Here's how to realise your dreams. And there are only four steps to cover, so it's easy. Some people will give you a list of 74 steps to fulfil your dreams, together with a five-year plan. By the time you get to step 45, you've lost the will to live and certainly any desire to accomplish whatever you started out after. Four is much more manageable, you'll agree.
First, you must turn your dream into a goal. Why? So you can tune in to opportunities to achieve your dream. There is a thing called your reticular activating system. It sits somewhere in your brain and tells you what to focus on. So when you make your dream tangible, by getting it down in black and white, you switch this system on. And it begins drawing your attention to things it feels are relevant to your quest. A similar thing happens when you buy a new car. Your reticular wotsit begins drawing your attention to similar cars and you suddenly realise how COMMON they are. The damn things are everywhere! Where did they all come from? Truth is, they were always there, and you just never noticed them before. Same thing happens when you turn your wishy washy dream into a concrete goal.
So that is your first step; create a goal. You do that by sitting down and writing out all the details of your dream. So that it becomes tangible.
And I do mean all the details. "I want a big house." Doesn't do it. You need to answer all the questions that statement brings up:
"How big?" "How many rooms?" "What is the size of the garden?" "How many garages, stables and gazebos?" And so on.
You need to know when you want it. A goal without a deadline is still a dream.
And you absolutely have to know why you want it. You need to have a reason; and it needs to be your reason. You know what I mean. We all do things because we feel we should. Or because our parents or partners or colleagues say we should. Make sure that your goals really are yours.
Keep writing until you are sure you have completed all the details.
Now you have a goal!
Second, ask yourself where you are now in relation to that goal. What is so? What have you achieved so far? What have you tried, with what result? Who can you seek help from? What resources do you have, or can acquire, that will help you?
Now you know where you stand. You may want to revise parts of your goal before you go on to ...
Third, ask yourself what is the next step? There is always a next step, always something you can be doing to further your progress towards your goal. Most of the time we know what our next step is. But often we just don't take it. And that is part of being human. And a very good reason for me to suggest, in step two, that you identify people you can seek help from. Ignore the personal development gurus who imply that you can do this on your own. Truth is, we humans are very bad at doing things on our own; motivating ourselves to keep going when things seem to be working against us is not part of the average person's skill-set. Get help. Invite others to support you - even though that support may often seem like nagging!
Fourth, take at least one step towards your goal every day. Then loop back to step three (or sometimes step two, if the results of an action mean you need to revise your goal or your strategy)
And that's really it! That's all you have to do. Take those steps over and over again and I promise you, your dreams will come true!
To recap:
1. Turn your dream into a goal - make it tangible.
2. Find where you are now relative to your goal. 3. Ask yourself, "What's next?"
4. Take action and loop back.
One last point. When it comes to taking action - do the stuff that works! We're very good at spending our time doing irrelevant stuff that seems so important but does nothing to move us forward. From tidying the desk when we should be phoning the bank to watching ‘reality TV' when we should be writing a business plan. And don't pretend you don't do this - we all do it. Just try to do it less and replace it with stuff that works; actions that take you closer to your goal.
