"Don't let initiative begin long after its best before date!" - Futurist Jim Carroll
Most people start things too late. Trends mature before they do. Tomorrow happens before they get there.
Opportunities go to those who show up. That's why you should ask yourself and your organization some probing questions. use these as a guide to figure out if you are too late for everything!
- Is my brilliant initiative already becoming a relic of a bygone era, swallowed by the relentless, unforgiving march of time? This is the harsh reality of The Accelerating Pace of Change.
- Am I merely drifting in stagnant waters while the world sprints ahead, my initiative gasping to keep up with the lightning speed of progress? You're being outpaced by The Velocity of Trends.
- Am I actively strangling my opportunity, paralyzed by a fatal hesitation that condemns my initiative to the shadows of what might have been? This is the crippling effect of Aggressive Indecision.
- Am I callously signing the death warrant for my initiative through my devastating inaction, watching its potential wither and die before my eyes? Such is the consequence of Inaction as a "Death Sentence".
- Is my initiative a dormant powerhouse, DOA on arrival, its explosive momentum bleeding away with every precious moment I fail to take decisive, concrete action? Remember, true power comes from Momentum from Doing.
- Am I cruelly suffocating my idea, denying it the very breath, the vital moment of action it needs to not just survive but to triumph? Because, make no mistake, Action is Oxygen.
- Is my initiative just a flickering candle in a gathering storm because I’ve utterly failed to ignite the roaring inferno of urgency it so desperately demands? You've neglected the call for Creating Urgency.
- Is my initiative condemned to wander forever in the desolate, barren limbo of endless trials, never to see the glorious light of full realization? This is the nightmare of Perpetual Pilot Purgatory.
- Am I foolishly building my future on the shifting sands of yesterday's realities, blind to the radical, earth-shattering transformations happening right now? You're ignoring the fact that Today is Not Yesterday.
- Are the memories of past glories and hopelessly outdated thinking dragging my current, vital initiative down into the abyss of irrelevance? It's time for the painful but necessary act of Letting Go of the Past.
- Will my 'precious spark of genius' become just another forgotten ghost in a crowded graveyard of brilliant ideas, left to gather dust, forever un-launched? This is the tragedy of Too Many Failed Initiatives.
- Is the window of opportunity slamming shut violently before my very eyes, lost forever because of my cowardly hesitation to act? This is the bitter taste of how Opportunities Are Missed.
- Am I merely flirting with this initiative, offering but a shallow promise, or have I made the unshakeable vow, the absolute, blood-oath commitment required to see it conquer? This demands A Need for Commitment.
- Is my brilliant concept just an empty, hollow idea, a beautiful but lifeless dream, because I've utterly failed to breathe fire into it with relentless, decisive execution? Because ultimately, Execution is Critical.
- Am I sinking deeper into the suffocating quicksand of old, comfortable habits, allowing this fresh, vibrant initiative to die while I remain fatally, complacently stuck in a rut? This is the struggle of Avoiding Stagnation and Ruts.
- While I obsessively, neurotically polish this initiative to an imagined, unattainable perfection, is its true, fleeting moment of impact passing me by, rendering it tragically obsolete before it even begins? You must embrace Chasing Action Over Perfection.
- Are those insidious, seductive whispers of "not right now," "later," or "soon" the siren song tossing my initiative onto the jagged rocks of obsolescence and failure? You are Battling Excuses.
- Am I truly poised to lead and seize the future, or has my fatal delay doomed this initiative to merely chasing the fading, ghostly echoes of trends already dead and gone? This is the challenge of Staying Ahead of Trends.
- Am I idly resting on yesterday's faded achievements while tomorrow's triumphs slip tragically through my fingers because I'm not acting decisively on this initiative today? Remember that Action Defines Tomorrow's Success.
- Am I an absent, negligent architect of my future, failing to truly show up and build something magnificent, thereby condemning this initiative to the desolate void of inaction and forgotten dreams? This is about understanding The Power of "Showing Up".
Show up.
Get going.
Start now.
It matters.
Futurist Jim Carroll has been showing up with his Daily Inspiration post every single workday since August 2016. He hasn’t missed one.