 Or, what I learned from John Wayne. Inspired by Middle Zone Musings.
Often we refer to someone who can’ t seem to get going on a new project, career or opportunity as unwilling to pull the trigger. Basically, it communicates someone who likes to dream and wish.. but isn’t willing to actually do it.
In the movie The Shootist, John Wayne plays an aged gunfighter, John Books, who is eaten up with cancer. The movie is all the more poignant because while he was filming this movie, Wayne himself was eaten up with cancer.
My favorite scene in the movie comes when the young boy, an aspiring gunfighter himself, remarks about how fast a draw Books must have been when he was younger. Wayne looks at the boy and tells him,
“It’s not always being fast or even accurate that counts, it’s being willing. I found out early that most men, regardless of cause or need, aren’t willing. They blink an eye or draw a breath before they pull the trigger–and I won’t.â€
Here are three things to consider if you feel that you are being hesitant and unwilling to pull the trigger.
1. Consider what could happen. And, then consider what would the worst thing be. If the worst is tolerable, go. If the worst is unrecoverable, don’t.
2. If you don’t do it, how old will you be? This may sound silly but I have often thought of this way…if I don’t do it, I will still be one year older a year from now. So, I may as well go for it.
3. On your deathbed, is this one of those things you will be thinking…”I wish I had done XYZ back in 2007.” If the answer is yes, go for it.
5 users commented in " Pulling The Trigger: Three Easy Steps "
This is really good! It should be in the entrepreneur’s bible. However,
if I consider the tolerability of the worst possible event, I won’t fly back to Kansas to see my parents on the 25th or even drive to a customer site. I don’t find dying in a plane crash or a car accident very tolerable (and definitely not recoverable), since I already plan to be standing in my back yard when I’m 95 and catch a meteor coming in at full speed. However, if I consider the worst probable event, I will, since I’m not likely to die in either endeavor.
This is nit picking, since the overall entry is excellent.
GL, this is good (but you probably knew that already, right?)! Ironically enough, this is exactly what went through my mind before deciding to start my side business (Ignite)! And, it’s already paying off, not just in money, but in personal growth, too!
Thanks for joining us this month, my friend!
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Hi GL
I particularly liked “how old will you be”. I find the deathbed gives us too much wriggle room – lets you imagine you’ll do the thing sometime before you get there. The “how old will you be” question makes you think more directly about what on earth it is that you’re waiting for…
Thanks!
Joanna
Looking at my comment – I meant the deathbed question, rather than the deathbed. The actual deathbed probably doesn’t leave us too much wriggle room at all!
Joanna
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