Inertia is as great a force in human development as it is in nature. Defined as the resistance of any physical object to a change in its state of motion, inertia is the reason why the “stuck” things in your life tend to stay stuck while that which is in motion tends to continue moving.

To be effective in life, you must learn how to work effectively with inertia. On the one hand, you must know how to get things moving that are a standstill and on the other, you must be effective at stopping things that are in motion but shouldn’t be.

One practical way to get started is to be deliberate about creating and maintaining the ever-popular “to-do list” and the not-so-popular “to-not-do list.” Manage both lists actively and weight both lists equally.

A second important step is to create a bias toward action. Gather the facts and take the time you have to analyze them, but don’t hesitate to act when the time is right. Furthermore, don’t be afraid of making mistakes. If the fear of making a mistake can stop you, it will.

Third, don’t be afraid of succeeding. The fear of success comes in many flavors, but perhaps the most common is caused by a fear of standing out. We, as human beings, typically long to belong. A successful life based in having a bias for action will tend to make you stand out in a crowd and as an aspiring leader, you must get used to the idea that you might stand alone on occasion.

A bias toward action requires a willingness to experiment regularly. You must, on occasion, take risk. Andre Malraux, French historian, novelist and statesman said it best: “Often the difference between a successful person and a failure is not one that has better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on one’s ideas, to take a calculated risk – and to act.”