Activation

Activation is the moment you publish the blog post you’ve been meaning to write. 

Activation is moment you schedule a date with the person you’ve been meaning to ask out. 

Activation is the moment you say ‘yes’ to the things you’ve been meaning to include in your life and ‘no’ to the things you’ve been meaning to remove from it. 

We all have things that we have the intention of doing but haven’t gotten to — activation is when and you finally do it.

Activation is the crossing part of crossing the chasm — the process by which you actually get from where you are to where you know you need to be. 

Activation is rarely a solo effort, but rather a stage you reach with the help of resources in your environment: it could be a friend that cheers you on, a therapist that helps you put things into perspective, a compelling book, a major life event, a podcast, an eye-opening documentary, a great YouTube video, a billboard, a support group, this blog post, or perhaps a combination of these things that springs you into action. 

Activation flows both ways — in the same way people and ideas can get you to act, the words and ideas you choose communicate to others can have the same effect.

Understand that everyone is on on the cusp of doing the things that matter to them and in many cases the moment they shift into action could be any moment — like now. 

Maybe me telling you to do what you’ve been meaning to do now is enough to get you to act, or maybe you need to hear it (framed in slightly different ways) 5-, 10- or even 15 more times. Whatever the case, you owe it to yourself, the people you care about, and the important work waiting to be done to surround yourself with the people and ideas that routinely inspire you and to pay it forward by aiming to inspiring others as well. 

At some point the exchange of energy and ideas do convert to action and it’s action that ultimately makes the world we wonder about possible.