Favorite Inspirational Quotes

Do not be desirous of having things done quickly. Do not look at small advantages. Desire to have things done quickly prevents their being done thoroughly. Looking at small advantages prevents great affairs from being accomplished.

Confucius 551-479 BC

Things must be accomplished in the fullness of time. They cannot be rushed. Doing so results in a job not being done thoroughly. With many matters, you just have to wait. This is what Jim Rohn calls the Law of Gestation. A human baby takes nine months. If it is rushed, the job is not done completely and thoroughly and many problems can result. One of our daughters was born about two and a half months prematurely and she is having no end of problems that could be the result of having been born early.

You cannot rush a tree to grow or a wound to heal. It takes the time it takes. Losing a lot of weight requires consistent action towards the goal and patience. Eating a bag of chips may provide a fleeting sensation of full stomach and good taste but it does nothing towards reaching the goal of being healthy.

However, there are times when it is better to get something done than do nothing at all. Ready, Fire, Aim! Many times we will see this referred to in business. It’s like this blog. I still have things that need doing, like changing out the pictures for instance, but I went ahead and got it up and going.

Isn’t there a saying - begun is half done - or something along those lines? John Reese had posted four steps some time ago which had to do with creating and launching crap, making continuous improvements to it until at last you were making money with something that became non-crap.

So while the Law of Gestation may very well affect many things and getting things done too quickly prevents “great affairs from being accomplished” there is also a place for just freaking getting started.