Think Before You Act

[Knowing & Doing - IV]

Not “decide before you act”.
Not “conclude before you act”.
Not “solve before you act”.

By “think” I mean strategize.

Having it all figured out before you do anything means you’ll never do anything. Not anything that requires your skin, that’s risky, and that moves the needle in the end.

If you decide on the outcome, conclude the answer, or solve the problem before you act, the moment has passed. The iron isn’t hot anymore.

If you strategize—know who you want to become, what reputation you want to foster, what standards you want to uphold, what boundaries you want to push (and preserve), what world you want to create—the question of whether you should jump is not a question at all. Of course you should!

Tactics can change.
Approach and style change.
Strategy is something you come up with before tactics, and it will be around long after.