“Do it now” is a very powerful and interesting technique to adopt, so you will not have too many regrets later in your life.
When I was writing the Time Management/Life Management series a few years ago, I wanted to give an example of what one of the time-management techniques looks like. One Sunday Julie Morris, Manager of Disney Special Activities, Greg Emmer, Vice President of Attractions, Bill Warren, Vice President of Media Relations, and I had the opportunity to take a leap of faith . . . and the most exciting leap I personally have ever taken.
We were invited by the U.S. Army Golden Knights Tandem Parachute Team to do a sky dive with them. The day they called and asked us if we wanted to have a thrill that would beat out The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™, we said “Yes,” immediately. This is how the technique of “Do It Now” works. If any of us would have said, “Let me get back to you after I think about it,” I am not sure that I would have said yes.
I have always wanted to do a sky dive . . . and what kid does not want to parachute? Most boys, at least, may have tried at least once to jump off the house with a bed sheet as their parachute. Emergency rooms around the world can confirm this.
Sometimes it is just better not to think about things too long. Always taking the absolute safe and secure position in your life often leads to your missing the best in life and missing some exciting experiences that are offered to you.
I used the same technique when I joined Disney 13 years ago. I was in a safe and secure position. I was known. I could have retired there. Disney called and offered me the chance to live in Paris, work for Disney, and get paid for it. I said to my wife, Priscilla, “What do you think?” She said, “Let’s Do It Now!” She gave me the logic too. She said that if I did not do this that I ran the risk of looking back in five years and having a lot of regrets about not having moved to Paris to work for Disney. She said, “Lee, this is a no-brainer. First, you get to work with Disney, we get to live in Paris, and we will get paid to do this.”
And looking back now, if I had not taken this risk, I would not have a wonderful French daughter-in-law and three perfect grandchildren.
Taking risks in your life is up to you. I am not saying that anyone needs even to consider risks that put your life in danger; but whenever you decide to take a risk—whether it is a career move or a physical risk like parachuting—then calculated risks are the right way to do things.
I had a need to see the logic in what I was about to do, so I learned that the parachute the Army uses has “never” failed. The Army Sergeant I jumped with had more than 5,000 jumps to his credit. This team is the Army’s best! I figure I am hooked to this guy, and he does not want to die—and also I liked the odds, and I figured that the odds were not that I would be the first civilian to die doing this jump with the Army. It is not good for Army public relations to have civilians die.
The other thing I did for the preceding weeks before the jump was to visualize. I would close my eyes and visualize being up in that plane looking down, and I would visualize the jump. I also had to come to grips with the old trust issue . . . and I decided that I had total trust in our U.S. Army team. These things paid off on the day of the jump. While apprehensive, I was not scared.
I can tell you one thing, though. I paid attention to every bit of training that they were giving us; and I asked questions when I was not 100 percent sure what I was being told. I was not preoccupied one single second. If I did this in my business life and personal life at home as well, I would be a lot more effective in everything that I got involved in. This day showed me that I have the ability to pay attention when it is critical.
The bottom line is that there is nothing worse than regret. Looking back on life and wishing you had done this and done that is very depressing. A lot of people say things like, “I wish I had gone back to school. I wish I had spent more time with my family. I wish that I had made my health a priority. I wish I had started saving earlier. I wish I had done this and that.” Don’t wish and have regrets in your life. When you have a chance to do something, don’t talk yourself out of it. Take a deep breath and commit!
So remember this important technique in managing your time and your life. Sometimes you have to just “Do It Now!” . . . Lee
Great Leaders Look for the Better Way Every Day!!!!!