A brilliant tag line and we all associate it immediately with Nike but if you take a moment it is also brilliant advice.

So often we think about what we should do, ought to do or need to do  and yet we just don’t quite get to it.  Then we deceive ourselves at how busy we are or we hope that someone else will do it.  It is all part of being human but things are so much better when you can break through your resistance and take action.Two things came to mind to suggest this topic to me;-       We sent out a survey; I made sure it could be completed in minutes. Its intention was to find out the desire and needs concerning     next employment.  Initial enquiries of interest where overwhelmingly strong -“yes please” came the cry.

And yet take up to completing the actual survey was fairly flat – certainly not a reflection of how many said they were very keen to find new jobs.  Bewildering.

So now we are left thinking – perhaps there is no need for a job finding service (saving us a good deal of work and effort) or is it just that everyone thought – oh someone else will answer that.

–       Next, in reference to this same questionnaire, came a response of – I don’t have time for things like that?  Really?  You don’t have time for a couple of minutes investment into a  potential future job source, even if you are not ready for it now how on earth do you know you will not be screaming for it in the future?

It worried me really as certainly the comment about not having time shows that there is still the pervasive  belief that “I am only on here (in this case LinkedIn) to work out what I can get out of it”. In truth we never know who or what might help us – we are rarely able to predict how things will turn out and how often do our greatest successes start from a casual conversation that sparks an idea.

I say again, you will get out of any social media platform (and LinkedIn is termed as social even though it is absolutely for professional purposes) exactly what you put into it; fairly similar to any relationship.  If you looked at your most successful relationships, whether personal or work related you will note that the most successful are the ones are the ones where you give back, in terms of interest, engagement or even asking “what can I do for you“.  In asking that simple question you invest in your own future because in most cases if you help someone they will be keen not only to stay connected to you but also to help you in return.

And this returns me to the comment at the start of this post.  Just do it.  Do not wait for others to help you out or offer you the solutions.  Go out and find them.  It is a tough world out there currently and as such you need to take action, not wait for things to come to you.

If you want to know about something ask questions – don’t sit back and hope someone else will ask so you can get the answer.  There are so many hugely talented and able people out there who are sitting around waiting for something to come to them, and idea, an offer of a job, an invitation to join a company or organisation.

Absolutely the most successful people are not the most talented, the most intelligent or the most gorgeous.  The most successful are the ones that take action right now.  The decision to step out and take a chance (what’s the worst that can happen?) to invest in your future success by interacting and connecting and not just waiting for things to happen will be your greatest ever investment.

Just do it – interact, get involved, take action I do know that often we feel self-conscious but think about how you can support others and that will just disappear.

As John F Kennedy encouraged – if not you, who?  If not now, when?

Take action and amazing things can happen.

As a good way for me to sign off is too ask – what can I do for you?

 

Angela