"Get Up, Do Something, Do Anything...Just Make a Start!"

I still remember the first time my grandfather gave me that advice.  I was only 23 years old, with two small children and no idea how I was going to support my family and still have time to care for my kids. I had gone to my grandparent’s house to seek their advice as I figured at their age they were bound to have all the answers for me.  As I expressed my concerns to them, my grandfather said “Get up, do something, do anything…just make a start.”  I remember thinking at the time how that advice didn’t feel like much of a solution to my problem; yet as the years have gone by in my life I have since come to realize that his answer was nothing short of sheer GENIUS!

There are so many times in life when we talk about “what we plan to do when…”, or “what we would do, if only…”, or “how we will, once we…”.  I am certain you know exactly what I am talking about because either you have said those words yourself, or you have heard them from someone else at least once in your life.

We all have.  And it’s amazing how often our lives get delayed from doing any of the things we talk about doing because we simply don’t get started!  We are masters of making excuses to justify our own procrastination.  And, if you are like me, you can convince even yourself that the delays are perfectly reasonable and even smart choices on your part.  I believe that is what is known as the art of self-deception.

I spend a lot of time speaking with students at universities who are interested in entrepreneurship and one of the points I try to stress the most is the need for them to just get started.  Don’t wait until your ideas are perfected.  Don’t wait until you have every little kink worked out or every little question answered.  Just start.  Chances are that half of the questions will either be answered on their own once you begin moving forward, and the other half won’t even be relevant anymore because as your business progresses you will find that they weren’t the right questions to be asking in the first place.

There is no such thing as the perfect time, or the perfect circumstance to begin.  Whenever you start your entrepreneurial journey you are going to be up against challenges.  Those challenges may differ based on the economic or political climates going on at any given time, but regardless of what causes them, there will always be challenges to face.  But isn’t that part of the allure to being an entrepreneur in the first place?   The chance to solve really hard problems and overcome really big hurdles, just so we can know that we could?  That is what we thrive on.  That is what gets us up in the morning ready to jump out of bed and scream “Watch out world, here I come again!”

“Get up, do something, do anything…just make a start.” Yes, his advice was sheer genius, and it has served me well over the years as I went through my own struggles to start and grow my businesses.  His simple little saying takes away any excuses we can come up with, (and trust me I could come up with a lot of them!) and tells us to get off our behinds and start moving forward, and that is exactly what we need to do to be successful in life.  Do something.  Do anything.  Just make a start!

Author: Amy [Forbes]
Note : Don't wallow in your fears....for you will miss so many oppurtunites...Lincoln said “Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way.” But yes, you have to start!