MOTIVATION - Actions Speak Louder Than Words

MOTIVATION – Actions Speak Louder Than Words


By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC November 2009

Ralph, Waldo Emerson says “What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.”

So many times I get the feeling that I am talking “at” people rather than talking to them or with them.

The perception, when you are engaged in conversation is that people are hanging onto every word that you say or alternatively, not listening at all. The reality is of course that it’s somewhere in the middle.

What does always really stand out however (well it does for me) is the credibility of the person who is speaking and in order for most people to gain credibility they have to be seen “Walking the talk”.

Let me tell you now, people are tired of “Talk Shows”! More and more people want to see that a person lives up the expectations that they have set up. They want to see that you are a person of your word, a person who can be depended on, a person of moral character.

Many years ago, when I was still a child, my father said “You have no control over the name that you bring into this world because it is the name that I have given you, but you are responsible for the name that you take out of this world because it is the name that you have made for yourself”.

It is something that I have been aware of my whole life and it is something that I live by and something that I live for within the parameters of my business. It is intrinsically who I am and what I stand for.

SMME’s (Small, Medium, Micro Enterprises), in general have earned themselves a reputation and sadly it is one of being unreliable, one of not being able to deliver.

Why? We because we are so busy telling people how fabulous we are, that there is no time to be the ‘fabulous’ that we say we are. On a personal level, I am far more comfortable being ‘fabulous’ than talking about how ‘fabulous’ I am. I am far more comfortable ‘doing’ than talking about doing.

So tell me – are you a ‘doer’ or are you just a talker? Do walk the talk or just talk the talk?

I know exactly which one I want to be know as – do you?


Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za