The other day, I ran across my new favorite French proverb. Not that I had a favorite French proverb before. But, that’s not the point.
Qui s’instruit sans agir laboure sans semer. Whoever learns without action, plows without sowing.
For a while, I have had a problem with books like Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Don’t get me wrong. I have read the book several times, and there is good in it. But, there is also the idea floating around out there that we can think ourself into prosperity. That idea was popularized by Napoleon Hill.
I do not believe we think and grow rich. Instead, we think, then do, then grow rich. Maybe. In my own experience it was more think, do, fail. Think again, do again, fail again. Think again, do again, achieve some level of success. Think some more, do a lot more, adjust, achieve a little more success. And, I am still doing it today. Will likely still be doing it in the future.
Admittedly, that’s a really long book title.
Instead of thinking and growing rich, I believe the pattern set for us by the Creator is better. In the book of Genesis, we find that God though the universe up. But, he did not just think it up. He also worked.
Here’s the thing. If you can think up and create a universe, you can do it in a day. You can do it in an hour. Yet, God took the time to spend six days doing it. As if He needed to. And, yet, he did.
Therein, I believe, lies the pattern. Come up with an idea and execute. Take action. Set a goal. Break that goal into monthly, weekly, and daily action steps. Then, go to work. Work until you hit your goals.
Don’t just sit around thinking. Put the plan in action. Go do something.
