Article by the Expert: Success Loves Speed by Robert Ringer

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Article by the Expert: Success Loves Speed
by Robert Ringer

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I've written a lot about the importance of acting sooner rather
than later, without waiting to figure out everything in advance.
Human motivation certainly plays a role here. Nothing says this
more succinctly than marketing guru Joe Vitale's aphorism:
Money loves speed.

When I mentioned this in a recent teleseminar, one of the
callers asked if I could be more specific. He wanted to know
why money loves speed.

Before I answer that, let me say that this is not just true
about money. It's true in all areas of life. I don't recall
ever succeeding at something because I got there last.

* If you want to buy tickets from a scalper for a big game
that's sold out, get there first. Tickets love speed.

* If you want a job that you just found out about, get
there first. Jobs love speed.

* If you want to win the guy or gal who has your heart
pounding, get there first. Guys and gals love speed.

* If you want to get the investment property that just
came on the market, get there first. Investment
properties love speed.

And so on. Because success, in general, loves speed.

So, why does success love speed? The answer is to be found in
the dictionary. Action is defined as "the causation of change."
Whatever result you want, it's a change from what you now have.
By definition, then, a change has to take place for you to get
from your present status to that result.

Following are some of the more important reasons why I believe
action begets results.

1. When you do too much planning, there's a tendency to think
of one reason after another why what you're contemplating
won't work.

Many of the reasons you come up with may be correct. But the
important thing is that it doesn't matter. Why? Because, as
you move forward, circumstances continually change -- and
those changes often render irrelevant many of the concerns you
may have had before taking action. In other words, don't try
to figure out steps two, three, and four before taking step
one.

The legendary Joe Karbo once told me that he ran his first ad
for The Lazy Man's Way to Riches (a million-copy seller)
before he even began to write the book! In fact, he told me
that the ad he wrote served as an outline for the book itself.
Talk about going against conventional wisdom...

2. When you procrastinate, you tend to lose your enthusiasm.

Homeostasis -- the tendency to live with existing conditions
and avoid change -- sets in. You get comfortable with the way
things are and allow your great idea to fade into the comfort
zone of oblivion. But when you take action, your creative
juices flow faster, your resourcefulness kicks into high gear,
and the things, people, and circumstances you need to
accomplish your objectives are drawn to you almost like magic.
As a result, your motivation to succeed becomes elevated.

This is not hocus-pocus. I've done it enough times to be able
to assure you that it really works.

3. Even though changing circumstances often negate many
initial concerns you may have had, they can also place new
obstacles in your path.

If you wait too long before taking action, the opportunity may
become less and less appealing to you as those obstacles start
to make their appearance. I wrote about this danger in my book
To Be or Not to Be Intimidated? under the auspices of the
Fiddle Theory. The Fiddle Theory states: "The longer you
fiddle around with a deal, the greater the odds that it will
never close."

Time is your ally when you take action, but time is a
two-sided coin. If you hesitate or procrastinate, time becomes
your worst enemy. As a general rule, I assume that if I take
action, perceived problems will tend to disappear and that the
more I hesitate, the more time there is for new obstacles to
make their appearance.

4. Perhaps the most important reason of all for taking action
now is that time is finite.

No matter how proficient you are, you can only accomplish so
much in a lifetime. Every second that's wasted reduces the
totality of what you can accomplish by one second. Some people
maintain that a constant feeling of urgency to accomplish more
is stressful, but I find the opposite to be true. I feel more
stress when I procrastinate -- when I'm not doing what I know
I should be doing. There's not a worse feeling in the world
than to be conscious of the fact that your finite supply of
time is ticking away while you focus on straightening your
desk drawer.

Of course, nothing in life is perfect. There will be times
when moving too fast can end up hurting you. But, on balance,
the empirical evidence derived from my own experience has
convinced me that what I gain from moving fast far outweighs
the losses I may incur as a result of too little planning.

That being the case, when you fall -- and you will fall --
simply pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and take more
action. Success could care less about mistakes. Success loves
action -- and human motivation leads to action.