One day I was sitting down and thinking about this very question and below is what i came up with. Those of you that will be reading some of my blogs, as you can see, most of my blogs will be about motivation, inspiration, attitude and taking action. I belive that life or business is 98% your attitude and 2% your actions. Now most people only do one or the other and they expect life to fall into place. As you read what i wrote, I hope this helps people who are in that situation.

Which comes first, changing your attitude or taking action?

            You hear so many people say that if you change your attitude first then you eventually will take action. You also hear many people say if you just take action then your attitude will follow. Well I agree with both. You may be asking how that is. I have been on both sides of the equation and can tell you that neither side alone works. If you try to change your attitude by reading books, listening to tapes and attending seminars and you don't take action then eventually your attitude goes right back to all those negative thoughts that got you where you are in the first place. At the same time, if you try to take action first without changing how you think then you end up doing a ton of work and turning people off in the mean time so you still get very little results.

            As I look back at my past, there have been so many times that I have had all the motivation in the world but just sat on it. I have read and read and read and nothing. I have listened to so many motivational tapes and nothing. I have attended so many seminars and still nothing. I have even done all 3 at the same time, guess what? Again, nothing! When you get to that point then you start questioning your sanity. You ask yourself you feel motivated to take action but still not. You ask yourself why? If you stay at that stage too long, you will go right back to the way you were.

            At the same time, I have been in the position where I didn't try to grow mentally but took tons actions and turned many people off. As I would run into people and we start talking, I would give my opinions bluntly to people who never asked for my opinions (big tip there if you work with people). In the business world you have to be able to work with all kinds of people whether you agree with what they believe or not. Sometimes it is smart just to keep your mouth shut. Now I am not saying to let people walk all over you, I just now pick the battles that I get into. There is a huge difference there but you really don't learn that unless you grow mentally.

            Therefore, I feel you have to work on both simultaneously! As you are growing your attitude by reading, listening and attending seminars, you also have to take action at the same time. Both together bring results. One side alone may give you temporary success but until you can combine both sides you will never have long term success where you enjoy what you are doing and getting results.

Chris Benton
www.LocalSavannah.com
www.LocalJAX.com
www.LocalCharlestonSC.com