Lately I've been motivated to focus more on doing, rather than spending too much time thinking, planning, or talking about doing whatever it is I need to get done. These are the three quotes that have taught me more about the power of doing. 

1. Do the thing, and you shall have the power.

“Do the thing and you shall have the power” means that you need to actively do whatever it is you need to do in order to get to where you want to be.

Sometimes I get caught up in thinking/writing/planning too much. I noticed this happening when I would write the same thing day after day in my morning pages, which meant that I wasn't really moving forward. I was spending too much time writing about the things I want to do, rather than going out in the world and doing them.

I’ve learned now that: The writing/thinking/planning is not the thing, the doing is the thing. Nothing will happen unless I’m actively doing: creating or taking important action towards my goal.

▸  The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson

2. The reward is in the doing.

You should enjoy the act of doing whatever you’re doing. Do it for its own sake, not for any goal or reward at the end. You also want to focus on the doing, and not the end result, because you can't control the outcome. You can only control what you do in the present moment, so learn to find the joy in doing.

▸  Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield

3. Do a lot of work.

This quote comes from Ira Glass in his famous interview about closing the creative gap. If you haven’t seen it already, do yourself a favor and watch it.

If you want to grow, you just have to do, continuously. Create. Practice. Keep doing a lot of work. And over time you will evolve and get better. Only after doing a huge volume of work, will you finally get to where you want to be.

▸  Ira Glass on Storytelling