YOUR BIGGEST STEP EVER
10 Simple Steps from Observer to a Doer
How to Become a Massive Action-taker
By
Steve Allen
© 2015 All Rights Reserved
About the Author
Steve Allen is a full time husband and father first, a part time associate minister second, and a
full time internet marketing consultant third. He has, throughout the course of his life been
blessed to have learned much about how this human race lives, works, and thinks and is highly
qualified to help others become all that they should be. As a pastor / minister for over 20 years
he was given ample opportunity to observe, counsel, and see what worked and what didn’t.
During his lifetime, almost 6 decades long at this writing, his analytical, administrative mind
has allowed him to not only become involved in many different trades and skills but to analyze
those he worked, played and prayed with and to determine what principles he would live his
own life by and do the best to pass on to his children and children’s children.
He was fortunate enough early on in his life to come in close contact with one of his life
“mentors” who’s main aim in life was to help people learn to live by principles. During the
chapters of this work you will see clearly the result of that effort and hear more about that man.
More than once during the past fifty plus years Steve has had opportunity (or made opportunity)
to evaluate his life, make changes to it as he saw necessary and the results speak for themselves.
As you read through this, determine within yourself to make reading it that sort of opportunity
for yourself and you will reap and enjoy the rewards.
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Introduction-
P
eople who have taken action are what are what has made our
world what it is today...both positive and negative. Procrastination
and laziness are tools that “observers” use to try to convince
themselves that they are taking action. I am here to tell you that nobody
cares about the circumstances of your life as much as YOU do so if YOU
don‟t take action to change those circumstances, THEY WILL NEVER
CHANGE.
Everyone else is too busy trying to change THEIR
circumstances to step in and change yours for you. You have to do that
yourself.
Leonardo Da Vinci once said, “It had long since come to my attention that
people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them.
They went out and happened to things.” That is so true. The movers and
the shakers in our world are ones that don‟t wait for others to do things but
go do them themselves. You need to become an action-taker and that is
what this report is all about. It will
“Leonardo Da Vinci once
said, “It had long since
come to my attention that
people of accomplishment
rarely sat back and let
things happen to them.
They went out and
happened to things.”
help you develop new habits, new
ways of thinking, and new patterns
of action that will change your entire
life.
You‟ve probably heard it said more
than once that it is a sign of insanity
to keep doing what you‟ve always
done
and
expect
a
different
outcome. The reason you‟ve heard that so many times is because it is
TRUE!!! Unless YOU become an action-taker, things won‟t work out for
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you as much as you dream about them working out and hope (or even
pray) that they will.
This short report has the potential to change every aspect of your life. If
you can change from the negative habit patterns of procrastination and
“hoping things will somehow change for you” and develop the much more
positive attitude of an action-taker things WILL change for you. I guarantee
it. When you become a massive action-taker and a DOER instead of just
an observer who hopes for change, your life will change in dramatic
fashion very quickly.
The Bible, one of the most read, most quoted, most consulted books of all
time, in James 1:22, says not to just be a hearer but to be a doer because
if we just hear what to do and don‟t put action to what we know to do we
are actually lying to ourselves. Think about that for a minute. If you just
hear or think about things and plan on doing something but never do
anything about it you actually begin deceiving yourself into thinking that
you‟re an action taker when you‟re really not. That word, “doer”, in the
original Greek language it was written in actually means that you must be
a performer. You have to perform rather than observe someone else‟s
performance.
Becoming an action-taker or doer instead of an observer or learner will
help you in many more parts of your life than just keeping bread on the
table and the bills paid. When you don‟t have a long list of things that
occupy your mind that you know you should have done already (I often call
them cob-webs in my brain) you will be much more at peace with yourself.
The less stress in your life, the healthier you will be, both mentally and
physically. It is a proven fact that stress is a contributing factor to almost all
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major life-threatening diseases. When you know your “to-do” list is a minor
issue instead of a major battle-axe hanging over your head, you will be
happier and happy people treat their loved ones better. Deal with stress by
getting things done and you‟ll be healthier and happier.
Following is a list of simple steps you should work on developing into a
habit. It doesn‟t take very long to establish a habit and the benefits will
astound you. As you create a habit of each of the steps outlined below
you will be one step closer to fulfilling your life destiny and closer to
becoming the person you know you really should be.
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Step #1-Pick it up and deal with it-
T
his is a habit that will help you become a massive action-taker and
one that you need to adopt. One of the first jobs I got when I
graduated from college was a job as the Senior Project Manager
of a large commercial development firm. We bought land, developed the
land to build on it, and then built, owned and operated hotels, restaurants,
shopping centers, office complexes or apartment complexes and it was my
job to manage it all. My new boss, on my very first day of work, while
telling me what he expected of me said something that has completely
changed the outcome of every single day of the rest of my life. He said, “I
don‟t ever want to see you pick up a piece of paper and put it down again
without dealing with the issue first. Don‟t become a paper-shuffler.” He
went on to explain how much a waste of time and resources it was to
shuffle paper back and forth planning when you were going to do
something instead of just making a decision and handling with the issue.
