On the to-do list doesn't mean you have it done

It's easy to kid yourself into thinking that you've done something when what you really mean is that you're planning to do it. You wouldn't say you've changed a light-bulb just by adding “Replace lightbulb in the kitchen” to your to-do list. There would be no deceiving yourself when you try to make coffee in the dark. But when it comes to developing a skill (or a business) it's tempting to confuse all the getting-ready stuff with actually doing the job.

I've worked with people beginning sales businesses and there's an endless amount of organizing that they feel they need to do before talking to a prospect. They listen to tapes, buy books, attend seminars, buy file folders, arrange a big loose-leaf notebook, and so on. Some of that prep is necessary, either for gathering information or processing it. But there comes a time when rather than make sales calls, they make labels for the file folders. They might get opinions from friends (who know nothing about the business) about what they need to do next or what the next big market is. The would-be entrepreneurs tell themselves they're “doing the business,&rdquo but by assuming that preparation takes the place of action, they're actually preventing themselves from doing the business.

I find that horsepeople often do the same. Some of us enjoy reading horse books, studying catalogs or just dinking around the barn. But reading dressage books doesn't make you a dressage rider. To be a dressage rider, you have to ride — dressage. No harm done, though, if we kid ourselves on something like this. It's unlikely that we'll sign up for a dressage competition unless we're ready.

But when it comes to considering how well-trained our horse is, that's another story. If we say that the horse has two-year's training, we'll probably hold him accountable for that, even though the reality is that we messed around with him a few afternoons here and there over a period of two years. We're quite likely to presume that because we introduced a few lessons to him and he made it through them intact, he knows the material. Worse yet, if we tell someone else that he's had two year's of training, they may get hurt, presuming we mean something more thorough than what the horse experienced.

Being square on this issue pays divideds. If you're messing around, “fixin' to” do something, just say so. Enjoy planning and looking forward to an objective. If you think of it that way, you won't feel apologetic that you're not getting it done today.