Don’t spend so long fine tuning the car, that you never actually get it moving.

So we’ve all done it, right? You come up with the best idea, the best plan. You spend hours, days, even weeks thinking about it. It’s all fine tuned and you just know this is going to work. Then you have to walk the dog, take out the trash, your 9-5 gets busy. And DEAD.

Just like that, the idea you were so excited about just sort of fades into the background. Life happens, and causes you to just simply move past what seemed like your next great adventure / business idea / life altering habit. So how do we avoid it, keep the momentum, and achieve all our goals?

Well if I am being honest, I don’t totally know. This happens to me still to this day. I think it’s the curse, or blessing of being an entrepreneur and creative. If your anything like me, your brain just always is on to the next thing, with endless faith that you can still do everything. This just always means things fall through the cracks. But I have found a few tools that help me lessen this problem, so give them a shot, maybe they will help you.

1. Write it down. You can use a physical notebook / journal (I like the Moleskin brand, but any will do fine.) But don’t JUST write it down, you have to keep reading it. I personally like a nightly and morning review of notes, appointments, and tasks from the day before. These reviews keep the things that just cross your mind in the front of your mind more consistently. So revisit this page every day. Twice a day. Morning and night. Use this as a way to keep yourself accountable.

2. Mini action steps. I fall into this trap ALL the time. You set big goals, then just get so overwhelmed with where to start that you just, well, don’t. Instead of pushing toward the big idea, start small. find 1 thing small you can do today to push toward the big thing. Anything over 0 compounds over time, and will eventually take you so much further than even you realize. Theres something powerful in taking one step forward every day. Don’t romanticize over the big goals, just take the small steps.

3. Talk about it. A lot. I know this is probably counter cultural, people don’t want to brag, or give away their new big idea. Let me give you a secret, if you’re struggling to act on the thing, most people probably won’t act on it either. But one thing talking about it will do is hold you accountable. People are going to ask how the things going, and you don’t want to be the one to say “well, it’s not.” Find yourself an accountability partner, a friend who’s chasing things in their life too, or just someone who you know will check in with you. Im not saying post this for the world to see, but sharing what’s going on in your brain, will ultimately help hold you accountable over the long term.

Again, I STILL do this today, so give yourself some grace to the fact that ideas come and go, not all are even worth acting on. Just start to take these ideas a little more seriously. Write them down, take small steps towards making them happen, and riff with your friends and get some feedback (stick with your positive friends here, you know what I mean).

Don’t quit just because it doesn’t go fast, or feel easy. Nothing worth having does.

New Book Suggestion:

I checked out a new book this week, a recommendation from my buddy Jordan Shank @jordanshank on IG. Go check him out.

By the same guy as the above tweet. It’s a great way to reframe your perspective on things that may be holding you back. He is a faith based writer, but the book isn’t faith focused. Check it out, and let me know what you think!