The Research Sector

Kevin had worked as a barber at The Clipper Joint for the past five years. He has dreams of opening his own barbershop one day. He is beginning to feel that it isn't really fair to have to pay Joe, the owner, 60% of his cut. It just doesn't seem right to him. He is the one with the clients. He is the one cutting heads for 7 hours a day. Why should he have to give up anything?

Well, the answer is simple. He isn't the owner of the shop. If there weren't any shop, there wouldn't be any place for his clients to go. And if there weren't any place for his clients to go then he wouldn't be getting any money to cut heads.

Lately, Kevin has been having serious thoughts about opening his own barbershop. But, he isn't quite sure exactly how to go about it. What he decides to do was ask Joe, the owner of The Clipper Joint, a few questions about how he started his shop. Maybe that would teach Kevin a little about how to begin.

Today, the thought of opening his own shop has been weighing really heavy on his heart. On his way home from work, Kevin stopped at Barnes and Noble because he wanted to start a little research on finding out how to start a business.

He was amazed at all the books that were available on this subject. He picked up two of the books and decided that he would start by reading these. They seemed to be full of information, even told you what publications and forms you would need from the IRS to start your business.

Kevin knew nothing of starting a business. It seemed really scary to him. Just the thought of it made him nervous. What if he started his own business and he failed? What if he lost all of his money trying to open the business? What if he couldn't handle it?

Kevin decided he was NOT going to fail. He was going to get as educated as he possibly could about starting and running a business. He was going to read everything that he could get his hands on. He was going to talk with shop owners and get the low down from them. He would even take a few classes at the community college. He was going to research, research, and research.

It has been two year since Kevin stopped at that Barnes and Nobles to start his research. Kevin is still working for Joe at The Clipper Joint.

Oh, don't think Kevin is giving up. Oh no, every day Kevin is reading another book on how to start a business. Next week he is attending a seminar on starting your own business. He has talked to tons of barbershop owners all over the state in which he lives. He has told everybody he knows that he is going to open his own barbershop. "Hey, Kevin did you open that barbershop yet?" "Not yet. Still working on it!"

Do you see what Kevin is doing? Kevin is forever going to start a business. Kevin is NEVER going to start a business.

Kevin is stuck in what I call "The Research Sector." He isn't making any real progress in starting his business because, in fact, he isn't DOING anything to start it. Oh, don't get it twisted, Kevin is now fully educated on what it takes to start and run a barbershop. If he wanted to, he could hold a seminar and teach others how to start and run their own business.

Kevin needs to get really honest with himself and realize that he is afraid to make a move and that he is using research as a crutch to hold him back. But instead of admitting the fear, Kevin stays where it is safe. It only makes sense that you will thoroughly research something as big as starting your own business, before you make a move. So as long as he is in "The Research Sector", he will forever be "opening his own business."

Some people stay in "The Research Sector" forever. They NEVER make any real progress because they are forever researching-or forever practicing or whatever.

It's really a mechanism we use to avoid putting ourselves out there. We are really fearful of what could happen if we were to really DO something. So to make it seem as if we are doing something, we spend all of our time in the beginning stages, the learning process.

In order to achieve your dreams and desires you must TAKE ACTION.

Action is defined in the Merrian-Webster Online dictionary as a thing done.

Nothing happens until you TAKE ACTION.

You MUST DO SOMETHING in order for things to happen.

I know that it may "feel" a bit scary at first. I know that venturing out into the unknown can really cause a lot of crazy thoughts that will have you second-guessing yourself.

But unless you muster up the courage and the confidence, you will never realize your dreams, your goals, and your purpose.

Here's my suggestion: why not find something to do that you aren't fearful of doing?

Let's say that starting your own business requires you to write out your Mission Statement. Hey, that's something you can do. You know what you want to do so you can easily write it down. Wa-la! You actually took action.

Or, let's say, you want to be a writer. Spend your day looking up the name, address, phone number and email address of the person who receives article submissions for the magazines and newspapers that your article will fit in. If it makes you nervous to call and talk with them on the phone, send an email.

Let me give you an example.

Suppose Kevin started his research and discovered that the first thing he will have to do is to create a business plan. But, being that he is new to this, he doesn't know what a business plan is so he does a little more research and finds out how to create a business plan.

Action: Kevin could start writing up his business plan. If he gets stuck and needs help, he could TAKE ACTION and seek advice.

By starting with his business plan, he is still basically working alone and doing something that is less fearful.

So if you start with the things that you can do alone, things that you aren't fearful of doing, then you will still be accomplishing something.

If you make it a point to DO something every single day, you will find that you will be getting closer and closer to your goal. And, the more that you accomplish, the more confidence you will develop. When you start seeing how far you are getting along, you will be more motivated to try new and different things. When you realize that you took a giant step and that you are still alive, no one has eaten you up or thought you were crazy for asking, you will develop more confidence to try new and different things. That is just it. YOU WILL HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.

The key is to DO something EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Nothing will happen unless you TAKE action.

And you MUST take action EVERY SINGLE DAY--or at least every other day.

It's sort of like if you decide that you want to get in shape. You want to turn your stomach into a six-pack so you could look great in a bathing suit.

If you do sit-ups and crunches one day and then do nothing for two months, then after two months have passed, you remember you wanted a great looking tummy so you do more sit-ups, you will not get any results.

In order to get the type of cuts and flatness that you desire, you must do sit-ups, crunches or some form of stomach exercises EVERY SINGLE DAY-or every other day. Any other way simply won't work.

ACTION PLAN: Make it a point to DO something today--even if it takes you a little out of your comfort zone. If stepping out of your comfort zone is too uncomfortable, then do something today that you ARE comfortable with, but make sure you DO something. Then tomorrow, repeat. And the next day, repeat again--and so on and so forth.

Dawn Fields is a motivational speaker, author, and spiritual life coach. Visit the web site at http://www.dawnfields.com and be sure to tune into Your Life's Purpose Interactive Internet Radio Show, hosted by Dawn Fields, every Thursday at 9 p.m. EST. Be sure to sign up for the free motivational and inspirational newsletter, Your Life's Purpose by sending a blank email to dawn@dawnfields.com