Fast tracking is a buzz word that I’m sure you’re familiar with. “Change your life/your body/your path to success/ etc. with our Fast Track results package.” Really if you think about it, lives can and do change in a moment. Not only in the case of a car wreck or some tragic accident; rather, lives change the moment a decision is made and the follow through begins. The closest thing to a “fast track” in real life is the decision that then results in months, years, or sometimes decades of hard, or even grueling work. If the work is done immediately, life changes quickly and hopefully you can enjoy both the work itself, and the fruits from that labor. That being said, success is not guaranteed and the changes success brings won’t happen fast. This is what the concept of “fast tracking” misses. Yes, the direction of your life will change in an instant when you make a true decision…but, just because you are facing the direction of a new path doesn’t mean you’ve walked it.
Success is not the direct result of planning. Sure, planning helps and will get you started, but how many folks get stuck in the planning phase without acting? Sometimes spending the first few weeks, months, or in some cases years planning? All this planning is in an effort to design the perfect way to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. However, all that planning and all the time spent planning does not cause any movement toward success. Only through action is there movement. The Marines are taught a system of “planning through action” where they spend little to no time planning and simply move to a place that is safer all the while planning while they are moving. They have to do this because if too much time is spent planning, people will die. Planning is a good idea and should be done, however perfect planning does not need to happen (if it is even possible). Plans can and do change and those who are successful made multiple changes to their plan. Once plans are made, which should take only as long as it needs to, action must take place.
The problem I have with the buzz word “fast tracking” is that it leads you to believe you can get from point A to point B as fast as possible with as little work as possible. I’ve personally made this incorrect assumption only to realize it could not be further from the truth. Success takes work, a lot of work and in most cases a lot of time doing that work. So, while I’m not discounting the existence of “fast tracking”, I am suggesting that you need to reframe the way you see it. Fast tracking is simply a way of cutting down on the time it takes to obtain success. But, it still only occurs through massive action, efforts and the time necessary to perform the work. The bottom line is you can change your life in an instant by making a decision to change, and you should be encouraged to take the most efficient path from point A to point B (call it fast tracking if you will). But, be prepared to work and spend a lot of time doing that work. Also be prepared to work when you don’t necessarily feel like working because if you only work when you feel like it, there is no fast track.
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