motion x action

This has been a real pain to figure out for the longest time, to be fair.

I think I've figured out the 'sweet spot' now, so here I am writing about my experience.

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I am grateful that you choose to start off your Monday mornings with me.

Thank you for your time.

We tend to get caught in one of two extremes: either we're constantly planning, learning, and strategizing without taking meaningful action—or we're moving at full speed without pausing to learn from our experiences and adjust our approach.

James Clear, the habit formation expert, frames this beautifully with his concept of "motion" versus "action."

Motion is when you're busy planning, strategizing, or learning – activities that feel productive but won't directly produce results.

Action, on the other hand, is behavior that directly leads to outcomes.

Think of ‘motion’ as reading about starting a business, while ‘action’ is making your first sale.

Here's the thing though – neither motion nor action alone is the answer. The real magic happens when you blend both.

And this took me the longest time to learn, through sheer trial and error.

Let me paint you a picture with me as an example, a year ago:

I had just discovered the AI opportunity, and it was one of the first business models that made me feel like I could do this for a long time without feeling bored. (For those of you who don't know, I run my own AI Business.)

For me, if I am going to do something, I always ask myself this question:

"Would I still do this if I was not guaranteed results (or money) for the next 6 months?"

I dabbled in copywriting, drop shipping, and e-commerce, but nothing seemed to stick. Until I entered this AI space.

For the next 6 months, I fell into a rabbit hole of endless content consumption – watching videos about building scalable systems, attending workshops on business strategy, and consuming course after course on communication skills... you name it, I probably watched it.

I never even thought about actually building the solutions I was watching tutorials on, let alone implementing them.

I knew I wanted to start a business. I just didn't feel ready enough, so I delayed taking action.

Because I wanted to take the perfect first step. I wanted to succeed so badly that it made me not even attempt in the first place.

This fear of 'getting it wrong' is what paralyzes most people from taking that first step of merely getting started.

It took me another month or two before I pushed myself to put myself out there and just start.

July 2024: I took action.

And now, almost 6 months later, I am so glad I did.

In fact, I wish I had started way before.

Here's the thing: neither motion nor action alone is the answer.

The real magic happens when you blend both.

Think about getting fit. Many folks spend weeks researching the perfect workout plan, buying gear, and reading about nutrition, but never actually step into the gym. (motion)

Then there are those who jump straight into intense workouts without learning proper form or understanding recovery, risking injury and burnout. (action)

This principle applies universally:

• Writers who balance reading about craft with actual writing

• Entrepreneurs who combine market research with real customer interactions

• Artists who mix studying techniques with hours of practice

• Athletes who alternate between training and analyzing game footage

Here's where most of us get stuck (me included).

We treat motion and action as sequential steps rather than parallel processes.

We tell ourselves, "I'll learn everything first, then act."

Both approaches leave value on the table.

Here's what I've found works: Validated learning (shout to Eric Reis - ‘The Lean Startup’)

Create feedback loops between learning and doing.

When you're in motion (learning, planning, strategizing), immediately apply those insights to your next action. When you're taking action, keep a list of questions or challenges that arise, and use those to guide your next learning session.

If I am watching a YouTube video, I note down stuff and usually act on it within 2 days.

And when I'm taking action, I note down any questions I have, and I go back to YouTube to figure it out. This cycle repeats until I have no more questions, and I learn the next action item.

The beauty of this approach is that it creates a compound effect.

Every piece of knowledge gains context through action, and every action becomes more refined through knowledge.

Ideas you encountered months ago suddenly click because you've built up enough real-world experience to truly understand them.

Remember this:

Motion alone will never get you results, no matter how much of it you do.

But action without learning will have you moving forward at a fraction of your potential speed.

The fastest path to mastery is the combination of both – learning while doing, and doing while learning.

My challenge to you this week:

Pick one area where you've been stuck in either motion or action.

If you've been over-planning, commit to taking one concrete action today. If you've been all action, schedule 30 minutes to step back, learn, and reflect.

Let this habit build, and watch it compound away.

If you are paralyzed by the fear of starting, my only piece of advice:

Start before you're ready.

Every expert you admire started as a beginner who dared to be imperfect.

The new year is close. Rest up and recharge.

Have the best week.

Godspeed. ⚡️