Being successful seems to be everyone’s desire. We all want to achieve what our definition of what success is in life. Have you ever wondered how successful people got that way? Why they seem to go from one victory in life to another? There is one thing that separates the successful - they act on their thoughts.

Most of us know what we should do everyday. We know many of the small steps we need to take to move our business forward. We know the steps to enhance our marriage or relationship with our kids. We just fail to act on those thoughts now! We fail to implement change and improvement in little quantities over time. Implementation of action is the biggest barrier for most people.

We all compare and keep score of others around us. We look at their production against their talent and say, “ Hey I can do what he is doing”. We know in our hearts that we can achieve just what they have achieved. We know that our talent and ability level matches or exceeds theirs. “Why am I not doing as well as they are?” The simple reason is action. We are not acting on what we know. Knowledge without action is worthless. It’s not what you know; it’s what you do with what you know that matters.

We all receive inspiration of ideas. When the idea hits and the emotion is strong, put the idea into place. There is a law called The Law of Diminishing Intent. We must act when the emotion is high. If we don’t act now the energy and emotion will diminish over time. You decide to start prospecting today. A week from now if you didn’t start you will be less engaged in that thought. A month from now the passion will be cold. In a quarter it’s a distant memory you ever had the thought.

Use the emotion you have to your advantage. When you feel the emotion or passion act on it. Apply that emotion to a disciplined activity. If it’s prospecting pick up the phone and make the calls. If it’s a project that needs to be implemented start planning it out on paper. If you need to show appreciation for your spouse pick up the phone and order flowers just because, call and make him a tee-time, stop at the store and get a card. Act on the thought now!

If you can’t act on your thought, schedule a time to do so. We can be in situations that we can’t act. We must at least act to schedule our appointment with ourselves to move the thought forward. We must cement the future commitment. If we don’t we are merely wishing that we could find time to do it.

Knowing and doing are two different skill sets. One is not successful without the other. One of our struggles as Realtors is that we are independent contractors. Because of that status we can ignore the need for more knowledge and skill. We can ignore the need to apply or do the activities daily that will grow our business. We must rely on ourselves in seeking knowledge and implementing that knowledge. We receive some help from our brokers, but they have many other challenges to deal with. The ultimate responsibility is up to you. The question is, will you take on the responsibility now? Will you act on your thoughts and ideas now rather than falling prey to the Law of Diminishing Intent?

Taking action is the key to success. My friend Jim Rohn said “Labor is the finishing miracle of life”. Putting into action or labor what needs to be done creates abundance. Applying your knowledge in action will move you ahead of the crowd.

Published: December 12, 2001

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Dirk Zeller is a sought out speaker, celebrated author and CEO of Real Estate Champions. His company trains more than 350,000 Agents worldwide each year through live events, online training, self-study programs, and newsletters. The Real Estate community has embraced and praised his six best-selling books; Your First Year in Real Estate, Success as a Real Estate Agent for Dummies®, The Champion Real Estate Agent, The Champion Real Estate Team, Telephone Sales for Dummies®, Successful Time Management for Dummies®, and over 300 articles in print. To learn more regarding this article, please visit www.realestatechampions.com.