Where Power Lies, Information Or Action?

It is commonly stated that knowledge is power – well not exactly. Unless what you are looking for is a pat on the back for what you know, great, but by itself will not get you much more.

There is potential for power in having knowledge, but the mere possession of it does not cause any power packed action to take place. That’s our job, to take specific action based on the knowledge – this is where the power is! It’s not what you know that has power, but what you do with it.

It’s like a small seed, all the information is in there – but until there is action, no plant grows up. Effective action is a daily thing. It’s about just beginning with what you can, and building on that. And you don’t need to have all the information you can imagine you may need before you start, the need for specific information and how to get it will arise as you move forward.

Just as a clearer picture of what to do will come about as you proceed. The only way to fail at anything is to not take any action. Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that continuous thought about our desire is taking action. Yes, purposeful thinking is part of action, but not if you remain stuck in it.

The other big factor contributing to inaction is being overwhelmed. It can be having too many things you want to start at once, or it can be too much information and not getting clear on where to start. After you begin taking action what additoinal knowledge you need and what to do will become more clear than before starting.

The effective action plan goes like this:

 Decide what you want to do,
 Acquire the knowledge needed to begin,
 Start taking specific action supported by your knowledge,
 Analyze your results, make adjustments if needed,
 Be observant and open to what additional knowledge you need,
 Acquire more knowledge,
 Take more action,
 Remain persistent, repeat above as much as is required to hit goal.

It’s important not to allow yourself to get stuck in thinking that you need to know everything up front, that will just keep you from taking action – it’s a form of self-sabotage. Start as soon as you can, knowing the basics and learn as you go. There are many things you will need to learn that you can’t think of until you are in the midst of the process. Starting is the only way to expose all that you will need to know as you proceed.

Make it a first goal, to start as soon as you have most of what you need to know to get moving on the first step, and get doing it. Allow yourself to move into the unknown with the faith that what you need will be revealed and you will be able to acquire the needed knowledge as you go.

If you study success you will find that many successful people can be considered somewhat reckless in their beginning efforts. But the key is that they jumped in and immersed themselves in the project.

You will never see all the nuances until you are immersed in it.

Get going – just start.

John