The circumstances you're waiting for won't make you take action; they'll just give you better excuses.
I spent a week and a half last month in Europe with my wife.
First hotel? Fantastic gym. Full equipment. Empty most mornings. Easy to stay consistent.
Second hotel? Different story.
Limited equipment. It was crowded the two times I went in. The perfect setup to tell myself, "I can't get a good workout in here."
And for about 10 seconds, I almost bought that story.
Then I remembered something I teach teams every week: The gap between who you are and who you're becoming isn't closed by better conditions - it's closed by better choices.
So I loaded my backpack with books, my laptop, and everything else I could fit. Climbed 6 flights of stairs. Up and down. For 25 minutes straight.
Not ideal? Correct.
Did it count? Absolutely.
Here's what I see happening everywhere in sales, leadership, and business:
Sales reps don't make outbound calls because they don't have the perfect script yet.
Leaders avoid giving team feedback because they worry about saying the wrong thing.
New speakers won't reach out for opportunities because they don't feel 100% confident yet.
Entrepreneurs delay launching their product because it isn't quite perfect.
We convince ourselves that if we just had better circumstances, we'd take action.
But that's the lie that keeps you stuck.
The truth?
If you won't take action when circumstances are less than ideal, you won't take action when they're perfect either.
Because there will always be another reason to wait. Another gap to fill. Another condition that needs to be met first.
The stairwell didn't care about my excuses. The calls don't care if your script is perfect. Your team doesn't need flawless feedback—they need honest feedback. Your prospects don't need a perfect pitch—they need a real conversation.
You can have an excuse, or you can have exercise.
You can wait for perfect conditions, or you can create progress in imperfect ones.
The Competitors I know? They don't wait for the ideal. They work with available.
3 IMMEDIATE ACTION STEPS:
1. IDENTIFY YOUR "PERFECT CONDITIONS" EXCUSE
Write down the one thing you've been postponing because circumstances aren't ideal.
Be brutally honest. Is it making calls without the perfect script? Launching before everything is polished? Having a difficult conversation? Name it.
2. FIND YOUR "STAIRWELL"
What's the imperfect-but-available action you can take today?
You don't need the full gym - you need the stairs. You don't need the perfect script - you need to dial. You don't need the perfect plan - you need the next step.
Do the imperfect thing within the next 24 hours.
3. SET A "WORK WITH WHAT I HAVE" RULE
Create a personal commitment: "When I notice myself waiting for better conditions, I will take some action with current conditions within 15 minutes."
Make this your default response to excuse-making.
Do what you can until you can do what you want.
Don't drift today. Compete.