For the next few days, I will be writing on simple strategies you can implement to help you get ahead in your career or position yourself for that next big job. Some of the ideas might also be useful in a business setting, so I will encourage you to stay tuned. These ideas will be discussed in no particular order, if you don’t want to miss any, you can elect to follow my blog. This way you will get automatic updates on each new post. Some of the ideas are things that have worked for me and some successful people I know, others I learnt from great managers I was privileged to work with, books and resources I invested in and from reading about some extraordinary people.

The focus today is on taking ACTION.

The most important advice to you is don’t just read this, but begin to take action on the suggestions and ideas you get from here. You might acquire all the knowledge or secrets to wealth, success and happiness but if you do not act on what you know, it will amount to nothing. There is nothing as something for nothing. Don’t shy away from making an investment in your personal development. We spend money everyday on things that don’t matter or things that add little or no value to our future, but when it comes to the matter of self-improvement, we pay very little attention and then wonder why we are not making the necessary progress. At a time in my life, I realized that if things were to change for me, I had to change first. Though it was very tough economically speaking, I had to make the necessary financial investments in training and self-development that helped fast-tracked my career.

Even though I knew what  do,  I was waiting for the right time – when I started earning more money, when I would have more time and so on. However, the more I waited the worse things became. Until my mentor encouraged me to start taking action, no matter how little with the limited resources I had. He advised me to spend at least 5% or more of my monthly income on personal development – self-help books, attending seminars, audio tapes and programs and taking online courses . I bought everything I could afford on how to prepare for certification exams, improving my communication and negotiation skills, strategic selling skills, leadership and management. I also found Alibris very helpful for different categories of books, music and movies. The first free online course I took was on Coursera. Later on, I wanted to add “academic credibility” to the courses I took, so I started to opt for the verified certificate option ranging from $29 to about $95. The initial pay off (new knowledge and skills acquisition, recognition and career advancement) looked so good, that I have not stopped since then.

So if you are reading this and you are yet to take any action on your goals, right now is the time. The best time is now, and like Nike’s slogan “Just Do It” Time is more valuable than money, you can always get more money, but not more time. So use it wisely.

If you are really interested in seeing the desired change, NOW is the time to act. The greatest time wasting device ever made by man is tomorrow. Don’t be a victim of procrastination. You might just be a decision away from a life changing moment.