The Good Coach :: Don't Just Think—DO! :: by Lesley Riley

:: The Good Coach ::
Don't Just Think—DO!
by Lesley Riley

Don’t Just Think – DO!
If you went to Catholic school in the 50s will remember this book. For those that did not have the pleasure let me fill you in. It was a workbook to accompany our basic readers, the Dick & Jane books. But wait; let me back up a bit. On the first day of first grade when I say the word LOOK on the flip chart, I honestly felt like I had been given the keys to the kingdom. I thought reading was pure magic and the fact that I was actually going to learn how to do it - well, let’s just say, I didn’t feel that level of joy again until I had my babies.

Back then, God forbid (and really, God forbid, according to the nuns) we should write in our books. But the Thank-and-Do Book, that was mine and mine alone to make marks, color and delight in. Only my fear of the nuns stopped me from running home to complete all 77 pages that first day. That whole concept, THINK and DO has stuck with me ever sense and I still feel the same thrill I did 50-some years ago each time I pull it off the shelf.

It’s a blessing really, to be able to think and do. But sadly, so many of us spend all our time thinking. The doing has gone by the wayside. You’re are full of grand ideas, a plethora of what-ifs and an unending supply of “wouldn’t it be cools…..” Ideas abound but taking action, well, maybe tomorrow. You’re stuck in THINK and you need to DO.

Amelia Earhart said, “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.”

We worry so much about being wrong, making the wrong decision, gluing something in the wrong spot, that we do nothing. Bottling up all your creativity along with all your unfulfilled desire can actually make you sick. So what’s the remedy? DO.

What would happen if you DO?
What would happen if you don’t?

What could you create if you DO?
What could you create if you don’t?

What do you have to show the world if you THINK?
What do you have to show the world if you DO?

Thinking is lovely, don’t get me wrong. One of the pleasures in life is to just sit and think.

Warning: A certain inertia sets in when you sit and think too long.

Even the great thinkers in history did the DO – they wrote their thoughts down to share with the world. To live, to create is to both THINK and most importantly, DO.

I know I’m not saying anything new here, but for some reason it’s a message, not only worth repeating, but one that needs repeating – over and over. Nike’s “Just do it” is part of our culture. It’s the simplest yet hardest thing to DO. Look at just a few might people who have shared their wisdom on the power of DO:

Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing. Thomas Jefferson

Things won are done, joy's soul lies in the doing. William Shakespeare

I have been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do. Georgia O’Keefe

Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Action is the foundational key to all success. Picasso

Your life will be no better than the plans you make and the action you take.
You are the architect and builder of your own life, fortune, destiny. Alfred A. Montapert

Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit. Conrad Hilton

Knowledge is not power. Knowledge is only potential power. Action is power.
Anthony Robbins

The most effective way to do it, is to do it. Amelia Earhart

Why so many quotes? I am trying to make a point here. But more importantly, I put them here for you. Print them. Cut them out and post everywhere as reminders to DO. Will you DO that for me? I guarantee it will change your life.

Lesley Riley is an internationally known artist, workshop instructor and author with a passion for spreading the magic of art. Though her company, Artist Success, Lesley provides resources, coaching and mentoring to artists, enabling them to achieve their vision of success. For more information and resources, visit ArtistSuccess.com. Learn about Lesley's new book titled Create with Transfer Artist Paper here.