No one can do it for you -YOU must work for whatever it is YOU want, which means it’s time to...
Define What YOU want.
(Updated 06/01/23)
Time to TAKE ACTION!
The Process of Thinking
Let’s Focus on Acting
How to Focus on ONE PRIORITY
Creating the Roadmap to Success
The Blank Piece of Paper Group Discussion
What would you like to be telling people in the future about your greatest achievement?
It's Friday – so that means you have some challenges to think about and do, over the weekend.
Time to TAKE ACTION!
Ready?
So, we have to go back to the Blank Piece of Paper.
No apologies from my side, achieving success, is about PERSEVERANCE.
Whether it's an author with a blank sheet of paper, an artist with a blank canvas, or even an Entrepreneur with a blank white napkin (the first place Entrepreneurs normally jot down their ideas), everything starts from just that blank space; blinding in its emptiness yet inviting in its desire to be filled.
Or does it?
The Process of Thinking
Actually, No! – It starts before that, in a process called – “Thinking” - where we have thoughts.
Our thoughts are like seeds: If we nurture those thoughts by continually thinking about them, we can grow them – both positively, and negatively.
For those of you who worry, they are negative thoughts that you are feeding the more you think about them. This means your worries just keep growing and growing, and if not controlled, can end up making you ill.
Following the process we are going through can help manage the process of worrying, and help you OVERCOME YOUR FEARS.
For those of you who are creative and have innovative thoughts which you keep developing, they are thoughts generally centred around you wanting to make a change. By continuing to think about such thoughts you can grow great projects, but only if you ACT on those thoughts.
Of course, there are also thoughts, millions of them, that we have and then instantly dismiss.
Now here is the interesting point: We each have thousands of thoughts every day, most of them dismissed, but of the really valuable thoughts that we have, that we start seriously thinking about, and may even invest hours, days, weeks or months considering; we actually then do nothing with!!
These are WASTED THOUGHTS!
95% of people FTI – Fail To Implement.
You have a brilliant idea, and you don’t do anything with it!
If you are one of the 95%, then this blog is not for you – Sorry, but why to waste your time and my time if you are not going to TAKE ACTION!
This blog is for people who want to help themselves.
To be successful in life, however, you define it, you must ACT. DO!
So, for the 5% remaining:
Let’s Focus on Acting
You will need to transfer the thoughts you want to invest in, those with real potential, to a blank piece of paper – That is the starting point.
You will then have, like me, hundreds of pieces of paper on your desk.
Do not panic, I will share with you in a future blog how we can deal with all those ideas.
For the moment, my objective is to get you to the point of selecting the ONE overarching goal of your life.
Let’s go back to your thoughts.
When you were a child, you were imagining and Fantasizing about all the things you wanted to do when you grew up. If someone asked you what you were going to be, you would have been able to tell them what it was with lots of enthusiasm, even at the age of 6!
Where has your spirit for dreaming and Fantazing gone?
Now, let’s try and recreate that with the Blank Piece of Paper exercise.
As a reminder, I asked you to take a blank piece of paper and to please write on the top of it, what it is you want to do in your life?
I gave you 30 seconds to do it.
I also explained that you could imagine that I am the genie in the bottle. I have appeared in front of you and granted you ONE wish- and it is to succeed in the biggest thing you have always wanted to achieve. You can have anything, but you must be prepared to work for it.
I know it is difficult, and I am sure you have been thinking about it since I first set this exercise.
So, have you decided on what it is you are going to ask for?
Most of us do not know what we really want - Or we do, but we are too frightened to say it out loud because we fear what others might think.
OVERCOME YOUR FEARS - Stop thinking about others - START BELIEVING IN YOURSELF
As I predicted, and as I know from the classes that I give, many of you have said that you have several things you want to achieve.
It happens to us all, but you need to start being Focussed on the ONE priority that will bring you your success.
Over the next blogs I will explain why you need to Focus on a single overarching objective, but for now, trust me and the process we are going through.
I want to keep the Focus on you and your Blank Piece of Paper.
How to Focus on ONE PRIORITY
Here is something fun to try at home which demonstrates some of the theories behind what I am doing with you:
This must be the most ridiculous exercise I have created for anyone. But let’s have some fun.
Please take a pair of socks. As you can see both are similar, one for each foot.
Take a shirt, a jumper and a pair of trousers, and lay them all on them out in front of you.
Now, I want you to take ten minutes to focus on the five items. Really concentrate on them. What colour are they? What purpose do they have? How do you put them on? Focus on all five items equally.
