When a chef receives a recipe idea for a delicacy he or she does not start making the delicacy which is the most important thing or the goal the chef wants to achieve. Rather the chef firstly equips himself with the necessary ingredients and tools needed to prepare the delicacy. It’s only when every ingredient is ready that the chef starts cooking.
In one of my articles, I gave “5 Reasons why JUST START is Bad Advice” When we get the gentle nudge or the passionate burst of an idea before we start there is a couple of other steps we must take. These steps are necessary to ascertain if we are cut out for what we want to get ourselves involved in.
“GIVE ME SIX HOURS TO CHOP DOWN A TREE AND I WILL SPEND THE FIRST FOUR SHARPENING THE AXE.” SAYS, ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
The same way a baby who wants to walk must start by crawling to have a feel of the floor texture and the risks involved so also an athlete does not start by running or playing on a good league but from his bedroom building his mental and physical stamina before taking off.
Inside one of the wisest books on earth, it was written in Luke 14: 28–30 “28 — suppose one of you want to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 — For if you lay the foundation and are unable to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 — saying ‘this person began to build and wasn’t able to finish it.”
A lot of us had made the mistake of the above verse and has gotten the reward which is ridicule. Of course, we are humans when we are ridicule we sulk and use washed out motivational quotes to console ourselves which is not bad because we need our spirit uncrushed to move on, but if we only move on and don’t do it better we will keep repeating the same pattern and going round in a circle. Read my article “What happens when you rush into things” to understand this pattern and how to break it to get a better result.
THERE ARE 3 IMPORTANT THINGS YOU MUST DO BEFORE STARTING
- Know where you are going: weigh your options and thoroughly explore your ideas in toto. Understand and prepare yourself for what you are getting yourself into. As a youngster, there’s a quote a boyfriend was prone to say “Think before you act.” You can’t take back a deed that’s done but you can stop it from being done. As Franklin covey time management strategies say “begin with the end in mind.” You can predict the outcome of your future endeavour with the right investigation and planning. You have to envision and execute, not the other way round. If you know where you are going and how to get there, your job is done.
YOU HAVE TO ENVISION AND EXECUTE
- Commitment: can you put in the commitment involved in growing that idea from a seed to a tree and forest. Being committed means managing your expectations, accepting uncertainty and prepared to take actions with a sense of purpose toward building your vision or ideas. With commitment comes compromise and sacrifice and this you should be prepared for.
WITH COMMITMENT COMES COMPROMISE
Resources: passion is a resource but also is a skill. Your passion should measure up with your skill. Don’t run with a full tank of passion and an empty bank of skill, you will crash. Finance is also a resource you need so also network and mental stamina. The good news is, you can always acquire and accumulate resources.
DON’T RUN WITH A FULL TANK OF PASSION AND AN EMPTY BANK OF SKILL
Give little or no room for assumption and minimize trial and error by putting in place the three things above before starting. You will achieve more when you optimize your action. Rolling stone they say gather no moist.
Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, and either embrace what is or learn how to change it in your favour. He who is best prepared can best serve.