“Start doing the thing to have energy to do the thing” - Bob Proctor

All of us have goals and dreams. And most of us even have full intentions of achieving them.

Why did I say “most of us” and not “all of us?” Because on the path that leads towards our dreams, we all reach a certain place where it becomes incredibly easy to do “the tradeoff” - trading what we want for what we already have. That is where only the ones with full intentions manage to keep their dreams.

For the ones with partial intentions, after doing the tradeoff, the dreams fade into the background, life moves on, and all of a sudden they find themselves saying “I wish I would have…”

And that is really sad when you think about it. A person loaded with potential, a story people want to hear, information people will pay for and benefit from, skills that could have made a difference… all that gone to waste.

How to safely pass the tradeoff spot without doing the tradeoff: the 40-second rule

When people are close to the “tradeoff spot” they see things out of perspective. All of a sudden the dreams they were after don’t seem to worth the effort and their current situation is seen as very comfortable.

Of course that these sudden shifts in perspective are nothing but dangerous, temporary illusions that should be dealt with carefully. The best way out of them: act on one of the things that doesn’t seem to be worth it, for 40 seconds. The short time limit will make the apparent sacrifice appear to be doable and acceptable, and chances are that by the time those 40 seconds are up you’ll be enjoying what you started and get it done!

I, for example, love reading. But there are days when my mind wanders off in some other places and the thought of reading a book isn’t so attractive anymore… In situations like that I simply pick up a book and read through it for 40 seconds (sometimes I even time that period on the clock). In more than 90% of the cases that I do so, I continue reading after the time limit expires. What’s more, in most cases the reason why I was avoiding it in the first place appears to have been very irrational afterwards.

Trading 40 seconds in exchange for a better future is probably the best deal you’ll ever make! And the best part: you can do it right now. Just get out there and for 40 seconds do something that can take you closer to your dream. Don’t worry if after the first try you stop… it doesn’t mean that you failed. Follow the 40-seconds rule again tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and so on… because:

“It’s the little things you do that can make a big difference. What are you attempting to accomplish? What little thing can you do today that will make you more effective? You are probably only one step away from greatness.” - Bob Proctor

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