Take massive action! Take the first imperfect step! Don’t wait for tomorrow!

Coming at the wrong time, and received in the wrong way, this well-meaning advice can be the recipe for disaster. The problem is that most people interpret “taking action” as meaning “any action.”

How many times have you felt confused and pressured rather than empowered or inspired when these words were spoken to you? They trigger our innate desire to grow, to move forward, and to succeed, but they create the urgency that can easily blur priorities. Because we all want to be successful in our endeavors, and, wouldn’t it be nice if it all happened yesterday?

This can be the kick start of a cascade of random actions, the foundation of busyness without results.

If you are serious about reaching the level of success you have envisioned for yourself, it’s time to challenge the habits of being busy with apparent issues.

It’s time to lay down a new foundation.

The key to taking action that creates meaningful results isn’t as simple as just jumping in and doing something – there’s much more that needs to be considered before taking the plunge.

Massive action needs a solid foundation on which your actions can rest upon.

And as much as I believe in a beautiful dream, I love a good sequence that leads to its realization.

a clear vision + a strategic foundation + a compelling strategy + massive action

Before you rush to do anything, make sure you spend the time to clarify your vision: what exactly do you want to achieve? Define success on your terms. When this step is not clear, all your actions will be random and will lead nowhere, you’ll be spinning your wheels but getting nowhere fast.

Next comes building a strategic foundation based on what you want to achieve. This might be a more tedious step, but if you skip it, or you chose to cut corners, you’ll eventually have to backtrack and do the work anyway. Just to name a few of the key elements you’d need to clarify while working on this step:

• A deep understanding of who you are and what you stand for
• Your area of focus
• Your unshakable Why
• Your offer: what can you provide that will add value to your target market?

Now it’s time to get specific, refine and articulate your strategy, map out a realistic plan for achieving your vision, as well as think through all of the potential obstacles and challenges we may face along the way.

This is where you need to be creative, innovative, and resourceful. If you’ve done the first two steps well, this stage should be flowing with ease.

We all need to commit to the right sequence of steps if we want to avoid actions that will likely be misguided and ineffective.

The bottom line is that taking massive action without a clear vision or foundation is more likely to lead to disaster than success. So, before taking the plunge and forcing the massive action, make sure your vision is clear, the foundation is solid, and strategically align your actions with your ultimate goal.