This is From The Balance Beam

[TheBalanceBeam] - What Are You Waiting For?

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THE BALANCE BEAM
Ideas and Inspiration for Creating a Life that Works
Vol. 3 No. 13, June 28, 2001
Published by Success Builders, Inc.
http://www.SuccessBuildersInc.com
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"He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened."
Lao-tzu
In this issue: WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
====================================================================== Dear Friends:
Once in a while a person comes along in your life who lives out loud; who takes the bull by the horns and plows forward into untrodden territory, never looking back, and stopping only occasionally to gather some more cohorts for the journey. For me, one of those people was Jennifer White, and this issue of The Balance Beam is a tribute to her short, but inspiring life.

If you are interested in reading earlier editions of The Balance Beam, you can easily retrieve them by clicking on http://www.successbuildersinc.com/newsletter.html and going to the Archives section. If you are not yet a regular subscriber to The Balance Beam, you can also enter your subscription information at this location.
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Today's Topic: WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Two weeks ago I lost a dear friend and gifted colleague. Not only was Jennifer White a brilliant coach, she was also an amazingly talented and prolific writer. Jen was in the process of writing her third book when her life was cut short at the tender young age of 33. I'm inspired to write today's column by the prophetic wisdom of this dynamic woman whom I used to tease about being the "Energizer Bunny."

My professional collaboration with Jennifer began after the publication of her first book, "Work Less, Make More," subtitled "Stop working so hard and create the life you really want." I remember initially running into her in the exhibitors' area at a coaching conference several years ago. There she sat, promoting this little paperback book in a sea of more academic and profound sounding titles. I looked at the title of this particular volume, then looked at Jen, and said, "Well, yeah. Work less, make more. Who could argue with an idea like that?" Or, as my eighteen-year old would say, "Duhhhh!"

It was only after actually reading the text that I grew to understand that this was not some flash in the pan, get-rich-quick scheme. On the contrary, it was a compendium of simple little wisdom nuggets for living the life you really want to live, rather than some socially prescribed version. What a concept.

In the months that followed, I had the privilege of working with Jen and a handful of other amazing women to create a coaching and training program based on the book and its straightforward approach to better living. Not only was this a stimulating professional experience, it was also rollicking fun. And perhaps most significant for me was the fact that we all simply dove into it, rather than thinking and planning and hesitating and waiting for the time to be right.

Which brings me to the point of this column, and to the overarching question I would ask you to consider as you read it: What are you waiting for?

Many people play the waiting game by putting their lives and their dreams on hold pending some set of circumstances that they irrationally believe would give them the green light. They procrastinate with excuses like:

- If only I had more time...
- If my boss wasn't so demanding...
- Once my kids get older...
- If only I had more education...
- When the credit cards are paid off...
- As soon as I lose some weight...
- Once I get organized...
- After the holidays...
- If only I had more money in the bank...

Do any of these excuses sound familiar? Sometimes pursuing a major goal requires legitimate preparation that takes time, like saving for the down payment on a house, or assembling a business plan for an entrepreneurial venture. But more often than not, one excuse simply leads to another, and the "right time" never seems to come along.

Many people devote a great deal of time to thinking about their goals and to the mental preparation involved. Unfortunately, the piece that winds up missing is the translation to action. Sometimes perfectionism gets in the way. The messiness of life typically prevents us from assembling the perfect set of circumstances for most of the things we want to do.
And sometimes it's just plain old inertia. We get locked into the predictability of our comfort zones and the courage required to move forward into the unknown just seems to require too much energy.

Pablo Picasso said, "Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone." My friend Jennifer was a great example of someone who seized the moment instead of putting things off. And doing so enabled her to leave a great legacy despite her premature passing.

This week, identify what's stopping you from moving forward with your dreams. And then move into action. It doesn't matter how big or how little that action might be. The point is, get out of your head and get moving. What are you waiting for?
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Words to live by:

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it."
-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe