Stan golomb

The most dangerous word in the English language is more than likely holding you and your business hostage at this very moment, gradually choking off your creativity, relentlessly reducing your productivity and slowly killing your profitability… and you’re probably not even aware of it.

If you have been a regular reader of this Stan Golomb’s column, you may not have heard that Stan is no longer with us. He passed away on April 6. But before he died, and while I stood by his bedside, he asked me if I would write his last article. I agreed, not knowing what I would write about.

As I reflect on Stan Golomb’s life, I now realize that one of the characteristics I admired most in him, and the one which I feel contributed most to his success and made him truly great, was his ability to take action. He was a doer… a prolific producer, a tireless achiever and the inspiration for this article.

Cleaners often call our office and ask, “Hey, what’s new?” Sometimes, if I’m lucky, I’ll be able to tell them about a new program we’re set to launch, or maybe I’ll clue them into a new marketing idea they can run with on their own… or perhaps I’ll even suggest a new breakfast cereal they should try. But sometimes I have to admit that nothing’s really new at all. And with that in mind, what I’m about to pass along to you may not seem new, either. But please, pay close attention this time around because this happens to be so simple and yet so powerful that it will not only change the way you do business but it could change your entire life. If you take the time to read this carefully and if you truly understand it, I guarantee you’ll find this to be of greater value than any advertising idea or marketing advice. Ever. That’s a bold statement to make… but it happens to be true.

Perhaps the most dangerous word in the English language is the word “someday.”

Someday I’ll fix that leak in the steam line.

Someday I will get more serious about quality.

Someday I will show my employees more appreciation.

Someday I will teach my help about customer satisfaction.

Someday I will learn how to be a better manager.

Someday I’ll address the theft problem.

Someday I will invest in new equipment.

Someday I’ll start a marketing program.

Someday I’ll work less and spend more time with my wife and kids.

Someday I will take a vacation and forget about work.

Someday…

All of us, at sometime or other, fall prey to the “someday syndrome.” It’s commonly known as procrastination. Living for someday and waiting for something robs you of what is most important and that is living in the present. Living NOW.

What really matters is not what happened in the past or what you plan to do in the future. Don’t dwell on the past… you can’t change it. And don’t concentrate on the future… it may never come.

All that matters is what you actually do now. That’s all that really counts.

Truth be told, I happen to be a pretty good procrastinator myself… one of the best, in fact. And here are a few reasons why I consider myself “world class” in this area (maybe you can relate).

I’m a perfectionist. I sometimes put off doing a task until I have every angle figured out. I won’t start a project until I’m sure it will fly. And because I leave precious little room for failure, the project never gets launched. Almost daily, I talk with cleaners who admit they haven’t started a direct mail program for that very same reason. They haven’t bought a computer system because they haven’t made a thorough comparison of every computer seller in the market. Result? Nothing gets done. The opposite of this personality trait can be called “Ready… fire… aim!” in which case, not enough thought is given to any situation.

I’m a crisis-maker. In college, I would often stay up all night to finish an important paper that was due the next morning and… you guessed it… I’d cram for exams, too. The assumption being that I work best under pressure… the pressure I create for myself by putting things off until the last minute.

Sometimes I’m a defier. Perhaps you are, too. After all, who’s the government to tell us we have to have our taxes in by April 15?

I’m an over-doer. This is my biggest problem, by far. When I was growing up, the rule in our home was that you had to eat everything you put on your plate and you didn’t leave the table until the plate was clean. That was a good rule to have at home. If only I had learned to apply it in business as well. Fact is, I tend to take on far more responsibilities than I can effectively manage and, as a result, over the years I’ve managed to violate this rule consistently.

These are only a few of my many character flaws. And as good as it is to admit to these… the big question is how to solve them. That’s where this whole thing gets very, very important.

The someday syndrome can have a devastating affect on you, your business and your life. And unless you can learn to control it, it will gradually shrink your sales, limit your profit and even impact the relationship you have with your spouse, your kids and your friends. In short, everything is affected when responsibilities and tasks are ignored or not completed.

So, how can the someday syndrome be overcome?

1. Stop excusing procrastination. Don’t rationalize putting off things that you really don’t want to do. You have to take responsibility for your time and it’s up to you how you decide to spend it.

2. Commit to action. Start today. Pick a task you’ve been putting off and make one small step toward completing it. You don’t have to do the whole job. Just make a start. Every project can be broken down into a number of small actions. It’s a fact that motivation follows action. If you wait to do something until you feel like it, you’ll never get it done because you’ll never feel like it. But if you begin to do it, you’ll feel motivated. That’s just the way it works. Begin to act and you’ll find yourself energized.

3. Ruthlessly prioritize your life. Decide that the way you spend your time is going to be a reflection of your values. If you’re going to live now, you’re going to have to say “no” to a lot of stuff. Ask yourself these questions: What really matters and what can I neglect?

4. Learn to value each day. Live in light of the brevity of your life. Life is real short. In fact, sooner or later, every human being is surprised at just how short life actually is. With me, it seems the older I get, the quicker time flies. Only a few short years ago, my two sons would ride their big wheels up and down the sidewalk and I’d get a bit peeved when they abandoned them in the driveway. Now they both have their own cars and I’d give just about anything to see them parked in front of our house every night… but those days are gone. Time can’t be replayed and there are no “do-overs.” Learn to live now and do what you intend to do now. There is a tendency to put off what you intend to do ‘till later, but all too often it’s just too late.

Now is the time to ask yourself these questions: Am I a hostage? Is my business being controlled by the most dangerous word in the English language? Am I living in a someday syndrome?

Do you have a grocery list of things around your plant that you intend to do but never get around to doing? How important are the items on that list? Do you have a lot of good ideas that you know are good… but you just haven’t gotten around to implementing any of them yet?

The difference between a genius and an entrepreneur illustrates a simple point I’d like you to consider. A genius can come up with a dozen “million dollar ideas.” He knows they’re great ideas and he may even think they’ll make a fortune, but he never does anything with them. An entrepreneur, on the other hand, can take just one good idea, put it to action right away and make a million bucks. The point? Million dollar ideas are a dime a dozen but they’re absolutely worthless unless acted upon.

At the start of this article I made a bold statement. I suggested that if you truly understand how dangerous the word someday is and if you can learn to break free of its grip, the result will be of far more value than any advertising idea or any marketing advice you’ll ever hear. I truly believe this to be a fact because nothing happens without action. Nothing!