How to get started: Just do it!

Just do it. Sometimes, these three little words are easier said than done.

Whether you have recently graduated, or looking for the next challenge in your life or career, sometimes it is all too easy to just go with the flow…

You always hear successful entrepreneurs say “start before you are ready”, like it is the easiest thing to do. In my experience the opposite can just as easily happen: you can become so overwhelmed by not knowing what to jump into that you continue to maintain the status quo.

Here’s a simple formula I used to stop waiting and start doing:

Take stock of where you are at now.

Think about the skills that you have, and ask yourself where you want to be. Write it down. Note down all the random thoughts that you are having (trust me, in a few months time these notes will be a super useful tool).

Now that you have assessed where you are at and your vision for the future, things will start to fall into place. You can identify opportunities that fit within your vision. Your new focus will help you seek out bigger and better things.

If you are worried about falling “off task” now, write a letter to yourself in a month. List all the things that you will have achieved, and perhaps even how it made you feel. Write it in the present tense, like these things have already happened.

Then, begin to implement these plans RIGHT NOW.

I love this little quote from Shoes of Prey founder Jodie Fox: “have faith that you won’t throw yourself in the gutter”.

It’s even the little things. Have you been meaning to contact someone, to make a new connection? You never know where your next opportunity will come from.

Or maybe you have a big idea that is just “waiting for the right moment”? Now is that moment.

Still uncertain? Why don’t you try something new for 30 days? Watch Matt Cutts’s TED talk to see how he found that small but sustainable changes had a huge impact on his life.

Stop thinking about it, do it!

Phoebe