status quo, where nothing moves and everything stays the same.

Leaders make changes they think ahead and then go forward. They have to think about what could happen, but they plan for both the ideal and the realistic. Leaders know what they should do, and then they actually go and do it! How does this compare to your thinking?

The kind of choices we have to make.
We have to be willing to make decisions that make sense, not just short-term, but long-term, as well.We may not want to do something right now, but in order to move forward we have to do it whether we want to or not. Short-term thinking allows us to stay in the same place, it makes us think everything will be fine if we hold off, there is always tomorrow, etc. Short-term thinking is detrimental, and it is one of the most difficult things for most people to stop doing, because it is comfortable. Short-term thinking causes long-term problems. If you are going to be successful long-term, you are going to have to trade in those habits for some that are more productive.

Here are three steps you can take, to move from knowing to doing.
1. Be willing to change your thinking! Is your thinking accurate or based on assumptions and limitations? You need to analyze you thoughts, some of us have spent too much time worrying about what’s happening around us, and we’ve allowed it to shape our future. Things change, so you can’t look at a situation based solely on the past and get caught up in the reality that it will ultimately become the future. If any of those factors change, there’s a good chance that the outcome will change, as well.  When you change your response, you create a different outcome.

2. Make your motto, if there’s a will there’s a way. I’ve seen people close so many doors because they don’t know how this could work out. Program your brain for the possible and not the impossible of life.  Yes, it’s true that things might not go according to your plan, but that doesn’t mean they won’t work.Look at every situation knowing there may be an option, you haven’t considered. Review every solution, and look for alternate ways to get what you want. Start your brain off with an exercise like this, “I’m not really sure how but I know that there’s a way to do this, I just haven’t thought of yet”.When you start your thought process out that way you give yourself options, and you give your brain a chance to look things creatively. It gives you a chance to think up options that could work, instead of focusing on the 1000 options that won’t.

3. Be willing to take some risks. Ultimately when we move from knowing to doing, we have to be willing to take some risks, and we move forward because some of the risks we took, paid off. If we do things the way we’ve always done them, there is no chance for an alternate opportunity to open up. We have to believe that there is always something that we have not considered, or may not of seen.Growth requires us to open up our mind to the possibility that there is another way and that we can find that way if we look for it. A lot of amazing companies exist today because they believed there was a different way to get things done, and then they worked until they found it. Believe that somewhere inside of you is the solution, and you can discover it, if you are willing to work diligently until you find it.