There comes a moment when thinking has to give way to doing. The dream has to move from the mind into the world. That is where action begins.
In my earlier reflections, I have described the journey as: Dream → Think → Act → Achieve
We have also explored why having a dream is not enough, why the dream within us may point towards purpose, and why thinking is necessary if we are going to turn a possibility into something more tangible.
But thinking, however valuable, has a limitation. It cannot do the work for us.
ACTION IS THE BRIDGE
There is a difference between knowing what you want and doing something that moves you towards it. You may want to write a book, and may have thought about the subject for years. You may even have a notebook filled with ideas. At some point, however, you have to write the first page.
You may want to start a business. You may have studied the market, considered the risks and developed a business plan. At some point, you have to make the first call, speak to the first customer or test the first version of the idea.
You may want to develop a new career. You may have imagined yourself doing something different and thought carefully about the possibilities. At some point, you have to take the course, apply for the opportunity, speak to someone in the field or begin developing the capability you need.
Action does not guarantee achievement, but without action, achievement remains an intention.
THE FIRST ACTION DOES NOT HAVE TO BE BIG
One reason people struggle to act is that they imagine the first step has to be enormous. It does not. Sometimes the first action is surprisingly small, like:
- Write the idea down
- Make the call
- Send the email
- Have the conversation
- Research what you need to know
- Set aside the first hour
These actions may appear insignificant when compared with the dream itself. However, they do something important: they convert an internal intention into an external commitment. This does matter!
A dream that exists only in your imagination can remain comfortable. Once you act, reality begins to respond. And reality may not respond in the way you expected. That is not necessarily a bad thing.
ACTION GIVES YOU INFORMATION
One of the things I have learned about action is that it does more than move you forward. It teaches you.
You may think you understand what is required until you actually begin. Then you discover something you could not have known from thinking alone. They include things like:
- The customer responds differently from what you expected
- The market is not quite what you imagined
- The skill you thought you needed turns out not to be the most important one
- The process takes longer than you anticipated
- An opportunity appears that was invisible before you started
This is why I see the journey not simply as: Think → Act. It can become a cycle of action and reflection. Action creates feedback, while feedback creates learning. Learning can then change the next action.
This is not a sign that the original dream was wrong. Sometimes it is simply evidence that the route needs refinement.
DO NOT WAIT FOR PERFECT CONFIDENCE
Another reason people delay action is the belief that they need to feel ready first. Confidence is useful. However, confidence does not always come before action. Sometimes confidence is built by action. You take the first step and discover that you can do it. You make the first call and learn from the response.
The first attempt may not be impressive, and that is not the point. The point is that you have begun. There is a difference between being unprepared and being unwilling to begin until you feel completely prepared. The first requires more preparation, and the second may require courage.
ACTION REQUIRES DISCIPLINE
Dreams can be exciting, but hang on, action can be repetitive!
This is one of the reasons the journey from dreaming to achievement is not always glamorous. A dream can be pictured in its finished form. Action often consists of ordinary things done repeatedly.
- Writing | Practising | Learning | Testing | Correcting | Trying again
The dream may provide the inspiration, but discipline keeps the work moving when the excitement has faded. This is where a practical dreamer differs from someone who simply enjoys dreaming. The practical dreamer does not stop at imagining what could be.
They ask: What can I do about it | What can I do today | What needs to happen next?
That last question is particularly useful because not everything needs to be solved today. Sometimes the most productive question is simply: What is the next meaningful action?
FROM ACTION TO MOMENTUM
There is something else that happens when we begin to act. Action can create momentum.
One action makes the next action easier to see. You write the first page and understand what the next page needs. You make the first customer contact and learn whom you should speak to next. You begin learning a new skill and discover what you need to practise.
This does not mean that progress will always be smooth. There will be setbacks, and this can be plenty of them over a long period of time.
