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Instead, they get stuck wondering about the correct way to contact a publisher and worrying about whether or not they should hire an agent. They spend weeks learning the correct format, font type and size. They practice the wacky entrance they'll use on their Conan O'Brien appearance. And they still have yet to type a solitary sentence of content.

That's what today is for, and why it's going to suck so much less when you put the planning and organization on hold and actually do something that gets you closer to achieving that goal. Are you wanting to move up in your career? Awesome. Make an appointment to sit down with your boss and let her know your intentions. Ask her for feedback. Want to lose 30 pounds? That's great, stop right now and do 10 situps.

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OK, so I don't know what situps are. But that looks like it would work, right?

Focusing on how long it's going to take to type 80,000 words or see a visual difference in your body or save up for a down payment ... it becomes so easy to just keep putting it off or to give up altogether. That planning stage is brutal, and if you let yourself linger in that perpetual procrastination, your dreams are just going to stay dreams. The world is full of people with good intentions, but I've yet to encounter a bill collector who let me slide, explaining to their boss, "Well, his heart is in the right place." No, they didn't let me off the hook until I started doing things that moved me up the ladder and brought in the money to pay them.