Achieve Goals and Live Your Dream

Have you ever wondered why some people are satisfied working in one career for 40 years and others are dissatisfied even though they switch jobs and careers every 10 years?

Or how about those who have no energy to go into work; every day is a battle at the office?  Compare this to those who cannot wait to see what the new day brings them at their job.  Every day at the office is a chance for them to achieve goals and live their dream.

These two individuals are exact polar opposites of each other. The experiences these two individuals may have vary greatly with the different challenges which helped shape their lives. However I believe that those who find their dreams and pursue them relentlessly will have a different outlook on life and experience life in a different fashion compared to those do not.  Once you are pursuing your dreams, you will be satisfied where you are headed because you know you are in pursuit of your dreams.

Take a look around you.  Everything you see is the result of someone else's dream. These are dreams that came true and were pursued by an individual.  The idea to overcome is that dreams are intangible, however they can manifest themselves into tangible objects if visualized and pursued with the correct mindset.

Stop Trying and Start Doing

"The word "try" does not belong in the realm of successful living. It is an "in-between" word that implies doubt."

This quote attacks the first obstacle that we face when trying to live out our dreams: ourselves.  By far, the biggest hindrance to your success and living your dreams is the self-doubt of your own mind.

Has there been a time when you wanted to do something but stopped because you thought you weren't qualified, smart enough, or just wouldn't succeed at it?  This is our own self-doubt and fear affecting our actions.  In this scenario, the thinking about the fear and doubt of not being qualified manifested into not doing what we wanted to and this in turn is hindering our lives.

First, think about completing what your dream is and not trying to actually go out and complete it. By picturing yourself doing the action in your mind, you will begin to overcome the self-doubt and manifest success.  Feel what it will be like to complete something as exhilarating as your dream.  Remember, what we think about in our minds will find a way to slowly affect our actions and change our lives as a result. 

We were not given fear in which to live by, however we allow it to creep into our lives and affect us.

Friends Affect Your Dreams

After climbing the obstacle of yourself there is another obstacle that remains that can still feel close to home...your friends.

Friends should epitomize the definition of support.  After all, if those who you call your closest friends don't support your dreams then who will? Your enemies? Doubtful. Those you call your friends should help you and encourage you to live your dreams.  They should be those you turn to for support in tough times as well as those you can pour your own success into. This give and take is vital to allowing you and your friends live out each of your dreams.

Friends who constantly remind you of your short comings and say, "that's impossible" when you share your dreams probably should not be in your list of friends. I firmly believe in the age old mantra, "show me your friends, and I will show you your future" that quote resonates in me and I hope it does the same for you.  Friends have and will continue to affect how you achieve goals and live your dream.

Whiner to Winner

Lastly, an important key take away is how external events affect you. Do events that you have no control over shape your life and make decisions for you?  All of us will experience failure, rejection, and turmoil in our lives.  What separates people is how we deal with those experiences.  If I focus on everything wrong in my life, or do not pursue my dreams because I met failure, then I am letting non-controllable events shape my life.

Whiners are those who do not see these events as beyond their control and instead complain that the world hates them etc. Or worse yet, they try to control these non-controllable events and spin their wheels with no resolution or advancement in their lives.

Winners are those who accept the failure that has happened, regroup, and continue charging ahead in pursuit of their dreams for they know that their dreams are bigger than themselves, their failures, or what other people think of them.

The difference between a whiner and a winner (besides two letters) is the choice that one makes on how to deal with external events that have happened to you. Again, it is a choice that you make; no one else can make it for you. However the rewards that follow this decision are great if you allow yourself to overcome your fears and move beyond your failures in pursuit of your dreams.

This post is based on the book Don't Let Anyone StillYour Dreams by Dexter R. Yager Sr.  It is an easy yet excellent read and I highly encourage anyone interested in today's post to read it. 

 One last quote from Yager’s book:

"Remember this is your dream. It is the product of your own subconscious. It is almost instinct. Trust it."

To Your Success,

How to Visualize Your Way to Success

Have you ever wanted to accomplish a certain task but were afraid you would fail? 

Have you ever attempted a project or presentation already knowing you were probably going to fail?

Have you ever made yourself so nervous about a given task that you couldn’t concentrate on the task and ended up not doing as good a job as you know you were capable?

If the answer to any of the above questions is yes, then you are not alone.  Being nervous, feeling inadequate, or being afraid of failure are natural thoughts that can creep into our brains if we allow them to.  Many of us experience these on a daily basis as we attempt to go through our day, at our jobs, or at school.

These thoughts can limit our experiences and accomplishments if we do not keep them in check.  The more we dwell on a certain outcome, the more our body reacts to this event as if it has already happened.

For example, if all you can think about is how nervous you will be about giving a speech in front of your classmates, your body will adapt to this thought by increasing your heart rate as the time to the speech draws near.  Sweaty palms might also be a symptom as your brain has communicated to your body that the chance of success is slim and therefore your body has prepared for the humiliation that goes along with failure.

All of this was started by thinking and dwelling on the fact of how nervous you were about standing up and giving a speech to your classmates.  Doesn’t sound like a recipe for success now does it?

Try this instead.

The next time you have a presentation (project, test, etc.) that is important to you accomplishing it, think and visualize what a stellar presentation looks like when it is complete.  It is important that you see yourself completing this presentation.  

If visualization is hard for you, try watching a good speech that has been on the news, or other media.  Then, close your eyes and think about that speech, except pretend that you were the one who gave the speech.  

Especially notice what it feels like when your brain has communicated this success to the rest of your body; you should feel a sense of calm (perhaps even excitement) after finishing that presentation.  The feelings you experience are what you want to aim for.  

If this visualizing exercise is done correctly, you can see that the nervousness you had is conjured up by your brain in response to a fear you have.  The goal is to suppress that fear through visualization of your eventual success and convince your mind of this.  

It is equally important that you do not visualize yourself without going out and making strides to accomplish your goal.  Visualizing about giving a presentation without actually practicing the presentation is no more helpful than psyching yourself out before giving the presentation.  Neither will prepare you to deliver the results you desire.

The important idea is to:

• ·        Visualize your success

• ·        Suppress the fear within you

• ·        Go out and attain the results you are capable of achieving

Since we talked a lot about presentations in this blog post, I think the next one will talk about what makes a good presentation and how to incorporate today’s blog post into presentation tips that will distinguish you from the rest of your classmates and coworkers.

To Your Success,