The Importance of Taking Action

Shia LaBeouf broke the internet in 2015 with his now-iconic motivational rant: “Do it! Just do it! Don’t let your dreams be dreams! Yesterday, you said tomorrow. So just do it!”

High achievers from all walks of life — and certain well-known sneaker companies — espouse the importance of taking action. But why is taking action so crucial to success? And what are a few tips for training ourselves to take action — to develop what’s called an action orientation?

5 Reasons Action Is Crucial to Success  

1) Thoughts won’t achieve themselves:
One of Newton’s laws of motion states that objects remain at rest until a force is applied. In life, nothing moves on its own — the same is true for our thoughts, plans, and goals. Without action, even the most inspired ideas will stay invisible and unrealized. Thoughts do not and will not impact the physical world until they become action.

2) Action often has a cumulative effect:
When we take action, the unexpected often shows up — sometimes a miracle. What once seemed hard may, after starting, turn out to be easier than you thought, or you may meet the exact right person along the way to help you. This is why it’s said “Fortune favors the bold.” But the greatest cumulative effect of taking action is the growth that comes from turning the theoretical to the experiential — gaining real knowledge and becoming someone new in the process.

3) Action builds confidence:
As you push past fear and discover what works and what doesn’t, your chances of success grow. Fear and doubt gradually lose their stranglehold and reveal themselves for what they are — more mental than real, smaller than they once seemed. Over time, they become the signals of an opportunity to grow rather than a warning to pause. Eventually, you are recognized as an expert in your field.

4) Action helps you change your habits:
Many people fall short of their goals because their habits thwart their intentions. Unfortunately, you can’t simply wish bad habits away — you can only replace them through consistent, deliberate action. Small, repeated actions gradually reshape your patterns, aligning your daily behavior with your larger goals.

5) Action helps you build momentum:
Another of Newton’s laws of motion says it’s easier to keep a moving object in motion than to get a stationary object moving. That’s inertia: the tendency for things to keep doing what they’re already doing. In life we’re often stuck due to fear, doubt, comfort — even the illusion of safety. But through the application of massive action, you break free from that inertia. And once you’re moving, by law, it’s now easier to keep moving.

Life Does Not Exist in the Mind  

Many of us accomplish more in our minds than in real life. We plan endlessly, imagine perfect outcomes, and daydream about recognition or validation, eventually finding ourselves stuck, frustrated, and slowly bleeding confidence and momentum. The solution is to take consistent, imperfect action. Instead of waiting for the perfect plan or outcome, start by doing something — anything — that gets you moving forward.

“Imperfect action is better than perfect inaction.” ― Harry S. Truman

Many of us hold back from taking action because we fear failure. We stay in comfortable but unfulfilling jobs worried a passion project might not work out, or avoid asking the attractive person in our class out due to fear of rejection. But failure in any form isn’t truly a loss — it’s a lesson. Leaders understand that failure is simply part of the path to success, each mistake bringing you one step closer to your goal as you learn what works and what doesn’t.

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” — Thomas Edison

Simply said, you cannot live out a dream that remains in your mind. The mind is a powerful tool for shaping dreams and sparking lasting change, but only action turns those dreams into reality.

“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The “SHIFTS” Model  

This doesn’t mean the mind is useless or a detriment — far from it! It is, after all, one of the sharpest, most powerful tools we have! But relying on it alone? That’s where we get stuck. However, when we combine thought with action, major goals can be accomplished.

Both mind and action take center stage in my “SHIFTS” process model, which I teach in my book “SHIFTS: 6 Steps to Transform Your Mindset and Elevate Your Leadership,” as well as to students at the Daystar Leadership Academy in Lagos, Nigeria:

• See: You are the sum of what you repeatedly see.
• Hear: You are the sum of what you repeatedly hear.
• Insight: Your insights and feelings anchor your beliefs about yourself and the world.
• Formulate: Your belief system formulates your decisions and creates habits.
• Transform: Your decisions transform your actions for making those big, bold moves!
• Succeed: Your actions lead to success.

The first two steps guide us to select inputs aligned with our goals (See, Hear). The new input then sparks the mind with fresh awareness (Insight) that leads to new beliefs, decisions, and habits (Formulate). Our lives then begin to shift as we begin taking action — and then repeated action — in relation to those new beliefs, decisions, and habits (Transform, Succeed).

How do you push past the third and fourth steps without getting stuck in place? How do you condition yourself to take bold, decisive action — rather than retreat back into thought?

4 Tips for Developing an Action Orientation 

1) Align your vocabulary with your vision:
Words are like seeds. Your life is the harvest of the seeds you sowed with your mouth or pen yesterday. As your mind shifts, make sure your words shift as well. If you have now adopted an abundance mindset, never speak of scarcity — only abundance.

2) Take small actions first:
James Clear says in the wonderful book “Atomic Habits” that only after taking small actions and achieving consistency should we scale up. Among other reasons, achieving small steps first builds confidence and minimizes resistance.

3) Don’t let waiting become a habit:
Reflecting can help, but don’t wait too long. I too had to reprogram my mind in this area. I took sheets of plain paper and wrote “Do it now” 1,000 times. Those words were ingrained in my mind, and they jump at me and prompt me to take action today!

4) Choose repeated action over accepting or assuming defeat:
Things rarely work out on the first try. In fact, 80% of sales happen between the 5th and 12th follow-up. Persistence isn’t just helpful — it’s often the difference between falling short and breaking through.

Success does not live in your head. Yes, the world of contemplation, consideration, and conceptualization is key, but remaining in that world causes complacency. Growth, learning, success — they all carry risk, but are only available to you when you finally take action. So stop waiting. Step up. Move forward. Do it now. Or, as our friend Shia says, “Don’t let your dreams be dreams! Yesterday, you said tomorrow. So just do it!”

Written by Sam Adeyemi.
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