What would happen to your business if you took massive action?

Last weekend I read 2 books that left me feeling inspired and motivated.

One was about how to get rich in a spiritual way (I’ll write about that one next week) and the other was about taking Massive Action – which is the subject of today’s video (scroll down for the text version.)

The book that inspired this article and video: The 10X Rule

If I had to sum up the advice in this book it would be:

Set your goals 10X bigger, then take 10X the action towards them.

I didn’t think I would like this book. It comes from a hustle hustle hustle winner-take-all aggressive perspective.

And as you may know, I’m not built that way. I’m more of a “how can we make this fun and easy, what’s the laziest way to do this” sort of person. I want the 80/20 rule, not the 10X rule!

However, I found the information and ideas intriguing. Probably because I was considering these ideas in tandem with the other book that talked about success in a more spiritual “how can we make a difference/contribute good/make the world a better place” kind of way. 10X more action towards that end felt inspiring.

If you like what I’ve shared below, there’s more in the book. (And if you buy through this link: buy the book, I’ll get a few cents towards my book addiction.)

Here are my major take-aways from the book…

Feeling unmotivated? Struggling to take action? Maybe your goals are too SMALL

This was my first “ah ha”moment.

I’m a big believer in the idea of “enoughness” – and I often talk about staying small instead of scaling.

The flip side of this is that setting “realistic” goals can be uninspiring. Even if you achieve them, it can be disappointing (and we often fall short.)

I asked someone recently about their goals and the response was:

“I want to make enough sales to pay off my credit card.”

In other words: I’m going to work really hard and then give all the money to MasterCard. That’ll get me fired up!

When you add a zero to the end of your financial goal, it really makes you think differently about what you’d need to do to achieve it, which can lead to interesting and energizing new ideas.

There are 4 levels of action (and they all take energy)

The author categorizes action into 4 different levels:

• Do nothing – avoiding and procrastinating
• Retreat – moving backwards
• Normal action – the “average” amount of action that most people take
• Massive action – the 10X stuff

The big “ah ha” for me: doing nothing takes energy. It takes energy to procrastinate, to avoid doing what we need to do. And it’s emotionally draining (all that guilt and regret.)

So if all levels take energy, why not choose one that will serve you really well?

Massive action is our natural state

Children are massive action takers. They’ll move from activity to activity, not wanting to stop for anything.

They’ll try new things and persist through failure until they master something.

I remember being a kid and being too busy to want to come in and eat lunch. I was always doing something. I also know some grownups like this (and I am not one of them!)

As we grow up, some (most?) of us get conditioned away from this and we slow down on the actions.

What would happen in your business if you took 10X the action?

That is really the main point of the book – and it’s worth thinking about. What WOULD happen if you:

• Made 10X the calls
• Sent 10X the emails
• Attended 10X the events
• Published 10X the blog posts

Or ate 10X the number of frogs. 🙂

It’s not hard to visualize a positive effect, is it?

A few more tips for taking action

Go all in – get obsessed

Commit fully to your business and decide that you will do what it takes, no matter what.

This is the mindset that comes along with thinking bigger and moving faster.

Fear is good

Fear is a sign of growth. Absence of fear is a sign of complacency and staying in your comfort zone.

Courage comes from doing what you’re afraid to do; the more action we take, the less we fear.

Do it NOW

Procrastination feeds the fear. The longer you put it off, the harder it is to take action.

Say YES to opportunities NOW – figure out how to make it work later.