There's a condition I think many people in modern society suffer from. I call it ‘Action Illusion’.

Symptoms include always appearing busy, continually complaining about a lack of time, and spending endless hours in meetings. Of all the symptoms that can lead to the condition becoming chronic, talking about what you're going to do as opposed to actually doing anything about it is the most common.

Now I understand why people can be seduced by the appeal of busyness. It can make us feel important. And it's easy to confuse motion and movement with actual progress.

Let me explain what I mean by that.

A toy rocking horse creates a lot of motion, but it doesn't get anywhere does it? And endless conversations about what you're going to do are not a substitute for actually doing something.

Agreed?

By the way, I love that rocking horse illustration, don't you?

You see, a great life is not created by simply talking about it. Having endless meetings and lots of planning can become a rather subtle but also dangerous way of avoiding a decision or taking any action.

Here's the deal: long hours and working harder are not the keys to your success.

Yes, it's important to talk and plan, but it needs to lead to something: action.

For instance, reading this book is an activity. It takes up your time. I would love it if you talked about it with friends. But your life doesn't become great due to what you read, or who you discuss it with. That may help, but ultimately it becomes great because of how it causes you to act.

So, what stops us taking action?

I believe there are lots of factors, but here's one I think is both subtle and deceptive – it's when we become a slave to our emotions.

In other words, we're waiting for the right feelings before we do anything.

We're waiting to feel motivated, confident, or creative before we start something.

The problem is, if you're waiting for the right feelings before you take action, you could be waiting a long time.

I genuinely believe the key to much of what we need to do in life is not that complicated. But we make it complicated, by overanalysing and overthinking our every decision and allowing our emotions to become obstacles to our actions.

So, how do you overcome this?

First, start with the following:

Here are three questions to help with this:

• ‘What's the one thing I absolutely have to do today?’
• ‘What's the very first action I need to take to do this?’
• ‘What are the consequences if I don't do it?’

And in order to avoid confusing activity with effectiveness, here's another question to ask:

• ‘Is what I'm doing now taking me closer to my goal?’ (If not, why are you doing it?)

Once you've answered these questions, start taking action.

Here's another quote from the motivational speaker Zig Ziglar:

You don't have to be great to start, but you do have to start to be great.

He's got a point.

I'm writing this book in the midst of an incredibly busy speaking schedule, but the key to writing it is to start writing it. Simple, eh? And it's more likely to happen when you realize this:

And if you want to know what separates successful people from the rest of the crowd, commit this next sentence to memory:

Commitment is the ability to carry on long after the excitement has gone.

I rarely get excited about taking exercise (in fact, I'm never excited) but I'm committed to doing it. I don't talk about it, or spend endless hours working out an exercise routine and what gear to wear.

I do it.

It's based on a decision, not a feeling.

So, let me be blunt with you.

Your great life won't happen because you dream about it. And much as we'd like it to, the universe isn't going to serve it up to you on a plate.

You've got to do something.

You've got to take your talk for a walk and maybe today would be a good day to start.

Because if you don't … well, how about you reflect on these words of Steve Jobs:

A life of success, fulfilment, and happiness does not just happen by accident.

It happens by action.

So, quit the talking and do some walking.

Today.