Posted on October 01, 2010 by CJ Article Team

At present we live in an era that has been dubbed “The Information Age”. The advent of the internet has made all information accessible within the click of a button, making it possible to become an expert in any field.

One would think that with such an accessible resource, everybody should have exactly what they wanted. With such resources everybody should be the top of their field. With such resources, opportunities should be ripe and everybody should know exactly how to create success in their lives.

The information age has promised this and more, but has it delivered? Has it given us everything that we want? Does it provide opportunities and ultimately, success?

Despite these perceived advantages, the answer seems to be a resounding, “No”.

The main reason for the prevailing “failure” of the information age is that there is simply too much information. There are too many options. There are too many things to do. There are too many ways to do them. There is just too much “stuff”. And the result? Overwhelm, disorientation, confusion, and most notably – Paralyzing Procrastination.

The unfortunate fact is that with so much to choose from, nobody seems able to make a choice. The information age has become, as they say, “too much of a good thing”. The shear volume of facts, hint, tips, strategies, and advice, overwhelms the mind, and one is always left feeling that they simply don’t know enough.

The result?

Paralyzation! Nobody can act anymore. Everything becomes theory and instead of innovation and development, information becomes simply a different way of saying the same thing. Everybody is talking, everybody has a voice, and with all the noise it’s almost impossible to distinguish and make sense of anything.

However, in the midst of this gulf of words, there are a few who have managed to cultivate the true power of the information age. These select few are the ones that manage to find what they need and then to utilize that power. These lucky few have developed special traits and habits which give them this advantage. They follow a specific roadmap which includes many of the following characteristics:

Information/Action Ratio: Your information/action ratio should be 1:1 or even more skewed towards action. This means for every one hour of information gathering you need AT LEAST one hour of action.

Implement Immediately: Once you discover a piece of information that you find useful you must implement it immediately. Thinking about it will waste valuable mental energy and defeats the purpose of acquiring information in the first place.

Action is Learning: People look for solutions to problems that they don’t even have. When you take action you know exactly what you need. When you think about what you may need then your brain will come up with all types of false problems. Our brains are designed this way for safety. Taking action means not only do you learn, but you also learn what you need to learn to progress.

Simplicity: There are a million things to do and a hundred ways to do each thing. Only pick things that you really want and need to do. Once you know what you want to do, find the simplest and most effective way of doing it. Don’t let other methods distract you. When you find a solution drill down and make it as simple and repeatable as possible. Our brains love simplicity, clarity and repeatability.

Information is powerful, but as the great philosopher Confucius pointed out, it is nothing without action. The information age can be paralyzing and you must find ways to utilize the power without getting sucked into the confusion. Get clear on what you want, find out how to do it, and then the most important step – DO IT!

Don’t be afraid of failure. Don’t be afraid if you don’t know exactly what you are going to do. Don’t be afraid of ACTION! If you are afraid, the cure is….ACTION! Get going, break past the confusion, and escape the paradox of choice!