You break the egg now, but it takes a while before it’s cooked and you get to eat it.
That’s the action-results gap, and it’s the cause of much entrepreneurial struggling.
Of course nobody minds having to wait for an egg to fry. It would be insane to expect it to be ready the moment we crack it into the skillet.
But with our work, we’re not quite as rational.
We put in a ton of work – be it creating a course, launching a funnel, or doing outreach…
And then we enter the gap, we don’t see immediate results, and then we get all frustrated and demotivated.
Because hey – what about all the work that went into it?!
Wasn’t that meant to get results?
Yes, but they show up when they do – not when we want them to.
And that moment, when we hope to see results for our actions but they’re in the future, that’s where (certainly in my case) we very often stop pushing forward on the actions we set out with.
And I can tell you: it’s tiring.
Starting something, expending ourselves, getting demotivated and then starting something new… such a waste of energy.
Which is annoying
So what’s the solution – how do we get through the action-results gap?
You set specific milestones that build up over time to the final outcome, then you carefully choose the actions that get you to the milestones, and next you relentlessly execute on those actions.
Because without consistent, strategically chosen actions and a commitment to working only on those things that drive you towards that singular goal, you’ll be flinging spaghetti all over the place, and you’ll burn up your most scarce resource: your time.
Pick one outcome.
Break it down into milestones.
Break those down into projects, then into subprojects, then into tasks.
Do those tasks, and if any idea, project or tasks shows up as a ‘great idea!’ but doesn’t directly contribute to your outcome: shelve it for later.
The only way to get through the action-results gap, is sticking with one plan, and ignoring everything else.
And if you want help in choosing the right actions and staying on track, check this out…
Cheers,
Martin
