Two words of advice

A consultant friend of mine called me recently to ask if we could catch up as he wanted some advice. He was facing what he saw as a difficult decision. He had two possible business options he could pursue but was unsure which way to go. As he looked at the two options he could see pros and cons for both. From time to time we are all faced with decisions where we must choose one path over another. As we approach these forks in the road we can feel like this will be a seminal and life altering moment. We believe that potentially the decision to go left or right could hold huge consequences and as a result people can often feel particularly anxious about making the right decision.

This was my friend’s dilemma; he had become stuck, immobilised, and unable to make a decision for fear of making a mistake and choosing the wrong option. The fact is there are few decisions you will ever make in your life that will cause irreparable damage. There are no guarantees for success, so the potential for making the 'wrong choice' always exists, but if you become immobilised by the options in front of you and simply do nothing, what ever opportunities had opened up will soon close, and with them any chance for success.

I could boil my advice to my friend down to two words – ‘Do Something’. Agonising over trying to make the perfect choice is a waste of time and energy. When you are faced with two options that have an equal number of positives and negatives, just pick one. I couldn’t promise him that everything would workout perfectly no matter which option he chose. What I could promise was the fastest way to get to what he wanted was to do something – anything. What is critical is to stop procrastinating and take some action.

If you have been torn between going in one direction or another, pick one and do something today. You’ll be glad you did.

Keep Firing.

Success is Simple

One of the things that really interferes with people's ability to get something started is the belief that creating success in any form is a complex task. The truth is, achieving fabulous success is much easier than it may appear. Often the notion that achieving success is complex becomes a convenient excuse for why you never start. My old soccer coach always said, "Paul, soccer is an easy game made hard." People have a tendency to over complicate the challenges they face.

A great example of two people who have embraced the idea of simple are the Queensland based authors of 'Just 4 Ingredients'. Rachael Birmingham and Kim McCosker were two busy mums who saw a need. A simple cook book that would help time poor families save time and money. Rachael is a motivational speaker. Kim, after reading one of Rachael's books, was inspired to write her own book. Kim shared with Rachael the idea for 'Just 4 Ingredients'. Rachael encouraged Kim to go for it, but within a few weeks Kim had lost the motivation. When Rachael later followed up on Kim's progress, she learnt there had been little. Kim told Rachael the only way this book would get done was if they wrote it together. And so the partnership was born and they got down to work.

Now the pair was firing. They did their research and constructed a book filled with 340 recipes that require 4 ingredients or less. Rachael and Kim then approached publishers with their book idea. The response was not favourable. Publisher after publisher rejected their idea. They were told there were no pictures so it wouldn't sell, the green cover was all wrong and the big '4' printed on the front just didn't work. But in the true spirit of Ready Fire Aim, they saw their rejections as simply feedback. With all the publishers saying no, Rachael and Kim decided to self publish.

With very little promotion and despite ignoring all the advice provided by the mainstream publishers, the book has been a runaway smash. 'Just 4 Ingredients' has sold over 700,000 copes and is a number one best seller, now planned for international release. Rachael and Kim are planning a follow up book and of course, every publisher wants to sign them. They have rejected the publishers stating they'd rather do it themselves and self publish again.

Don't fall into the trap of making things more complicated than they need to be. Often the simplest solution is the best. Above all, however, once you decide to take action, keep firing. The feedback won't always be positive, but with persistence, success will be yours.

Just ask Rachael and Kim.

Keep Firing.