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Nightingale-Conant presents Bob Proctor

A Sense of Urgency

History has recognized many great men and women who accomplish more with their lives every year or two than the majority of people do in their entire lifetimes. These so-called superachievers stand out in a crowd, like a brilliant beacon in a dark night. They earn a large share of the world's rewards, and they never stop earning these rewards. They just keep moving forward — systematically and with urgent purpose — toward another goal ... and another goal ... and yet another goal. They are constantly focused on producing great work. They are competent thinkers. They are systematic. And they move with purpose ... URGENT purpose. As a result, great work emerges.

Will your work be remembered?

There are many positive shared characteristics in the personalities of men and women who do great work. But they all have one thing in common: At one point in their lives, these men and women made the decision to accomplish more.

They made the decision because they knew — somewhere back in the recesses of their minds — that they deserved this better life. And, not only did they deserve this better life, but it was their responsibility to create the finest life possible — to create a truly memorable life by doing the work that pursued their loftiest dreams, whatever the costs, and whatever the odds.

Do you think the work you're doing this year will be recognized and admired — still serving people, still making a difference — 360 years from now? This is an interesting question. Many people don't care. Others — if they answered the question honestly — would have to admit that it wouldn't.

This question came to my mind when I visited Rijksmuseum in Amsterda and stood admiring Rembrandt's masterpiece Night Watch.

Rembrandt painted Night Watch in 1642 — at least that is the date marked on the painting. It was not the first time I'd seen his work, and, although I am not an art critic, I am fascinated by the detail and perfection in his work. So there my wife Linda and I were standing and enjoying it — when I began to think of how long ago he painted this picture ... and that the world STILL enjoys his efforts.

It is estimated that Rembrandt invested one year of his life in this single painting. I seriously doubt that each day, as he picked up his brush and mixed his paint, he was telling himself, "This painting must be of such great quality that it will be enjoyed for centuries." No, but as you study this classic, it is obvious that each and every day, Rembrandt gave the best he had to give.

Will someone say that about you, about your work, 360 years from now? Or, do you care? If you do care, you might want to follow Robert Russell's advice — he said, "There's no secret to becoming great or doing great work. You simply do little things in a great way every day."

I think that is probably what Rembrandt did. He did a little in a great way every day. Three-and-a-half centuries later, I'm still talking to you about it.

Give your best today. It might make a big difference three or four hundred years from now. Laugh if you choose ... Rembrandt probably would have in 1642, but he still gave his best.

Does this daily giving of your best mean that you will immediately and always succeed? Not necessarily. But your efforts will eventually pay off in the end.

Theodore Roosevelt said, "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is not effort without error and shortcomings. He who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who — at the best — knows triumph in the end; and who — at the worst, fails while daring greatly — he knows his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

You don't want to be one of those cold and timid souls, do you?

The people we recognize as high achievers ... they didn't want to be one of those souls, either. So, they set out with a sense of urgency. It was time to do great work.

DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF URGENCY?

People who are focused, who have a sense of urgency, generally do great work. They very rarely rush and are seldom in a panic. Hurry, rush, and panic are mental states that individuals experience whenever they have a lot to do and have no systematic approach to getting it done. When you're hurried, rushed, or panicked, you can bet that you've fallen off purpose ... or you've never been on purpose in the first place.

Imagine watching a prizefighter in a boxing ring with a lesser opponent. The weaker man might begin the event with vigor, but you'll see that, as the rounds wear on, he begins to stumble. His punches begin to look more like swats. He's falling off his purpose. Meanwhile, the prizefighter remains systematic, with one calculated blow after another. The prizefighter is never rushed; his pace is never hurried. There is a sense of urgency about him, but nothing he does strays from the systematic plan he has in place to win the coveted prize.

This is the difference between having a sense of urgency versus simply rushing through one's day ... tackling or being tackled by the miscellaneous urgent matters as they pop up on radar.

This doesn't mean that the people out there doing great work are achieving because they have fewer tasks to do in the day. Quite the contrary — people who are doing great work are normally taking on two and three times more in a day than just about anyone else on the planet. They accomplish more in a day or a week than many people accomplish in a year or even a decade.

The only difference lies in their attitude — and their actions. Every one of these superachievers does a tremendous amount of work in a minimum period of time. They have a long list of projects that they complete daily, goal-achieving projects ... in other words ... work that counts. Their sense of urgency automatically detects those projects in their daily lives that are goal achieving and that call for immediate attention. They immediately act on those projects to successful completion.

People who act with a sense of urgency aren't just busy for the sake of busyness, they are effective because they have this tremendous sense of urgency with respect to important, goaloriented matters that need to get done.

They are professionals.

WHAT'S YOUR LEVEL OF COMMITMENT?

Realize that the greatness you develop and the sense of urgency you operate with will always be in direct proportion to your commitment to your results insofar as any project is concerned.

Mike Foss wrote an article on commitment in which he shared some very interesting observations — he said, "Commitment is deciding that the price is worth paying for the goal that will be achieved."

He went on to say, "Have you ever noticed how the idea of commitment is easy, but the living into it is hard? I think that's because commitment is one of those realities that really doesn't take hold until it is difficult."

Foss was right. Becoming great at anything calls for you to keep going when it does become difficult. The commitment has to be solid. And as Fosdick said, "Your energy cannot be wasted." It calls for a sense of urgency.

And you will find — if you haven't already — that developing a sense of urgency around a project — and the length of time it will take you to form this habit of urgent, daily action — will depend on your degree of commitment to your goal.

Many people out there will say they want something. Few will actually believe that it is truly accessible to them. Fewer still will begin to take action toward reaching that goal. And fewer still will lay out a systematic plan involving several steps that will, indeed, allow them to achieve that goal.

Then — even fewer will manage to stay on track with that sense of urgency, as they move through the steps toward their goal. Now, that's commitment.

LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR COMMITMENT

In the space provided, I would like you to write a major goal that you think about often. Then, underneath this goal write what you accomplished in the last week — steps and achievements of any size or kind that happened through the week. Just take a few moments to jot any number of achievements down.

Then, below that, write at least one to five action steps you could have taken on this particular goal but didn't schedule into your week, or were sidetracked from accomplishing.

As you look at the actions you did take and the actions you could have taken but never did, you'll know where your sense of urgency is on this particular goal.

THE ALMOST SUCCESSFUL

The biggest handicap to creating great work is not a lack of brains, nor a lack of character or willingness. It is a weakness in getting things done — no sense of urgency and no system in place to tackle tasks in the most effective manner.

The millions of people who fail to do something great with their lives know what to do — and almost do it all the time. They almost win promotions. They almost become leaders. They may miss by only a minute or an inch — but they do miss.

They are held back by indecision, by a lack of organization in their work, and by over attention to minor details. They run around in circles and get absolutely nowhere because they don't chart a straight course and then stick to it with burning focus.

Maintain a sense of urgency. Lodge the anticipation of achieving your goal deep in your mind and keep consciously reinserting it there whenever you find yourself straying or feeling a tendency to jump ship.

What is your major goal?

What actions have you taken toward your goal this past week?

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