Ten minutes to ensure that when you close your eyes you know each item individually.
*10 minutes * 5 minutes .... *Stop! Close your eyes.
Visualise the clothes in your head, and count for 30 seconds.
Now, get naked! (Yes, I hope no one is watching either...)
3 - 2 - 1... Go! Put all five items on at that same time! At the exact same time!
Not individually.
Do NOT prioritise.
Do not pick your favourite first.
Do not put the trousers on first as they cover you up the quickest or the shirt first as they are the most comfortable
... All five together!!!
When you have stopped laughing, you should, I hope, understand my madness.
You were Focused on all five things and each had a different purpose so actually, it is like the different ideas you have.
If you are telling me that you have five different ideas/objectives you want to achieve at the same time, or even separately, then it is like these items of clothing.
You cannot do it all at the same time and no matter how brilliant you are, it is still not impossible to focus on doing more than one thing at once successfully.
As we say in the UK, you can be a jack of all trades, but a master of none.
And please, no jokes about women multitasking!
This is what we can learn from this exercise: Our overarching ambition was not to put each item of clothing on, even if the order was not important. Our objective was to get dressed. And possibly, if we look deeper, it is not even about getting dressed it is about feeling more secure when we are clothed. So, our mission was to feel secure by being dressed. That was our overarching purpose.
I run multiple companies, so I will just clarify at this point that it is not me focussing on all of them at the same time. I am Focused on my overarching purpose and my brilliant team is Focused on theirs. The businesses are a means to end and part of my goal of ‘turning 7 billion ideas into action, including YOURS!’
Needless to say, we are very much Focused on achieving success in all our companies but the companies are like the clothes above, they have a greater purpose and the order with which we prioritise each one, varies according to daily requirements. My ambition of ‘turning 7 billion ideas into action, including YOURS’ always supersedes everything else!
There is a mixture of terminologies and concepts above and I want you to understand the dimension of what I am asking from you:
In life, we often talk about goal setting, which we will discuss in future blogs.
I am not asking you for your goals at this point, what I am asking for is something much bigger.
I am not asking for your dreams – dreams are in your sleep and are not concrete.
In a way, I am asking you for your ambition - an ambition beyond that which anyone else has ever requested of you. I am asking for your legacy, for your purpose in this life, for what you would like to be known for having achieved.
Creating the Roadmap to Success
Any journey starts with an image of the destination already in your mind
(Think about it, wherever you decide to go, you always picture your destination in your head – possibly subconsciously, but that’s what you are doing!)
So, take a few days now:
We have prepared a Taking the First Steps to the Life YOU want: Workbook to help you.
You can download it for FREE here: Taking the First Steps to the Life YOU want Workbook.
It’s important that you keep these few questions at the forefront of your mind:
Really dig deep inside your heart and mind - What will be your legacy?
What would you like your purpose in this life to be?
What would you like to be known for having achieved?
That is what goes on the top of your piece of paper.
My Challenge to you:
What is it that you really want?
Come on, dig down deep inside... There is something you have always wanted to do but are too afraid to share it.
What is it?
Are you prepared to write it down, knowing it will come true?
I dare you to write it down!
Please think about it:
Life is not a rehearsal; you do not get to come back and do it all over again!
Live every day as if it were your last. There is nothing to fear if you have achieved the goals you set for yourself. This is your life.
I am looking forward to CELEBRATING YOUR SUCCESS with you!
The Blank Piece of Paper Group Discussion (Free to join)
As my team and I have been doing the Blank Piece of Paper exercise for many years, we realise that it is not easy to do and that people like to discuss how to best do the exercise, understand what is required, and have the clarity to move forward.
Therefore, if you are interested in joining a group discussion about the “Blank Piece of Paper" please:
Then let me know in an email that you are interested in a joining our FREE group discussion.
We will then set some dates and times to have a Blank Piece of Paper Online Meeting where you will be invited to join.
In the meantime, our website and blog will keep you updated and informed with relevant guidance to support your continued development.
You can of course send us any questions at any time once you are a member – it’s all FREE
It’s my way of Paying It Forward.
Gandhi said, “You must be the change YOU want to see”
Madi says, “You must be the change YOU want to see – NO EXCUSES!”
Founder Madi Group www.madisharma.org
Founder Women’s Eco-nomic & Social Think Tank www.westtworld.com
Author Madi No Excuses! www.madinoexcuses.com
Entrepreneur, International Speaker, Freelance Journalist
Listed as 1 of apolitical’s 100 Most Influential People in Gender Policy in 2018
@MadiSharma1
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