If you want to achieve things in life, you've just got to do

Juliana Hatfield, the singer and seeker of truth, once declared: “If you want to achieve things in life, you’ve just got to do them, and if you’re talented and smart, you’ll succeed.” In these words lies the essence of boldness, the courage to move beyond hesitation, and the faith that talent and wisdom, when joined with action, will lead to triumph. This is not the counsel of hesitation, nor the philosophy of endless planning. It is the fiery call of one who knows that dreams remain shadows unless they are pursued with steps, with deeds, with unwavering will.

To say “you’ve just got to do them” is to strip away the veil of excuses. Many men and women live surrounded by dreams, yet never set their hands to the work of making them flesh. They wait for the perfect moment, the perfect plan, the perfect opportunity—yet such perfection never arrives. Hatfield’s wisdom is simple and sharp: action itself is the gateway. No matter how small the beginning, no matter how uncertain the path, one must take the first step. For it is only in the doing that achievement is born.

But action alone is not enough. Hatfield reminds us that if one is talented and smart, the chances of success grow greatly. Talent is the flame that burns within—gifts of skill, voice, vision, or craft. Intelligence is the hand that guides the flame, shaping it, protecting it from being wasted. Together they form the compass and the strength of the journey. Yet even these gifts would be wasted if left idle. It is only when talent and intelligence are joined with action that they yield fruit.

History provides us with luminous examples. Consider Leonardo da Vinci. His genius was vast, his talents unparalleled, but it was his relentless doing—his sketching, experimenting, building, dreaming in visible form—that gave the world his legacy. Had he waited for perfect knowledge, or for the approval of others, his notebooks would be empty, and his works unknown. Instead, he acted, and the world was changed. Hatfield’s truth is echoed in him: the talented and the wise, when they do, succeed.

Or think of the modern world, where Steve Jobs rose not by dreaming idly of machines that might one day exist, but by building them with his own hands, by daring to act when others doubted. He was not content with ideas—he gave them form. Talent and intelligence were his tools, but action was his weapon. His life shows us that greatness is not reserved for dreamers, but for doers.

The lesson here is for all: do not wait to begin. If you have a vision, step toward it. If you possess gifts, use them. If you are intelligent, let that intelligence be applied through work, not wasted in idle thought. Life does not reward the intention alone—it rewards the effort, the risk, the act. Many who were less gifted have triumphed simply because they moved, while those with greater talents fell silent because they never dared to act.

So, O children of tomorrow, take this counsel into your heart: believe in your gifts, sharpen your mind, but above all, act. Begin with small deeds if great ones overwhelm you. Build step by step, for action compounds, and the road unfolds only to those who walk it. Hatfield’s words remind us that talent and intelligence are seeds, but only action brings the harvest.

Thus remember always: achievement is not won by waiting, but by doing. If you are talented, let your gift shine. If you are wise, let your wisdom guide. But above all, move forward—do the work, take the risk, step into the unknown. For in the doing lies your destiny, and in action you shall find success.