Take Action (Now)!

Did you read my post from Wednesday, Taking Action: Owner’s Manual for Life?

If not, why not?
Stop right now and go read it.

I will be right here waiting on you. Go ahead…I mean it!

Observations

Okay, now that you have read my post on Taking Action, I bet you have some observations. You probably do. In fact, I am almost sure that everyone reading this right now has some questions or comments about Wednesday’s post. Some of you are wondering which Bible translation we are using. Some of you think the cover was a little on the cheesy side. Others are probably doing the math on $1.50 a piece for roughly 2,500 books.

Regardless of your thoughts, I want you to put them on hold for a moment. In case you missed the following weaknesses in my post, I want to point out a few more for you!

My Observations

First, did you notice that I said we were still working on the details of the process for all of the people that will be involved in making this happen? Did you happen to see that I am not yet sure of the text on the stickers that will go on the inside cover? Finally, did it register with you that I did not go into much detail about how we would answer the phone calls? I also left out how we would track any responses to somehow gauge our results.

So, why am I pointing this out? What is my point?

Plan or Take Action?

Seth Godin talks about how we should “ship” a product before it is perfect or before we know absolutely that it will succeed. According to Godin, what usually keeps us from doing this is resistance. Whether this resistance is a fear of failure, criticism, or rejection, or maybe an overactive need for perfection, we too often give in to it and fail to take action!

Sometimes planning can delay our decision to take action. I am NOT saying that we should not plan. We should! I did a whole series on Strategic Ministry Planning. However, in certain situations, it may make the most sense just to pull the trigger and go into action.

Catalyst for Action

In an effort to blow through this barrier in our business, I posted Wednesday about our “decision” to move forward with the Owner’s Manuals For Life idea. What you don’t know is that my post was so vague in the details I mentioned above because none of those details had been determined! Our team had agreed to the idea, but had not taken any real action. I used that post as a catalyst to move us forward to take action!

I called my brother (and partner in the business) this afternoon to find out when we could have the first shipment of New Testaments. He responded, “Well, according to your post Wednesday, I guess I should already have them!” We laughed, but then took the next three minutes to determine our next steps to move this project forward. No meeting necessary. We simply decided how to take action!

I believe our first New Testaments will begin leaving out of here in gloveboxes in the next ten days (depending on shipping)! I will keep you posted!

Where do you need to take action?

What resistance are you allowing to slow you down?

When are you going to decide enough is enough?