Do you struggle to get things done? Do you procrastinate until it’s either too late to finish or too late to finish adequately? Well, did you know there was a simple mind trick that can magically transform your procrastinating ways into the motivation you need to finally be a productivity wizard?

Find the burning WHY that drives you and the HOW will follow. Your WHY is what burns in your soul. It is the reason behind your activity. It is the fundamental purpose and passion that animates you.

There’s a reason Michael Jordan is Michael Jordan and not Michael Phelps or Michael J. Fox or Michael Jackson. His name became synonymous with basketball because basketball is what he focused all his time on. He lived and breathed it. He married it. What have you married? What do you live and breathe?

It’s often the very first step that’s the hardest. Writing the book is not always the toughest part. It’s writing the first word on the first page. Running a business is often easier than exercising the guts to start it. The first step of every journey is often the most difficult to take which is why relatively so few journeys are conscientiously taken and so few dreams fulfilled.

It’s often the simplest things that have the most profound effects on our lives. It’s also often the case that those simple things—especially if the effects of doing them are not immediately apparent—get put off most regularly.

Procrastination is an insidious habit that makes life more hectic, hurried and panicked. It robs us of peace, undermines excellence and degrades the joy that excellence produces. But does procrastination always undermine excellence, happiness and peace? Perhaps not.

Do you have an extra 5 hours a day you could devote to doing what you love? If you could find 5 hours, that would translate to and extra 34 hours a week, or 136 hours most months and 1,768 hours a year. That’s a whopping 8,840 hours in just 5 years’ time and 17,680 hours in a decade you can devote to learning something, overcoming something, developing something, to creating an amazing life. If you are anything like the national average, I can offer you the gift of those 5 extra hours, free of charge.

I challenge you to do something you’ve always wanted to do. Or learn something you’ve wanted to learn. Or go somewhere you yearn to go. A talent you wish you had. A skill you want to develop. A hobby you want to pursue. But don’t wait. Start today. Not next year or next week or in a couple days. Tomorrow. At the latest.

What separates you from the realization of your goals is nothing more than a series of decisions made consistently over time. 92% of those who set goals fail to achieve them. Become the 8% by doing what the 8% do!

Guest post by Farouk Radwan: What is the most precious asset you own? Is it your house? Your investments? Your current skill set? Even combined, they pale in comparison to what is an even more valuable asset. Your most precious asset is your time! Just think about it. If you were to use your time wisely, you would be much more likely to acquire whatever other asset you’re after.

Guest post by Stephen Martin: Much of what I’ve been able to accomplish over the past few years – being a father, writing a book, staying energized in my day job – came about largely because of what I learned from doing laundry. Gradually, three principles emerged from the never-ending supply of dirty socks. Following them not only allowed me to keep my kids clothed most of the time. They also nurtured a personal breakthrough, taking my writing career in new directions during the absolute busiest time of my life.

Second in an ongoing feature here, excerpts from comments left by readers are used to introduce topics. My readers comments are about as eloquent and insightful and pithy as the most famously quoted. Come see what I mean and discover the passion to live higher and bolder, taking action in your life to build something out of the clay of your life that will be richly rewarding, deeply happy and profound.

Does it sometimes feel like you’re running in circles, seemingly getting nowhere? Is procrastination a thorn in your side that just won’t go away? Come read this guest post by Farouk Radwan and learn how to beat procrastination and accomplish your biggest goals in life. The secret is deceptively simple. And so is your next step.

Are you secretly longing for something more? Are there obstacles that stand in your way? Or have you fallen asleep at the wheel of your life? Well today is the time to wake up! Grab hold of the wheel, and start steering in the direction of what ticks inside your heart and soul. Now is the time. Stop waiting for things to change. And start taking action to change your life forever!

Pain is Life’s great master-teacher. It is the refiner’s fire, the heat that destroys the bacteria of life. It can burn off impurities, or it can consume and destroy. Our attitude, however, determines the outcome. But what do the trials and adversities of life teach us? What lessons are we to learn? What impurities does the heat of trial and tribulation burn off?

Thanks all for the emails alerting me of the problem with the comments. Problem fixed! This is the 2nd Edition of Quotable Notables on Happiness. I invite you to read, ponder and apply what you find here. It will make a difference to your happiness. And follow the links to some amazing sites whose authors and creators are engaged in producing some amazing work!

Inaction is one of the universal anti-principles to living – it produces apathy and boredom, laziness, anxiety, ill health and depression. Happiness, on the other hand, requires action. We must do certain things. And as we do them consistently, over time, we reap the benefits of a happier life. Action takes effort. Doing requires determination and desire. But doing can also lead to being.