One thing I've learned in my twenty-some years on this earth is that everyone I can meet either "Can do something so incredibly well" or "Can't do THAT, it's too out of my realm."

"I can do that! It's incredibly easy!"
"I can't do that, I never learned how"
"I've done this a million times before.'
"I've never done anything like this."

My answer is always: "Prove it."

Not that I don't believe what people tell me, but I've found that a lot of the time, the "I can" or "I can't" doesn't match the actual result. The number of times I've gotten a horrible product from someone who claimed to be an expert is about equal to the number of times I've heard "I can't do that" from someone who I know very well can do it.  

It might seem a little harsh, but I don't care what you've done in the past. I care what you're doing right now. Yes, I'll listen to your story of what's happened to you, and how you go to where you are today. I won't, however, absolve you from moving forward. 

I've been there - rock bottom. 3 sales for the month, goal is 40. My boss would ask me if I'd hit goal, and I'd say "I can hit goal". Or, I'd go for the honest route and say "I don't think I can, it's too late."

Neither one of those responses were affirmative action. I'd sit at my desk for 4 out of 8 hours worrying if I was going to hit goal instead of going out and creating my own opportunities. 

Maybe I would reach my goal. Maybe I wouldn't. But if I didn't, would I be able to really say that I did everything I could to hit it? No way, especially if I wasted at least 20 hours a week worrying whether or not it would happen.

Same goes for if I did hit goal. Should I celebrate because I squeezed by? Would I feel proud? I probably would, but I was so narrow minded that I didn't think, "hey, I still spent 20 hours a week worrying. That could have made me exceed my goal." 

I grew comfortable in mediocre. The skin of my teeth was success for me. 

And then I realized that what I said I could do, what I said couldn't do, what I said might do, were nothing compared to what I did do. 

Talk really is cheap. Action is gold. 

Give me a silent achiever over a smooth talker any day.