Go the Extra Mile Today and Make it Happen Tomorrow

Guest post by Shawn Anderson

“Hopefully, things will get better in the future.”

Have you ever thought those words? Have you ever said them? Chances are, in one form or another, you have. Wishing and waiting for things to change and for our lives to get better during cloudy moments is just human nature.

The wishing for things to change part? That’s fine. The waiting for things to change part? Well, that’s not so cool.

Shawn Anderson

Waiting for change is passive. Waiting for a sign, for direction, for the go-ahead from a boss, friend, the government, whomever…often leads to just more darn waiting. When we base our goals and future on someone else’s “Let’s see what happens” or “I’ll get back to you” agenda, we may end up waiting for the rest of our lives.

The bottom line is if you don’t like what’s going on in your life today, and if you’ve adopted a wait-and-see attitude regarding tomorrow, you are more than likely to have a future that looks very much the same as right now.

After 49 years of experiencing my definite share of rejections and cloudy days, I have learned: If change is going to be, it’s up to me! And if it’s up to me, I need to go the extra mile and make it happen!

Want a better tomorrow? Then don’t rely on others to fix your problems. Become your own activist, and change your future by changing what you do today. That’s all tomorrow really is: an accumulation of all our thoughts and actions from yesterday and today.

Want more sales tomorrow? Then go the extra mile and make more calls today.

Want a “You’re hired!” call in the future? Then go the extra mile and do more than submit a simple resume and application today.

Want to be healthier in the future? Then go the extra mile and start exercising and watching what you eat today. You get the idea.

Shaping a better tomorrow is all about going the extra mile and living a better today. Changing our direction and getting more of what we want out of life has nothing to do with continuing to walk the status quo road. Instead, it has everything to do with taking our personal effort up a notch and going the extra mile…in our goals, in our families, in our organizations and in our communities. That’s how things change. That’s how you and I can create the changes we individually seek.

Here’s an extra-mile challenge for you.

I dare you to do one extra-mile activity daily in each of the following three areas:

1) For your goals.
2) For another person.
3) For your organization.

I promise that if you put yourself into this sort of continual extra-mile motion, positive events and moments will start to pop up in your life far more frequently.

And I know that will leave you smiling.

Extra Mile America

About Shawn Anderson . . .

Shawn Anderson is a bestselling author and national keynote speaker. His go the extra mile philosophy and ability to produce winning results have been praised by national political leaders, Olympic Gold Medal and world record holders, and media outlets across the country.

In addition to being a six-time author, Shawn is the Founder of the Extra Mile America Foundation, a non-profit organization. Through the Foundation, Shawn will lead the charge in encouraging 300+ U.S. mayors representing all 50 states to declare November 1, 2012, as Extra Mile Day…a day to acknowledge the capacity we each have to create positive change in our families, organizations and world when we go the extra mile.

For more information, visit http://www.ShawnAnderson.com or http://www.ExtraMileAmerica.org.


Many people proudly boast “Hire me…and I will help you sell books!” But in my eyes, there is really only one guy whose results match his words … John Kremer. — Shawn Anderson, bestselling author and founder of Extra Mile America



This is a history of the momentum that has been building for Extra Mile America Day:

  • 2009: 23 mayors made the November 1 declaration.
  • 2010: 116 mayors made 11/1 Extra Mile Day.
  • 2011: 228 mayors in all 50 states made the declaration.
  • 2012: 300+ mayors will acknowledge the power of going the extra mile and declare 11/1/12 Extra Mile Day.

About John Kremer

John Kremer is author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, the Relationships Matter Marketing program, and many other books and reports on book marketing, Internet marketing, social media, and book publicity. -- .

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