I spent some time cleaning this weekend and found a bunch of old composition books. If I added up all the partially completed novels in those books I would have written Moby Dick. How depressing. I wish the Nobel committee would award a prize  for good intentions because I would TOTALLY win.

Taking the first step is never easy, but it’s what you do after that defines you. Because everyone has good ideas and big talk. But follow-through is rare currency indeed and those who possess it will always succeed.

Think of an aspirational figure in your life. Is he smarter than you? No. More talented? No. Better genetics? No. In all likelihood, that person you aspire to be is a do’er. Not a talker, because nobody aspires to be a talker. Talkers are amusing for a moment, then irrelevant, and finally annoying. They inflate you with big words but they always let you down.

Only do’ers can truly inspire. And while there is a startling degree of overlap, winners and do’ers are not always the same. Because crossing the finish line very rarely looks like this. Nine times out of ten it looks like this. Of the two, who inspires you more?