Act Now

Ask your friends what is the greatest labour-saving device ever invented and you will get varied answers. Men may believe that it is the automobile, the computer, or maybe a robot.

Women may think it is the washing machine or plumbing which brings water into your homes. No, it is none of these; it is the word ‘tomorrow’. The word is a wonderful excuse for putting off things and it is also an excuse for not delivering. Sadly, it is also the reason for failures that have bedeviled the lives of many people who have not been able to leverage their potential.

We come across many talented people who had wonderful ideas. But they just did not execute it and before long, someone else walks away with the honors. For example, I met a talented stand-up comedian from Los Angeles who had come up with a wonderful concept for a comedy television series. But he sat on it for six months. Someone else wrote it out and presented it to the channel and it is now a top ranking television show in the US. He is cursing his stars now.

If you analyze the situation, the problem with our tomorrows is the gap between an idea and its execution. It is a sense of laziness that overcomes many of us. Delays pile up beyond days, and the days then turn into months. And before long we pass the anniversary of our big idea.

Many of us have fallen in this gap, but we learn our lessons. Unfortunately, many still do not. This problem is particularly true among teenagers who have a habit of chilling out and believe that their parents are killjoys for expecting things to be done in time. They grow out of this habit when they join the mainstream of the working class, because in an office situation, delays are not condoned beyond a point.

But it is largely the creative fields that are mainly seized with this problem, as there are no deadlines when you are alone. You will find many writers working endlessly on scripts as you will find many composers thinking of that great tune.

And the problem is that they do not push themselves to their limits. In my own case, I am frequently down with colds, viral fever and a bad throat due to my constant travelling. Yet I push myself to the very edge and report on the sets every time, and on time. I never make excuses and keep my commitments, much to the amazement of my manager. I am not alone in my profession; there are others too who are very professional. And that is the reason why they are successful.

So take your commitment seriously and do not procrastinate. Hold review meetings with yourself every night and analyse if the time you spent that day could have been more fruitfully spent. And finally, be a hard taskmaster on yourself. Because you will gain to benefit the most from the exercise.