The Grasshopper interrupted a phone conversation I was having yesterday with this: “Everything begins with a start.”

It reminded me of an advertising slogan I heard when I was a kid that I’ve mentioned before. It was from the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society (PSFS) that underscored the magic of action: “Wishing won’t do it, saving will.”

Like our grammar school teachers taught us, every story has a beginning a middle and an end. But there are no stories, no successes or failures without a beginning. It’s where we start.

I’m all for envisioning desired endings but never at the expense of beginnings. Too often our happy ending never gets off the ground because we fail to begin.

This is about the reality of a start. You can’t begin anything without one.

You can talk a mean streak about what you’re going to do but it won’t begin until you do something. Doing something requires an action past thought.

And yes, a start is only a beginning that needs to be followed up with additional efforts to get to an ending, but the first step is to start – take an action.

As Lao-Tzu reminded us centuries ago: “The longest journey begins with the first step.”

Short journeys begin with a first step as well.

You may know some “serial beginners” – people who begin a million things and never complete them, and use that fact to poo-poo the sagacity of beginnings. They haven’t learned the second step yet. In dancing terms, they only learned to “Cha.”

But, even they, are a step ahead of you if you haven’t begun.

You have to get out of your head to begin. Beginnings are body based; they take action.

What action can you take today that will move you closer to a desired goal?

Perhaps you can start an “Action Journal.” Instead of listing the things you want to do in there, list the actions you’ve taken. It takes your to-do list and turns it into a done list.

Whatever you’re contemplating, it won’t get off your plate until you begin.

Imagine all starting lines in any race having this banner displayed: HAPPY ENDINGS BEGIN HERE.

All the best,

John