Dreams Don’t Happen in Draft Mode

There’s this quote by David J. Schwartz that’s been rattling around in my brain lately:

“Life is too short to waste. Dreams are fulfilled only through action, not through endless planning to take action.”

Now, I love a good plan. I have journals full of them—half-sketched outlines, lists of goals, detailed project trackers with color-coding that would make a teacher weep with pride. But you know what? Planning is sneaky. It feels like progress, but it can also be procrastination in disguise.

I think Schwartz was basically wagging his finger at all of us list-makers, telling us to close the notebook and just do the thing already.

The Seduction of the Plan

There’s something delicious about planning. You get that rush of imagining how it’s all going to turn out. You’ve got your timeline mapped, your action steps all lined up, and it feels like you’ve already taken a step forward. Except… you haven’t.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve planned to start a novel. I had the perfect character sheets, a Pinterest board of aesthetic inspo, and even a playlist. But the first chapter? Still sitting in my head, waiting to be written. The plan became my security blanket.

And honestly, it’s a comfortable trap. You don’t risk failure while you’re planning. You don’t risk embarrassment or rejection. You can just sit there sipping coffee, telling yourself, “Look at me, I’m preparing.”

But dreams don’t grow in the land of preparation. They grow in the messy, sometimes awkward territory of action.

The Action Gap

The gap between “I’ll do this someday” and “I’m doing it right now” is where most dreams go to die. That sounds dramatic, but you know it’s true.

Take, for example, that friend who always talks about writing a screenplay. Every time you see them, it’s: “I’ve got this amazing idea, I just need to polish my outline.” Years go by. Still no script. Meanwhile, someone else with half the talent but twice the gumption already has a short film on YouTube and a festival submission under their belt.

Action beats perfection every single time.

Life Really Is Too Short

Here’s the part of the quote that hits me hardest: “Life is too short to waste.”

When you’re younger, it feels like you have all the time in the world to get around to things. But the older I get, the more I realize that time is the one resource I can’t refill. I can’t go back and rewrite my twenties or redo my thirties.

So why am I wasting precious hours color-coding my planner instead of taking one messy step forward on my goals?

It’s like standing on the diving board all day, psyching yourself up, adjusting your goggles, making sure the water temperature is just right. Meanwhile, the pool is sitting there waiting. Jump in. The water’s not going to get any warmer.

A Personal Confession

I used to say I wanted to learn Spanish fluently. I downloaded apps, bought books, made vocabulary flashcards. For years, I “prepared” to get serious about it. But I never actually practiced speaking with real humans, which—spoiler alert—is the whole point of learning a language.

Then one day I just signed up for conversation lessons with a tutor online. My Spanish is still clumsy, but you know what? I’ve had actual conversations in Spanish now. That happened because I stopped planning to learn and actually started learning.

The 5-Minute Rule

Here’s something that helps me bridge the action gap: the five-minute rule. If I’m stuck in planning mode, I ask myself, “What’s one tiny thing I can do right now that moves this dream forward?”

• Want to write a book? Write a single paragraph.
• Want to start a podcast? Record five minutes of rambling into your phone.
• Want to run a marathon? Lace up your sneakers and just walk around the block.

It doesn’t have to be glamorous. The first step rarely is. But once you’ve taken it, you’ve broken the spell of endless preparation.

Planning Still Matters (Just Not Too Much)

Don’t get me wrong—I’m not saying throw your planner out the window. Some planning is necessary. You don’t want to wing everything in life; that’s how you end up with an unedited manuscript or a collapsed soufflé.

But planning should be the appetizer, not the main course. The main course is doing. It’s messy, imperfect, and way less comfortable than sitting around thinking about it. But it’s also the only thing that actually gets you closer to your dream.

So, What Now?

Here’s my little challenge (to myself as much as to anyone reading this): take one action today that moves you closer to something you’ve been planning forever. Doesn’t matter how small. Send the email. Write the messy draft. Sign up for the class. Do something.

Life is too short to waste on perfect outlines and endless to-do lists. Dreams are allergic to procrastination—they only come alive when we do.

So stop fluffing the pillows on your plan and start living the messy, unpredictable, exhilarating action part.

Catch you in the pool.