JUST DO IT – Series 1

I had thought ‘Just Do It’ was the preserve of the Nike Company until I came across Actor Shia LeBoeuf’s ‘Just Do It’ video campaign while doing research for my article.

In the video, LeBeouf is screaming furiously and contorting his body into several positions. His aim I gather is motivational, to get his audience to Just Do It! I understand the video was made in May Last year and is only a segment from a collaborative video project by Central Saint Martins Fine Arts 2015 students. LeBeouf was just a generous happy camper willing to help.

Nike however uses JUST DO IT as its trademark and one of the core components of its brand. Since 1988 when the phrase was coined and launched as part of its ad campaign, Nike’s identity has been firmly entrenched in that phrase. Just mentioning it pops up the Nike Logo in my mind. Nike owns it completely.

And that leaves me at a loss for what to call this series of articles. I realize that I too may get buried beneath the millions of JUST DO IT paraphernalia on the www. But that’s the phrase that thoroughly captures everything I want to say in this series. I’m taking my chances alongside the thousands of movies, books, poems, articles, motivational speeches that we barely get to find beneath the powerful Nike JUST DO IT.

I really wish the sum total of my inability to get things done could be resolved by buying and wearing another pair of NIKEs. I wish continuous replay of LeBoeuf’s video would force me to get up and do the things I know need to be done.

Doing is one of the hardest things ever!

And so I totally understand Apostle Paul when he says “I do not understand myself for that which I ought to do, I do not...”

I also do not understand myself when at the end of the day, my TO DO list remains undone only to be transferred to a new day with its own list of things to do.

If I evaluate my actions on a daily basis, I realize that I often barely earn my keep. To be honest there are some days I am indebted to the company; days when I have done absolutely nothing but utilized available resources.

Is it just me or do Apostle Paul and I have company?

This 3-part series will explore why we end up not doing what we ought to do and hopefully provide suggestions to enable us achieve our goals.

Enjoy,