He told me that when I picked up a piece of paper that reminded me in
“There is no better time
than RIGHT NOW to get
things done.”
some way of any project, task, or
idea, to never put it down without
making a decision regarding it first. I
was to either deal with it or delegate
it but to NEVER shuffle it to another stack to deal with another day.
He turned me into a good project manager in short order by making me be
accountable to him on small issues like that. I call it a small issue but it
actually became a HUGE part of my life for decades to come. I now try to
just do things when they come to my attention rather than waiting to put
them on some to-do list for some time in the future. I hear all the time,
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“You don‟t have to do that right now…I meant that it might be good to do
when you get the time.” My immediate response is to just keep doing it
and tell them, “There is no better time than RIGHT NOW to get things
done.”
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Step 2- Realize that becoming a doer, a real action-taker, is simply a
choice that YOU must make-
L
ife is made up of one big long string of choices. If you make mostly
good choices your life will be totally different than if you make one
bad choice after another. One day I came to the realization that I
had to make some different choices or my life would not become what I
wanted it to be. I was motivated enough to make the necessary changes. I
finally understood that nobody else was going to change my habits for me
and nobody else was going to make my life turn out right except me. Prior
to that realization, if anyone ever asked me what my regrets in life were I
used to tell them that my only regret was that I had just “let my life happen”
instead of planning it out and following the plan until I was where I wanted
to be. Then one day, I had my own personal epiphany. I was feeling sorry
for myself and trying to decide if I should blame everything in my life not
going all that well on my father because he didn‟t send me off in the right
direction after high school, or on somebody else (I had no idea who I
should blame). Suddenly I had a
“The only common
denominator in all of the
messes in your entire life
has been YOU.”
thought that changed my entire
future. It came to me as suddenly
as the feelings of overwhelm had.
The
thought
was,
“The
only
common denominator in all of the
messes in your entire life has been YOU!” That meant that it was ME that
needed to make some changes. And I did. The results have been beyond
wonderful. I now can‟t think of any regrets and I don‟t know of too many of
my friends who can say the same thing.
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So MAKE THE CHOICE to change from an observer to an action-taker.
You can observe and learn your entire life WHILE you take action. You
don‟t have to quit learning to take action. In fact, you will learn more if you
are taking massive action than if you sit back and watch and observe what
others are doing. The Nike slogan fits well here. JUST DO IT!
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Step 3- Scrap the “What if’s” and focus on the “How to’s”hen you‟re always thinking in terms of the “what-if‟s” it can
W
really mess with your brain. There is a “what-if around every
corner. You can spend literally months or even years of your
precious time thinking about the past and what might have been if you had
just done some particular thing or what might happen if you tried
something in particular. But those thoughts are wasted time. You have to
live in the NOW.
The past is gone. You‟ll never get it back so it is
worthless thinking back to what might have been. And the future isn‟t here
yet. What you need to do is to take a few deep breaths and start focusing
on the present. The present has the chance to change what your future
may be… but only if you DO SOMETHING. Just thinking about it won‟t
make it happen. Sure, I understand that some things need a little planning
and it is only wisdom to do some aiming before you pull the trigger. But
that only goes so far. You can‟t aim forever. You have to pull the trigger
sooner or later and it might as well be sooner.
Instead of looking back (or even forward) at the “what if‟s”, focus on the
„how to‟ of the present. Focus on
“Instead of looking back
(or even forward) at the
„what-if‟s‟, focus on the
„how to‟ of the present.”
the process of how to make the
thing you want to happen actually
come into existence. When your
focus is on how to do something
your mindset is in a much more
positive place than it is with the negativity of wishing things had been
different. Focusing on the present and how to do something will almost
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always force you into taking action because thought patterns headed down
the “how to”, the process pathway tend to lead toward action instead of
observation. That leads very well into the next step.
Step #4- Don’t wait for inspiration…just start-
W
hen you just wait for inspiration, sometimes it never comes.
All you have to do to get inspired is to simply get started.
Inspiration will almost always follow. The first step is always
the hardest one to take. Your first step as a child was much harder than
the ones that followed. And each step you take afterward makes the
previous one look easier.
Don‟t feel like you‟re the only one that has had “writer‟s block” or lack of
motivation or lack of inspiration. We all deal with it but those who deal with
it by hoping for inspiration never get things done. Those who deal with it by
just starting SOMEWHERE usually
end up finding the motivation and
the inspiration to keep on moving.
