Dreams are underrated in many circles today. When someone suggests an idea for a project, the response can often be heard "you're just dreaming." If a politician of any persuasion insists on sticking to his political convictions and having a long-term vision for his country, he may be labeled an idealist or a dreamer. In short, many people view the dream as a waste of time that gets in the way of accomplishing whatever is necessary in our day-to-day lives.

However, perhaps these people have never understood that a dream can be responsible for the most amazing accomplishments in a person's life (and even in history). The dream is like a seed, and this seed must be cultivated for a long time without seeing results. Yet, eventually, and perhaps without warning, the tall and strong tree of accomplishment comes to stand in the place of the original dream.

If you were to examine closely the lives of many successful people throughout the United States and around the world, you would likely discover that in virtually all cases the success started with a simple dream of long-term accomplishment. Why is this exactly? It is likely because the dreams motivate us and excite us; they pull us out of our daily drudgery and give us a glimpse of what is possible if we simply try and move towards these goals a little bit each and every day.

If you wish to accomplish great things in your life, you must learn to dream and to dream big. You can begin by simply taking a sheet of paper and writing down everything you want to accomplish (or even think you want to accomplish) in each area of your life.

How much money would you like to make in five years? What kind of house would you own? What kind of marriage and family life would you have? Would you stay in the same career or choose to further your education? What about your physical fitness? What kind of health would you have?

These are just a few of the basic questions you need to answer in order to understand exactly what it is that you want out of life. In the coming days you can review your list and refine it to make sure you have the best dreams lists possible. Ask yourself if you truly want the item on your list, and then ask why? This can help you remove many of the frivolous items and whimsical ideas.

Of course, having the dreams lists is only the first step in achieving your goals. You must choose the most important objectives from this list and formulate them into a realistic and manageable list of goals for the coming years. You can separate the most important goals from those that can wait for the future. You can break them apart into smaller objectives that can be easily achieved on a weekly or monthly basis. You may even have to do considerable research in order to determine what needs to be done to achieve a particular goal (such as obtaining a particular professional degree or skill).

Nevertheless, your dreams lists is an essential first step to move you towards a better future where you can achieve things that you never thought possible.