Do or do not. There is no try.

This was originally going to be a comment on Tynan's post Just Doing It, but it developed into something longer so I decided to do a full blown post here.

I totally agree about the doing without thinking and emotion concept. Just do it. It's a matter of focus and drive. Its not something you're born with, its a skill you develop. Make a goal and outline the steps it takes to get there. Then its simple -- just follow the steps you laid out for yourself.

The key for me is the second step -- making a list of things that need to be done to achieve the goal. Without a list, you can get to nebulous states where you don't really know what to do, don't feel like thinking about what to do, and just end up not doing anything at all. If you keep track of everything that you have to do in detailed lists, you always have something to do. Even if you're not feeling creative, just pick a simple item off the list and do it. Check it off. Once you do one item, more often than not I've found you want to do another. And another. And then you're back in the groove, kicking ass.

I've never been a meticulous kind of person that would keep lists of everything. I'd always prefer to list stuff in my head. I've found that its so valuable, its worth the time to create lists. It keeps you focused on what you're doing, instead of trying to remember stuff you need to do. Everything is all in a list so your brain doesn't have to expend effort subconsciously remembering future tasks.

This is the one recommendation I have: Make a goal and lists the steps to get it done. Then do it. If you've seen me on messenger, you'll know my tagline recently has been (as Yoda said), "Do or do not. There is no try." This is the attitude that breeds success.