I couldn’t wait for success, so I went ahead without it.

I couldn’t wait for success, so I went ahead without it. – Jonathan Winters

OK, I’ll give success another 15 minutes before I give up.

What does that mean?
This is a funny line, from a funny guy. Most people are in a hurry to be successful. Some work crazy hard, some desperately sit by the phone (waiting for it to ring), while others try short cuts. But all are in a hurry to get there as quickly as possible.

But in this quote, he just couldn’t wait for success. So he went on ahead without being successful. The implication is that he isn’t successful, he’s just out there doing it as best he can, hoping that some day success will catch up with him.

So many people chase after success, but this quote allows for the possibility that success will chase after you. Don’t wait, it says. Get out there and, with a little luck, it will find you. If not, you’ve still managed to do something, right?

Why is getting started, or moving forward, important?  
Whether it’s in your career, in your relationships, or in your finances, I would recommend against waiting to do something until after success arrives. It might not find you any time soon, and that would be a real shame, wouldn’t it?

I once heard it said (paraphrased, and from memory) that the best way to help success find you is to advertise. Get out there and do something, getting better and better at doing it, until word gets around. That’s when success can finally find you.

So get out and try. Learn from what works and what doesn’t, and keep after it. As you move forward in your endeavours, you will continue to get better, and that is what is going to help you attract success.

Where can I apply this in my life?
What things in your life do you have on hold, waiting for success to find you? When I started this blog nearly a year and a half ago, my views were microscopic. The first month didn’t even break 200 views, which included mercy reads from family and friends.

My all-time best day (so far) was last week, and was more than any of my first seven months, and more than my first two and a half months combined. If I had waited until success found me, I would still be waiting (not that I consider myself successful just yet). Instead, I moved forward, I went ahead without success.

Things are starting to go better for me, and eventually, success will find me. In the mean time, I shall continue to move forward, with or without it. At least that’s the plan. You never know what life will bring. Which is another reason to not wait, not even one second.

What can you get started on, even if you aren’t sure if you are good enough to be successful right off the bat? Grab some paper and write a few of them down, at least three or four, big or small, life changing or trivial. Get them down on paper, and look at each one in turn.

Think about, and then write down, why you are waiting for each one. What do you feel you need to be able to do before you are ready to get moving forward with it? What do you think would have to happen before you were really ready?

Now consider how likely that might be, if you don’t get started, if you aren’t moving forward towards your goal? On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are they, absent your effort, to result in spontaneous success? Write it down, and think about that for a moment. I imagine the numbers weren’t too encouraging, were they?

Finally, consider what you could do, just to get started. What small steps could you take that would lead you in the desired direction? It might take some time and effort to make some progress (you should have seen my first hundred or so attempts to weld sheet metal), but write down some steps you can take to get you started, moving in the correct direction.

Select one and make a quick list of the next couple of steps you will need to take to get started. Is there someone you can call or e-mail who might be able to help, or at least encourage you? Is there a book or video tutorial that might help? Clubs, societies, or other social groups in your area that could be useful?

Once you have about a half dozen ideas, select the one you will start with, and do it. Make a call. Visit a web site. Track down a book and start reading it. Take that first step towards luring success to you.

But first, you have to go forward without success. If you keep working and notice the results you are getting, you will make progress. And that’s really what matters, isn’t it?

From: Twitter, @JessicaNorthey
confirmed at : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/jonathanwi100484.html
Photo by Alan Cleaver