Always Be Moving Forward_ The book that you just read, _What Are You Waiting For?_ , contains six secrets for living your most successful life. It also contains three practical frameworks to help you implement these principles. You can use these to create a daily plan of attack that will enable you to create the impact on the world that you want. The principles, the frameworks, and the six secrets for living your most successful life are organized into five parts. Each of these parts focuses on a different principle. When you follow each of these parts, your life will have a sense of direction and purpose. The structure of the book is designed to enable you to implement the concepts in order, ensuring that you follow the order of building blocks outlined in this chapter. ## **PRINCIPLE #1: BE CURIOUS** In January of 1515, as the _Mayflower_ departed from England with the Pilgrims on board, they had no idea where they were going. To make the best use of the limited amount of water and food they had on board, they used a rudder as a sail, and changed course when the wind didn't help them, which meant they spent days tacking back and forth, using up precious resources. The _Mayflower_ could have made use of better navigation tools, such as a compass or map. If they had, they could have spent their days enjoying the journey and never had to sail so far off course or worry so much about what they would do if they ran out of resources. We are similar. We do not know where we are going. We waste valuable resources worrying about how far we are from where we want to be. The truth is that the only unknown in life is how far you are from your dreams, when you stop to think about it. To find out where you are, you can ask people around you. You can read books about the past and people who have made it big. You can read blogs, stories, and autobiographies to find out what it takes to get ahead. Or you can get in touch with an expert who can help you on your journey. When you are curious, you are open to the opportunities that will become available to you to help you get to where you want to be. ## **PRINCIPLE #2: MAKE A DAILY PLAN OF ATTACK** There are two types of people: the doers and the non-doers. As you will probably remember from high school, to do means to make a decision or take action, while non-doers are the people who prefer sitting on the couch, complaining, blaming others, and doing nothing. When you are a doer, you are always looking for ways to improve yourself and your life. You take the initiative to make the changes you need to make. You are focused on the activities that will have the biggest impact on where you want to be. You don't let anyone stand in your way. What's the difference between people who make plans and those who don't? One study looked at the difference between those who make a yearly plan and those who don't. The people who planned found more opportunities to move up in their job by at least two rungs than those who do not plan. These people don't just think of it—they actually put things in place so that they stay on track toward the lifestyle they want. We all know the feeling of having the dream job. It is what you do each day that will determine if you make it. The question is, what are you going to do today to make it? That is your day's plan of attack. ## **PRINCIPLE #3: SAY NO WHEN YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO** If your dreams are going to be realized, you have to change the way you spend your money. As much as you might want to say yes to something, there are limits to what you can afford. In the world of business, the best companies are the ones that can afford to say no. They don't have to do anything that would take up their time and resources. They don't have to do anything that would distract them from their long-term objectives. They don't have to do anything that would tie them up in a situation that would make them vulnerable to failure. In short, they say no because they can. When you say yes, you create opportunity. When you say no, you create space for people to create opportunities that will lead to success for you. Another study looked at people who set financial boundaries and how they spent their money over a set period of time. The study showed that those who set financial boundaries spent more of their income on themselves—including investing it in their financial future, eating healthy, and living well. There is a popular urban legend that states that only 12 percent of people are willing to say no. The reality is that less than 5 percent of people are willing to say no, which means there is a 90 percent chance you won't say no. When you say yes, it limits your ability to say no. This can put your dreams and life on the line. ## **PRINCIPLE #4: TAKE ACTION** There is a saying that when the student is ready, the teacher appears. This couldn't be truer than it is in the case of getting ahead in life. As I mentioned earlier, it takes only three things to get ahead in life: curiosity, a plan of attack, and no. If you have all of these, you will be able to take action and reach the goal you want. What separates you from everyone else? The way you respond. To act is to take positive action. To put your plan into action, you can put an aggressive tracking system in place to ensure you are on course for your goal. One important example is the "rule of 10." This rule states that the number of times you have to hear something to start believing it is directly proportional to how important you want it to be to you. For example, if you want to start working out every day, the first time you go to the gym will probably be when you feel exhausted. The tenth time you go, you will be so excited that you will force yourself to work out even though you feel tired. To make this rule work, you have to get to the gym at least ten times. It is the same with anything. For example, if you are trying to get into shape, get ready and get yourself dressed every morning at the same time. It's all about the "rule of 10." If you say that you will eat healthy tomorrow, that is only one day out of ten, so you should do it today. If you want to start your own business, then you have to take the first step and start. You have to get moving before it becomes habit. But how are you going to take the first step? If you don't know the path ahead, you might just follow everyone else—the crowd of non-doers. The only way to get ahead in life is to get an early start on the journey, and no one can do this for you. It is up to you. ## **PRINCIPLE #5: SAY YOU ARE GOING TO BE A MASTERPIECE, AND THEN DO IT** Every artist has a plan and knows exactly what they want to say. The difference between the artist and the rest of us is that they also know exactly how they are going to do it. Before Michelangelo could create his sculptures, he made his own marble block that would hold the shape he wanted for his work of art. Before Frank Sinatra sang, he used a metronome to perfect his timing. Before you can make your life count, you have to have the mindset to achieve what you want. You know exactly what you want to do, but now you have to act on it. So the second part of saying you are going to be a masterpiece is to act. You are already a masterpiece because you were born. Now it's time to make things happen. The reality is that getting something done is only part of the challenge. When it comes to the work that has a meaningful impact on your life and the lives of others, you have to ask yourself whether you have what it takes to deliver. You have to do the work. You have to say you are going to do it, and then you have to get up every morning and make your work happen. In every area of life, you must find your discipline and focus. In order to be an overcomer and become a positive force in life, you need to stop hiding from your dreams and live them. You need to take action. When you decide that you are going to do something, it sets you on the road to success. ## **The Doers** What separates a doer from a non-doer is that a doer has a plan. A doer knows their goals, and they know how they are going to get there. The thing is, having a plan and the discipline to achieve it is only part of the challenge. The doer has to make things happen. There are three kinds of people in the world. The first group are doers who take action. The second group are doers who get ready for action. The third group are doers who say they are going to do it, but never follow through. You know which group of people you would prefer to be associated with. To be a doer, you must decide that your dreams are