"Dream big dreams! Only big dreams have the power to move men's souls." The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius said that.
And it's a plain simple fact: most people fail at goal setting because the goal isn't worthwhile enough. It doesn't mean enough to risk the extra effort that's almost always involved in achieving a goal. There's no really strong desire behind the goal.
Napoleon Hill writing in the classic book, Think and Grow Rich, devoted an entire chapter to the subject of desire. He says desire is the beginning of all achievement, and he defines it as a "white hot" desire.
Hill quoted Thomas Edison on the power of a strong desire, "When a person really desires something so deeply that he is willing to stake his entire future on a single turn of the wheel in order to get it, he is sure to win." Now, that's a "white hot" desire.
If you have a problem coming up with that kind of desire it's time to stop right now and take a look at where that problem came from. When did it begin? Maybe you had some disappointments or setbacks in your past and you just simply don't want to get your hopes up again. I know the feeling.
Maybe you grew up without a lot of material things and it was just too painful to think about not having them, so you never thought outside of what you had. I know that feeling too!
But I also know that the day that we were evicted from our home in 1996, my dream and my desire were still very much alive. I remember walking out of the courthouse when the Judge had ordered us out in just 48 hours. When I got in my car I could still see the dream in my mind's eye. That's what kept me alive. It's what kept me going. If I hadn't had that, I don't know what would have happened.
Whatever the reason that's caused you not to dream big, you've got to identify the negative programming behind that and change it. It's getting in the way of living the life you want to live. It may be the only obstacle that you truly have.
One of the great exercises that you can do is one that Mark Victor Hansen teaches and I really love it. Pretend you're a kid again, without any limits or few limits. When you ask most kids what they want they don't have any limits.
Now, take a pad of paper with that attitude. Go find a quiet place. Put some relaxing music on. Set a timer for 20 minutes. Now in those 20 minutes, write down a hundred and one dreams, things you like to have or do. Don't think about whether you can accomplish it or not, don't prequalify the goal. Don't judge it. Whatever dreams come to mind, put them on the list. Remember, you've only got 20 minutes.
Ask yourself the question what do I want to do? What do I want to have? Where do I want to go? Where do I want to live? How many homes do I want to have? What contributions do I want to make? What do I want to learn, from whom and where? Who do I want to spend my time with? How much do I want to earn, save and invest? What's my ideal net worth? What will I do for fun and optimum health?
After you've built that list, cherish those goals, honor those goals, maybe transfer them to a nice journal where you can refer to them often. Use this list as the motivation for your future goal setting.
Be on the lookout for new things to do, new dreams. Lisa and I bought the book "A Thousand Places to Visit Before You Die." Before we travel we look in the book and look for places to visit and we'll make a point to go see those. We've had some really interesting, interesting experiences, and it really kindles the fire.
Finally, never forget James Allen's instruction in As A Man Thinketh: Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become."
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