When You Have an Idea or Inspiration – You Have FIVE Seconds to Act, or Risk Losing It Forever.
That’s right, 5 short seconds to Take Action – that’s all.
You see, times have changed since you and I were kids.
I had the great pleasure of hearing Mel Robbins speak to a group of women entrepreneurs recently, and this was one of my biggest take-aways from her talk.
She covered a lot of information, and told some great stories. There were even tears shed by some.
However, this simple epiphany was something that I decided to Take Action on right away.
Here’s the progression – Our days are longer, but our years are shorter as we become adults in the real world. Especially in today’s world where we are literally bombarded with information 24/7/365. The never-ending news cycle could single-handedly drive a working mom mad.
When I was a kid, it was a 24-hour news cycle, and that was crazy to my parents. The fact that there was an entire station on “Cable” TV that played music, and one devoted to news – wow. Wasn’t Walter Cronkite enough for us kids? Johnny Carson played clean-up in the evening, if you missed anything important. Seriously. That was it.
Now, my kids get news pushed to them on their ipad at school. Personally, it’s usually depressing, so I don’t watch much anymore. I control my environment more now that I work to stay focused on my marketing and entrepreneurial goals.
Social media is worse – you have less than 10 seconds to grab someone’s attention the newsfeed or image roll. Most experts think it’s closer to 5 seconds to get them to pay attention and click on something. It’s hard to help people find success in their business when you allow yourself to be surrounded by negativity. Therefore, I choose differently.
You have to take the same approach with your own brain – 5 seconds to make your brain pay attention, and make that idea real.
This is probably why I liked Mel’s discussion and call to Take Action so much!
Her advice to all of us (over 1,300 women entrepreneurs) was to
Take Action Within 5 Seconds of Any Idea or Inspiration
Taking Action in any one of the below ways will make your idea real to your brain, and further the development of the idea.
Your choices for Taking Action include:
- Speak aloud about the idea to let your brain know it’s real.
- Write down the idea & notes related to it.
- Walk around the block, the park – let the idea percolate.
- Schedule a time to revisit the idea – in your calendar.
- Send an email or note to someone else (or yourself) about the idea, to start a conversation.
- Ask a question of yourself or someone else about making the idea a reality.
Individually, these are simple Actions that will help you develop ideas and make things happen in your life and your business. When approached as an entire tool box of available Actions, they can help you become unstoppable!
Imagine, you get a lead – a potential new customer or team member. Now, instead of thinking about what to do next, and when the best time to act may be (in the future, of course), you must Take Action using one of the above methods within 5 seconds of getting that lead. This time you Schedule a contact call on your calendar – not to be forgotten.
How much more can you accomplish in your business if you take this approach?
What about another example? Okay, you have this inspired idea about a new training to do for your team. You know it will really help them out, and you think it will be great! Instead of letting the thought flutter through, and out, of your mind, you Walk around the block, and ponder the idea for 10 minutes, then you come back and Speak some related thoughts aloud to yourself. After that, you Send and email one of your leaders requesting some time to discuss this idea, and later that afternoon, you Schedule a meeting to lay out the framework of the training.
One of my favorite immediate solutions isn’t listed here – Call. When you get an opportunity and immediately Call that person to discuss, you have outpaced 99% of the competition. That being said, I do like to schedule my work time, so sometimes it’s better to Schedule the call for later, or Send an email to confirm availability of your prospect.
The real point here is to simply Take Action when something pops into your head. Don’t let the hectic life you lead keep you from reaching your goals and succeeding in your business.
Another important fact here? Well, I would never have learned any of this (or gotten a picture with Mel) if I hadn’t attended this event.
Another piece of Taking Action is Getting out of the Office to move your Business forward. No matter how many courses you buy or webinars you watch, there is simply no substitute for the real thing. Being there, live and in person, rubbing shoulders and sipping cocktails with the movers and shakers in your industry.
There is also no greater medicine to bolster your belief and determination to Take Action, and get your business moving in the right direction than joining a group of other entrepreneurs who are pursuing a similar path as you. You will lift one another up on a daily basis. I’m talking about regular people just like you and me, educated or not, parents or not, professional or not, who have found a way to create their own future, earn financial freedom, and are willing to show you how they did it!
If you are ready to Take Action and start moving your business in the right direction before the end of this year, then you should check out this free online recruiting course. In the course you will learn about attraction marketing principles, and the types of actions that will make the biggest difference in your business. Just CLICK HERE to get started.
Want to learn more about Mel Robbins? Check out her website HERE, and find her on Facebook HERE.
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You can also email me [email protected] or call me 832-821-5386.