I‟m sure you may have heard, it is
impossible to steer a ship when it is
at the dock. But once the ship is in
motion it only take a tiny movement
in the rudder to steer it where you
“When you just wait for
inspiration, sometimes it
never comes. All you have
to do to get inspired is to
simply get started.
Inspiration will almost
always follow.”
want it to go. The moral of that story is to just get moving and THEN get
headed in the right direction. While you‟re tied up at the dock doing
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nothing and going nowhere, you can try to change direction all you want
but the ship won‟t change direction even a tiny bit. Just get started and the
inspiration will flow.
The late J.C. Penny once said, “It is always the start that requires the
greatest effort.” He was a massive action-taker and yet he knew that the
way to get things done was to just get started.
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Step #5- Allow yourself to dream big-
D
reaming is not a bad thing. Dreaming is a good thing as long as
you don‟t replace action with your dreams. So allow yourself to
dream big. In fact…require yourself to dream big.
We are
inspired by our dreams.
On the other hand we are often shut down by our inability to take action. If
you have a history of inaction, your dreams are even more important.
Imagine where you will be if you DON‟T take any action toward
accomplishing your dreams. Do you want to be at the same place you are
in ten years? So dream on the positive side of what will happen if you take
action but also dream (and allow the nightmare to shake you into action)
on the negative side by thinking about how disappointed you‟ll be years
from now if you did nothing towards shaping those past years.
You should also take one step beyond dreaming too. Write your dream
down and put a timeline to it.
“Steve Jobs, the late
founder of Apple Inc. was
once asked for advice
from a Walt Disney
executive who had been
tasked with revitalizing
all the Disney stores.
Steve‟s advice to him was
simply, “Dream bigger.”
Writing a dream down is a major
step in transforming it into a reality.
Putting a timeline on it changes it
from a dream into a goal and will
help you accomplish it.
Steve Jobs, the late founder of
Apple Inc., was once asked for
advice
from
a
Walt
Disney
executive who had been tasked with
revitalizing all the Disney stores. Steve‟s advice to him was simply, “Dream
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bigger.” Nothing that really counts in our lives has ever come about totally
by accident. The things that make our lives easier and more prosperous
began in someone‟s imagination as a dream. If they had not taken action
on the dream we wouldn‟t know about it. So require yourself to dream
big…and then take action on your dreams.
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Step #6- Remember that ideas alone don’t bring successdeas are important, but they‟re only valuable after they‟ve been
I
implemented. One average idea that‟s been put into action is more
valuable than a dozen absolutely brilliant ideas that you‟re saving for
“some other day” or the “right opportunity”. If you have an idea you really
believe in, you have to do something about it. Unless you take action it will
never go anywhere.
Thomas Edison once spelled it out in no uncertain terms. He said, “The
successful person has the habit of doing things that failures don‟t like to
do.” As we said in step # 2, life is just one long string of choices. The
choices you make soon become habits. If you live by the right habits you
will become a success. But Thomas Edison was right when he said
“failures don‟t like to do” it. Making right choices and right habits is much
harder to do than the alternative but
the results are enough better that
you should learn how to develop
good habits. Reading books like
Stephen Covey‟s “7 Habits of a
Highly Effective People” and “The
Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg
“Thomas Edison spelled
it out in no uncertain
terms. He said, „The
successful person has the
habit of doing things
failures don‟t like to do.”
can change your life by changing
your propensity for developing bad habits. I highly suggest reading both.
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Step #7- Be accountable both to others and to yourself
I
t takes a much high level of maturity to be accountable only to yourself
and still succeed. It is possible but for most it takes a long time to get
there. Until you reach that level of maturity, don‟t be afraid to become
accountable to others during your growing process. We all have to start
somewhere. Think of a toddler just learning to walk. Nobody cares that
every few steps they fall…because they just get back up and keep trying
until they don‟t fall anymore. It is the same in our growing process. When
things don‟t work out right we have to just try again and eventually we‟ll get
the hang of it and be able to do what we have set out to do.
Find a friend or a family member who believes in you and tell them what
you‟re planning to do. Then ask them if you can check in with them every
so often as an “accountability partner”. If they truly believe in you they will
easily accept the role and you‟ll be on your way.
Once you‟ve developed more of a habit of following through on what you
set out to do you can begin being accountable to yourself instead of
always to someone else. You do that by deciding what you want to do,
setting some goals (dreams set to a dated timeline plan) and then working
toward achieving them. The first
time you miss a timeline (unless it is
for a very valid reason) go back to
asking
for
help
with
your
accountability. After finishing your
goals on that project you can try the
“Benjamin Franklin
rightly said, „He that is
good at making excuses is
seldom good at anything
else.”
self-accountability again until you succeed. Eventually you have to
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become accountable to only yourself if you want to succeed. Benjamin
Franklin rightly said, “He that is good at making excuses is seldom good at
anything else.” Don‟t be an excuse maker. Don‟t make excuses for your
failure. Just pick yourself back up, take another step and repeat the
process until you succeed. Then, one you succeed, celebrate. We will talk
more about that in step #10.
