Can I Say “Just Do It”?

President Spencer W. Kimball, frequently called a man of action, had a sign on his desk that read, “Do it.” Film producers shout the instruction, “Action!” and everybody on set is suddenly very busy. Even one of my favorite gym shoe and sports equipment companies, Nike, tells us… well, you get the picture.

It’s in the doing.

Take learning a language, say, Spanish. You can study and read about it all you want, but you will never be able to carry on a conversation with a native Spanish speaker if you don’t SPEAK it.  

I can get on a soap box and tell everyone how wonderful it is to eat right and exercise, but until someone takes my advice and ACTS on it, they’re never going to really know how beneficial that kind of lifestyle can be.

It’s the same way with the gospel. Kim B. Clark, former BYU Idaho President, affirms this. “You teach your children to obey the commandments of God by keeping the commandments of God… it is in the doing that there is real power to shape their lives.”

And, it’s the same way in business.

Elbert Hubbard demonstrates this in his essay “A Message to Garcia.” He said, “Replace the voices in your head with positive action. Turn away from the temptation to dwell on negative thoughts. Dwelling on fears only gives them more power. The best way to rid yourself of a fear is to take positive action. Courage isn’t the absence of fear but rather the ability to act in the face of it.”

Everybody has fears at some time or another. To overcome those fears, we must “Just Do It,” whatever “it” is.

There was no way I was NOT going to use that slogan; it’s just too good.