Create Your Own Butterfly Effect

Spend less time day-dreaming and more time day-doing. It sounds like a motivational pitch from a motivational speaker, but let's suppose that this is truth. Let's consider two people - one who has good will in mind and the other who doesn't.

The one with good will spends his/her days dreaming about the virtues and goodness that will come with his/her ideas. The one with bad will spends one hour thinking about the hell on earth he/she can bring and then spends the rest of his/her time actually doing it. Which person will the butterfly effect be most profound?

It's always easier to dream; it's like watching a custom movie in your head and - the best part - you're the hero. Taking action requires time, effort, and (possibly) money; however, the largest road block for most people is the fear of failure. Doing nothing means that you won't fail, but it also means that you won't be successful.

Back to the person with bad will: He/She fails 99 times out of 100. He/She is successful once and you (the assumed good guy) has never been successful, although has never failed either. 99 times is a lot of failure, a lot of time, a lot of <insert negativity here>. One of the biggest regrets that people have on their death bed was that they felt they didn't do enough with their lives. Granted, not everyone is in a situation suited to help carry out their dreams. Are you? Can a dream be scaled back a little bit so it has a chance to take off?

You will have friends that won't support you. You will have friends that will mock you behind your back. Keep in mind that misery loves company - these people don't want you to succeed because it validates their stance that doing nothing is okay (because that's what they're doing: nothing). If you do nothing then they won't feel any pressure to do anything. As an aside, this also tells you who your true friends are.

Make your own butterfly effect. Make it on your terms. Spend 5% dreaming and 95% doing. Remember that there are motivated people out there that are up to no good. Do something.