Start Acting!

-By Jaime Willis

"Contemplation often makes life miserable. 

We should act more, think less, and stop watching ourselves live."- Chamfort

Over the next few months, I am working on streamlining and simplifying my life.  Mostly by getting rid of stuff I don't need -- I spend way too much time worrying about picking up stuff, washing stuff, dusting stuff, putting stuff away when I could spend more time enjoying life.  

Not my books, but about the same amount. 

The first project I decided to tackle was my book collection.  I have thousands of books.  21 feet of  3-foot tall shelving in my apartment, filled and double-stacked with books.  I love books.  But, with all the technology available to me today, I don't need to keep that many books.  If I lived in a nice-sized home, I'd love to have a library.  But I live in a small apartment and books are taking over.

When you love books like I do, you realize how tough a job it is to cull your book collection.  You want the people who get your books to appreciate them the same way you did.  Which is why I decided to donate almost all of my books to a local high school.  Woodson High School students are moving into a brand new building next year, but the library is going to look pretty bleak -- they only have about 1,500 books for the entire building!  The librarian was ecstatic to hear about the number of books I was able to donate.  

As I was going through my books (my goal was to get rid of 90% of my collection), every time I was tempted to keep a book, I thought about a student at that school getting a chance to read that story for the first time.  That was enough for me to keep donating.  In the end, I have packed up 13 boxes of books for the high school, 4 more boxes for donation elsewhere, and am left with two not-full 6-foot shelves of books.  

This simplifying thing is something I have been thinking about for a while.  But, just like the quote above says, sometimes you need to stop thinking and start DOING.  

Think about a project that you have had on your mental to-do list forever.  Is there something you can DO to get that project started?  Do it.  Today. This Week.  Stop Waiting.  Start Doing.  

"Don't Wait.  The time will never be just right."

-Napoleon Hill