Cactus Juice Recipe
Submitted by: BrockO X-Factor (aka “The Executor”)
Tastes Great If You Can Get Past the Needles
Servings:
As many as you would like. Simply rinse, lather, and repeat.
Ingredients:
- 1 (16 ounce) package execution
- 1 (8 ounce) package fast action
- 4 1/2 cups hard work (blood, sweat, and tears optional)
- 3 tablespoons uncommon knowledge
- 2 1/4 teaspoons focus
- 1 oz planning
- dash of luck
Directions:
- In a saucepan over medium heat, mix the execution and fast action together vigorously. Keep doing this until the earth implodes. Don’t stop, and I mean ever! It is highly unlikely you can execute too much or take action too quickly. Imperfect action is always better than perfect inaction! The faster you make mistakes, the faster you can find what works. Henry Ford said, “Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” while Tom Peters said, “Test fast, fail fast, and adjust fast.” Avoid high heat as you run the risk of burning out too soon.
- Pour the mixture into a large bowl, and beat in the hard work, one minute at a time. Feel free to combine the blood, sweat and tears, stirring into the mixture. Once you have reached eight hours of beating, set aside to cool and gel while you rest. If the task at hand does not look, smell, and taste like work, you may as well skip because it is likely to be useless. There is no get rich quick method, only build wealth slowly. To succeed, do what others are unwilling to do.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease the gears of your mind with some quality reading each and every day. Learn from those who have walked in the shoes you are hoping to one day walk in. Roll the mixture out on a cookie sheet and spread some uncommon knowledge over the top. Uncommon knowledge is that information which everyone says is common sense but nobody actually does it. Likely, the odor of work has them looking for an easier way.
- Sprinkle some focus on top for good measure. To be successful, find the 20% of tasks than net you 80% of your results. Keep doing them and keep looking for ways to do them better and faster. Humans are only capable of doing a few things brilliantly. Add too many tasks and you simply end up doing a bunch of things poorly. The last thing you need is another good idea.
- Lastly top with a bit of planning. Why so little planning? Because most of us tend to do too much planning and we end up stuck in paralysis by analysis (or analysis paralysis). We want to get everything perfect before we begin. The sooner you give up on the notion of perfecting anything, the sooner you will see results. Improvement is incremental but you cannot improve something that has not been released.
- Keep baking this mixture for as long as you would like to see results, but be careful not to overbake. When you finally decide to mix up another batch, just remember that the hardest part is getting started. You can thank me later, as this will likely be one of the most delicious recipes you have ever tasted. You don’t even need a fancy pants culinary degree. Nor do you need a tour of duty in Hell’s Kitchen or the experience of being executive chef for Gordon Ramsay. The devil is not in the details. The devil is in the devious little brat sitting on your shoulder who keeps you from getting started.
- Of course, everyone needs a little luck. To be wildly successful, you need to be in the right place at the right time doing the right things. The ball has to bounce your way a few times. However, you will find that the harder you work, the more luck will come your way. Showing up is half the battle.
“If you have everything under control, you’re not moving fast enough.” ~ Mario Andretti
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” ~ Thomas Edison
“Discovery lies in seeing what everyone sees, but thinking what no one else has thought.” ~ Author Unknown
“I have more respect for the fellow with a single idea who gets there than for the fellow with a thousand ideas who does nothing.” ~ Thomas Edison
“Ready, fire, aim.” ~ Harry V. Quadracci, Quad/Graphics Founder
90% of the fuel in the space shuttle is spent getting off the ground and the other 10% is enough to get to the moon and back.
“Lucky is what others will call you after your hard work produces results.” ~ Og Mandino
Why do I share my secret recipe for marketing success (or business success for that matter)? Why am I not shaking in my boots that my competitors will read this and beat me at my own game? If you are like most people, you fear people will find out what you know. You feel protecting your secret knowledge is going to be the key to your success.
The first flaw in this thinking is that the info you have is top secret when in fact it can probably be found elsewhere. The second flaw in this thinking is that your secret knowledge is going to make you tons of money. If only it were that easy! Just about all of us love to learn but few of us naturally want to do anything with the information because that is work! It has become crystal clear to me that execution is the real x-factor. Most will spend too much time learning and only a fraction of their time executing if at all. I know I have always struggled with this and I think most do to varying degrees, especially perfectionists.
“Brick walls are there for a reason; they let us prove how badly we want things.” ~ Randy Pausch, “Last Lecture”
When you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and lost…find something you can execute, execute, and execute some more! In no time, the distress will lift and you will once again be able to think clearly. There is no remedy better than taking some action, even if it is not the best action.
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” ~ Mark Twain
So, feel free to pass along my secret recipe to anyone and everyone. Whomever executes the best is going to win and all I have control over is my own execution. History is littered with products and services that were clearly better than their competitors but were out-executed and now lay dead by the side of the road. Don’t let that be you.
Image Credit: 00dann
