Initiative is the precursor to success - it's the prime ingredient, the sine qua non of every accomplished goal, successful project, and realized wish in history. Initiative is having the guts and the wherewithal to proclaim, "I am capable. I am competent. I can do this." It's the confidence to not only have dreams, but to chase them - to actively purse the goals you envision yourself achieving. Initiative is the catalyst that reacts with opportunities, those rare moments of possibility which are rarely long to linger. We say to "grab" or "seize" it because often as not, once those opportunities present themselves, they've already vanished if we haven't already poised ourselves to react. Without initiative, you're left with only inertia, forever stuck in neutral, lacking the spark, the necessary first push to overcome your sedative state; without growth, without change, without success. If you want to know why initiative is important, ask yourself: does that sound like the kind of life you want to live?