Don’t Tell Me – Show Me! - Grasshopper

I stopped telling people what I was going to do years ago.

One day it hit me . . . telling wasn't doing.

That realization came after I read an old anonymous Chinese saying: "Talk Doesn't Cook Rice."

Before then, I'd sometimes announce to anyone willing to listen what I was going to do . . . even though I had no idea how I was going to do it.

I wasn't sharing a wish . . . or a dream . . . or even an idea I was kicking around.

I was announcing it like it was already a done deal.

Looking back, it was more than bragging. More than overconfidence.

It was an empty promise.

Whenever you hear someone say, "I know what I'd do in that situation," you're watching someone tell . . . without showing.

I've found that doing has a calming effect. It quiets the mind and puts your body –the real doing machine – to work.

You don't talk your way into doing . . . no matter how inspiring the pep talk.

You do your way into talking.

Think about it. Before you write a book on how to do something . . . make sure you've actually done it.

One of my teachers had a saying I still remember:
"Words are the caboose on the choo-choo of life."

The engine goes first.

The words follow.

When telling gets ahead of showing, disappointment usually isn't far behind.

If you want to keep letting people down, tell them what you're going to do . . . and then don't follow through.

Or you can skip the announcement . . . and let your actions do the talking.

All the best,