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Step #8- Tell those you love what you’re doing
I
t is simply a fact that most people are people-pleasers. You are
basically wired to want approval from those you love. One of the things
that will help you move out of the observer column into the doer
column is to tell those you love what
you‟re
“doing”.
committed
Once
yourself
to
you‟ve
doing
something in particular and told
someone else what you are going to
do, especially if it is one of your
“loved ones”, you will want to please
them and taking action will become
easier. It is one of the hardest steps
you‟ll
have
to
take
towards
becoming an action-taker but if you
can‟t tell the ones who love you
most what you‟re doing, chances are
“One you‟ve committed
yourself to doing
something in particular
and told someone else
what you‟re going to do,
especially to, especially if
it is one of your „loved
ones‟, you will want to
please them and taking
action will become
easier.”
you shouldn‟t be doing it anyway. It is sort of a forced accountability like
we talked about before. But this time the accountability is more demanding
because it is coming from someone you don‟t want to disappoint. Telling
those you love what you are doing (which means what you are planning to
do) is often what it takes to get you moving toward your goal when your
motivation is lower than it should be.
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Step #9- Don’t let perfect become the enemy of good enough.
H
arriet Braiker, a clinical psychologist and self-help author who
wrote before she died mostly about identity and resolving stress
said, “Striving for excellence motivates you. Striving for
perfection is demoralizing.”
She was right but worse than the
demoralization that comes from striving for perfection is that it eventually
leads to inaction.
If you are always striving for perfection and never reaching it, eventually
you will want to give up. An internet
marketing mentor of mine once told
me, “Ugly sells fine.” That may sound
weird, but his point was that I should
quit trying to make things exactly right
or perfect and just get them on the
“Harriet Braiker… said,
„Striving for excellence
motivates you. Striving for
perfection is
demoralizing‟.”
market because even things that I would consider ugly, the product I didn‟t
yet have quite right, would sell fine. He was right. There are internet
marketers who sell thousands of products that are FAR from perfect
simply because their product is available. They just put the product
together and make it available to the market without expecting it to be
perfect before it is launched. As long as the content is of value, perfection
is only a time waster. Having every single thing fine-tuned to perfection
won‟t cause even one more person to buy the product so it is essentially a
total waste of time.
What is more important than that is that, way too often, if you are striving
for perfection you won‟t achieve it so you never make the product available
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and your lack of success fuels a lack of ambition for your next project. The
opposite is also true. So seeking perfection essentially killed not only the
project you were working on but all the subsequent ones that won‟t get
started because the first one didn‟t succeed.
Once you succeed in completing one of your goals, even if it isn‟t perfect,
and you find that people are still happy with it, you become motivated to do
more rather than becoming discouraged into inaction. So what you need to
do is to just go toward your goal and do a reasonably good job and leave
good enough alone. Don‟t always be seeking for perfection because
perfection is the enemy of good-enough.
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Step #10- Celebrate every small victory-
O
prah Winfrey once said that, “The more you praise and celebrate
your life, the more there is
in life to celebrate.” She is
right. If you forget to take a quick
break and celebrate the small wins,
you won‟t be as motivated to create
more of them. And it is YOU that
“Ophrah Winfrey once
said that, “The more you
praise and celebrate your
life, the more there is in
life to celebrate.”
make those small victories add up over time to some pretty major
accomplishments. So take time to celebrate when you accomplish the
shorter term goals you set so you will have more motivation to accomplish
the longer term ones.
When things go well for you, take a minute to do your happy dance. Being
too serious about life can easily become a major distraction from taking
action and can dissuade you from wanting to do anything but the fun
things. So enjoy your journey but be sure not to get so enthralled in your
celebration that you forget to move on to your next step. Bill Gates said, “It
is fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of
failure.” That is also true. Failure is only bad when you stay there. If you
use failure as a stepping stone to success you are in great company.
Michael Jordon, debatably the best basketball player of all time was cut
from his junior-high basketball team but he didn‟t give up. He used that
failure as motivation to get better and he eventually became a player that
millions of aspiring athletes emulated.
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Conclusion-
It only takes some minor alterations of your habits to change from constant
procrastination and observation to becoming a massive action-taker. And
habits are easy to change. You just have to decide to change and then
use the same steps outlined above to become an action-taker to be a habit
changer. Once your habits are changed your life will be different. You will
be a massive doer, and action-taker and you will have what it takes to
become healthier, wealthier and a lot wiser. You can be the one everyone
you know turns to for advice and you can give them good advice because
you will instinctively know what to tell them. So start today and become
what
you
know
you
should
by being
a
massive
action-taker.
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Thank you.
Steve Allen
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