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Most of our lives are spent reacting and it makes for a pretty pathetic existence. As I see it there are three types of action; initiating, reacting and responding. (If there are more enlighten me because this isn’t a scientific journal.)
Where to initiate
Initiating means you start it. Initiating means you can fail but if you succeed you will know it was because of you, not luck or chance.
- Making coffee in the morning
- Establishing a date night for you and your wife (husbands should be in charge of this…step up guys)
- Coming to your boss or team with a new idea
- Writing something to publish on paper or on the net
- Calling a friend to have coffee
- Turning off the TV to read a book
- Calling a potential client
Where your ideas live
Initiating is risky. Few of us do it. Few of us birth an idea and then deliver it into the world so that it can touch reality. Most ideas, desires and dreams exist 18 inches from our heart and never leave. Most of our greatest desires and achievements never get out of our head. That’s a pathetic existence. It’s the shot you never took, the book you never wrote, the conversation you never had, the encouragement you never offered and the warning you never gave. It’s pathetic because you could have done it and you didn’t. Not initiating means you have a lot of regrets. That will ruin your heart. I believe the world needs more from you and that God created you for more than you’re achieving. No, I have no idea who you are. I can’t see through the screen but if you’re like me then this is true of you too. These ideas are my own. They’re about me. They’re true of me first, then I write them down. So I’m initiating more because God wants that stuff out of my head and your head. The world needs those ideas in the world. They do no one any good safely tucked away behind your nasal cavities.
Initiate in small things first. Train yourself
If initiating is risky it’s because initiating carries the greatest rewards.
- Start a company.
- Write a book.
- Start a family.
- Ask someone out on a date.
- Give to the homeless person who doesn’t ask you for anything.
- Sit your kids down and talk with them.
Start. Risk. Live.
What do you want to initiate?
What do you need to initiate?
What are you GOING TO initiate?
My name is Andy Traub and I help people tell their stories in a way that maximizes their impact. If you'd like to create your own custom channel to reach the world then I can help. Just 
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
This is so true and even though I hear it a lot I don’t and I have to ask myself why? Fear a lot of times and lack of vision. When I am clear about where I am headed initiating becomes easier – not always Easy but definitely Easier.
Thank you for telling it like it is and sharing what you are thinking and motivating us to do the same.
I did initiate over the weekend! Finally launched a website and product I have been talking about for over a year. Boy did that feel good!
@martagoertzen Rinse and repeat my friend. Well done.
@andytraub @martagoertzen Absolutely!! That is the plan
Total home run with this post Andy! Encouraged the heck out of me.
Great ideas. I think most people see the end result and get overwhelmed. It is too risky to start a business we think. I can’t write a book, I’m not an author. We should all look at the little things we can do. It is vital to have help and encouragement..
I am stepping a friend through starting a blog. He has said several times that if it was up to him, there was no way he would be this far; the idea was just too much and his knowledge too sparse. I tried to break it down into small chunks that he can do. Like you said, Andy, you have to train yourself to initiate things.
Along with that, I think we have to un-train ourselves to give in to the resistance that is stopping us. It gets easier every time we take action and initiate, but it also takes work. To be un-pathetic, we have to be intentional and get off our collective butts.
If you can’t get motivated or don’t know where to begin, ask for help. Seek out a friend that can travel the journey away from pathetic with you. Get help, get initiating.
@AlanReeves Great point about seeing the end result. I have stopped seeing the end. I only see that I have an empty screen and need to fill it. That’s how you build something. Fill the space and assemble later. The resistance (overcoming it) will fall if we just keep filling the empty screen.