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Editor's Note: I've been saying this for years. Now you can hear it from someone else. :-)
 Do Something
by Kurt DuNard The Exceptional Life Coach
Nike has a clever advertising slogan that says “Just do it.” That slogan triggers all kinds of pictures in the reader’s mind. But the main thing it does for many people is that it triggers the image of winning at some athletic event even if that person does not consider himself or herself a winner. Or it might trigger the image of just doing it—just starting that walking program to lose a few pounds. Nike’s clever slogan is tailored for each individual and is as different as every person, because each individual imagines what “just doing it” means; it becomes a personal phrase. What Nike hopes for is that you will imagine “Just doing it” in a pair of Nike shoes.
Nike promotes the active life and it is a good image to promote. Not only do we need to be active physically, we need to be active in all areas of our life. Now I could be wrong, but what I think Nike is really saying is join the game and stop being a spectator. Of course, many of Nike’s best customers watch their favorite team wearing barely worn Nike sports shoes. So they don’t want to alienate these spectators. “Just do it” is a very subtle message. Spectators may buy shoes but they don’t wear them out very fast.
Perhaps Nike is on to something with this phrase that gets you to imagine yourself a winner, makes you want to stop procrastinating, and makes you want to join the game. Playing the game is much more rewarding than watching the game. Being a spectator is not being in the game. Being in the game is the same as grabbing life and participating. We must grab life! Participation in life is all that counts, everything else is but a dream. We can read books, watch movies, and go to sporting events but if we can’t apply learned lessons from these activities to benefit our lives, then they only have the same value of dreams. We need to dream, but most of us may be stuck in the dream world without ever getting a chance to live our lives. We must wake up and join the game.
Many of us may think we are in the game at work but find we are not getting very far. There seem to be more and more electronic distractions (email, FaceBook, LinkedIn, Internet, Blackberry, etc.) that keep us from our real work. Many of these things are time wasters much like spectator activities. Does your manager prefer that you spend your time filling out a game statistics chart instead of scoring a basket? Your manager may be a spectator instead of a player. We must guide our activities and yes, manage our manager’s activities in actions that win the game and do not waste time (spectator activities). If you feel stuck, do something that will bring you closer to the goal. Put the dream activities to bed. Stir up the status quo.
It has been said that movie theaters did a lot of business during the depression. People wanted to escape to a dream world for a couple of hours to get away from the hardships of their lives. But once those two hours were over, those people got out of their seats, stood up, and were a little happier. They were ready to get back into the game and make America the wealthiest country on Earth. Today, the movie does not end. We have a hundred different movies going in all types of media, all at the same time. Many people don’t know when to get up out of their seats and face life again. We are in hard times again and it is temping to stay a spectator.
BE A PLAYER! DO SOMETHING!
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