#8 Act and stay action-oriented
Dear R&M,
As your peers say and I’ve heard you often tell me, YOLO — you only live once. While I may dispute that assertion in a different letter, let me accept your premise for this one. That is as good a reason as any other to be action-oriented. It’s far too easy to click Like on Facebook or retweet something and feel you’ve acted — actually done something about anything. Signing a petition I’ve heard argued is actually doing something. Sure, just as choosing to not do anything is also an action.
You’ve heard your mom and me talk about vak-tapas — verbal austerity. It is what Eleanor Roosevelt put so well as:
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.
Vak tapas is but a starting point. Putting the ideas that you think up, hear about, and discuss into action is where it’s at, in my book.
Start small-do one thing each day — even if it’s with that petition you sign, but get out there talk to one person each day about things that move you. Make a difference in someone’s life each day — whether it’s introducing them to someone else, cooking them an omelette or sometimes just listen to them, really listen. And ask yourself each day, “What can I do?” and “How can I put this into action?”