There will be moments when the action produces little apparent result. There may be times when you have to stop, reconsider and change direction. That is where persistence becomes important.
As I wrote in my first reflection, changing course is not necessarily giving up. Sometimes continuing towards the destination requires us to change the route. Action therefore needs to be accompanied by observation.
- Do something à Look at what happened à Learn à Adjust à Continue
THE DANGER OF PERPETUAL PREPARATION
There is a form of procrastination that can look remarkably productive. It is called preparation.
Of course, preparation matters. But preparation can become a comfortable place to hide from action. You can keep researching, refining and planning, always telling yourself that you are almost ready. At some point, preparation stops serving the dream and starts protecting you from the uncertainty of pursuing it.
The question is not whether you have prepared enough to guarantee success. There is no such guarantee. The better question may be: Have I prepared enough to take the next sensible step?
That is a much more useful question because it recognises that some things can only be learned by doing.
ACTION DOES NOT MEAN ACTING WITHOUT THINKING
There is a danger at the other extreme. If thinking can become an excuse for never acting, action can also become an excuse for never thinking.
Being busy is not the same as making progress. You can take many actions and still move in the wrong direction.
This is why Dream → Think → Act → Achieve is not a straight line that we travel once. It is a cycle: the dream gives direction, thinking gives understanding, action creates movement, and results give us something to learn.
Sometimes the next action will be different from the one we originally imagined. That is not necessarily a failure. It may be evidence that the process is working.
MEANINGFUL ACTION
There is one final distinction that matters to me. Not every action connected to a dream is equally meaningful.
If our dreams are connected to purpose, then our actions should increasingly reflect that purpose. We should ask not only, ‘What can I do,’ but also, ‘Is this worth doing’ and ‘Does this move me towards what matters?’
That last question takes us back to the idea of the Dream Centre. Our dreams do not exist entirely in isolation. What we build, discover, create or achieve can create possibilities for other people. Action therefore becomes more than personal advancement. It can become contribution.
THE DREAM NEEDS A FIRST STEP
A dream does not need you to know everything before you begin. It needs you to begin learning. You may not have the complete plan and you may not feel completely confident. You may not know exactly where every step will lead, but yut you can usually identify one meaningful action.
Martin Luther King Jnr is widely attributed with the words: “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
So, take it. Then observe what happens, learn from it, and tTake the next one.
This is how a dream begins to move. And sometimes, looking back, we discover that the journey did not begin with a dramatic breakthrough. It began with something much smaller…
- A decision
- A conversation
- A written page
- A phone call
- An application
- A first attempt
- A single step
A dream may begin in the imagination, but it begins to become real when we give it something to work with.
A QUESTION FOR REFLECTION
What is the next meaningful action you can take towards a dream that matters to you?
Not the entire plan, and not the perfect action. Just the next meaningful step, because a dream that remains in the mind can inspire you.
However, a dream that moves into action can begin to change your life, and perhaps, through what you eventually achieve, the lives of others.
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ABOUT KOLA OLUTIMEHIN
Kola Olutimehin (getKOLA) is a Business Excellence Consultant who helps organisations achieve operational excellence through effective leadership, employee engagement, continuous improvement and organisational transformation.
If you find these reflections useful, follow Kola Olutimehin (getKOLA) for more thoughts on leadership, business excellence, organisational transformation, achievement and purposeful growth. You may also subscribe to our newsletters here, and connect with Kola via getKOLA.
Kola Olutimehin is a Business Excellence Consultant, who assists organisations in the achievement of operational excellence. He is a Director with the International Lean Six Sigma Institute (ILSSI), the David Hutchins International Quality College (DHIQC), and the Global Excellence Team (GET).
The International Lean Six Sigma Institute (ILSSI) is one of the leading international Lean Six Sigma professional and certification organisations, recognised globally. Kola’s involvement with ILSSI, DHIQC and GET reflects his continuing work in business excellence, operational excellence, quality and continuous improvement.