"Talk is cheap" is a phrase we've all heard. It's been said so often that it has become a cliche. As with most cliches, the law of familiarity has made it hard for us to understand what the phrase really means. We're so sick of hearing it that we no longer pay attention to it. Still, it's true that talk is cheap. Talking about things is easy, and most people do. In reality, most people "talk a good game" all the time. But what people actually do is what sets them apart, not what they say they will do.
People's actions are more important to us than what they say. We judge people based on how they act and what they do. This is because, deep down, we all know that words can't really make anything happen on their own. The only way to get real results from what you say is to back it up with actions. Even though most of us know this, we still spend a lot of time trying to learn more. When we learn something new, we become very interested in what we think it can do for us. We often confuse getting results with getting more information, so we end up gathering and storing a lot of information and knowledge without getting the results we wanted.
Action is what you should do when you know something. Getting more knowledge can make us feel more confident, but it won't give us the results we really want on its own. One of the most common myths in the information age is that knowing more gives you more power. Knowledge isn't power. It is only power that could be used. The real power comes from what you do with what you know. People are different because of what they did with the same information that someone else didn't do. The way things are in the world we live in, information about almost anything is free and available to anyone who wants it.
Even if you have access to all the information in the world, the most valuable thing you have to make things happen in your life is your ability to act. Every action always has an effect. When you act on an idea, you put it into motion and use your will to do something to reach a certain goal. When you do this, you create in the truest sense of the word because you turn an idea into something real. You show what was inside you to the outside world. Every action is a cause that sets something else in motion, and every cause has an effect. We are all most interested in the effects or results. You don't want to find out that you could be rich. You want to see and touch it, and making your ideas come true is what gives you the most satisfaction.
A big difference exists between knowing what to do and actually doing it. Most people know what to do to make their lives work, but knowing isn't enough. We have to act on what we know and put it to use. When you act on an idea, something that can't be seen or touched happens. You start a chain of things happening, and you don't always know what will happen next. When you throw a stone into a pond, the ripples move everything in or on the water, just like when you throw a stone into a pond. This shows that even if you aren't always aware of it, a single action can have a big effect. On a more concrete and practical level, you start to get feedback from your actions and learn things that you can only learn by doing things. You can't learn these things by just listening to other people or reading books.
Think of your ideas and knowledge as a stretchy band. It can be stretched, but until you stretch it, you're not using it for what it was made for. Most information comes from outside. When you learn something, it becomes knowledge, and when you use that knowledge, it becomes a part of your life. To really know anything in life, you have to do something. Just knowing isn't enough. We all want to feel, and the only way to do that is to use "all of you," or all of your senses, to experience life in all its fullness.
Not many ideas are needed to make a change in your life. It doesn't take a hard idea either. To get what you really want, you need ideas that you can use and act on. Almost never is it the information or ideas themselves that you really want; they are just a means to an end. You really want results, and the only way to get those is to use what you know. Don't get overwhelmed by all the information and knowledge out there. Start putting your mind on doing things and putting ideas to use instead of collecting them. Slowly give yourself more and more information and knowledge, but let your actions be the most important thing you do. In the end, what you actually do, not what you say you will do, is what will determine the quality of your life and what you do or don't accomplish.
