What Are Your Dreams?

The question of the day is:

What Are Your Dreams?

If I asked you what your Goals were, you might struggle to describe them in detail. If I asked you what your "dreams" were, you would most likely be excited to provide a clear, concise, colorful desription. The greatest life skill is learning how to take the "dream" and break it down into real world Goals with actionable plans for their attainment.

So what are your "dreams?"

What big, audacious, insane visions do you secretly, repeatedly fantasize about?

What dreams, when achieved, would bring you unsurpassed joy and satisfaction? What dreams would give you the feeling that you are living a life of purpose and realizing more of your potential?

If there were no limits and you could have, be or do anything in your lifetime, what would it be?

When I ask people what their dreams are, they say things like "Someday I'd like to become a motivational speaker, but … _____(insert excuse here)_____" and they say it in a way that communicates a far off, not me, not in a million years, impossible mindset.

Here is an example of a recent conversation with a private coaching client. This is representative of the way so many people think.

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GOAL GURU: What is your ultimate dream?

DREAMER: Someday I'd like to be a motivational speaker, but I have never given a speech in my life and I don't have any money for speech lessons. I don't even know where to start. Plus I have a job and a girlfriend and I'm drowning in debt.

GOAL GURU: Who is an icon or a role model for you that you secretly or not so secretly admire in the same field as your dream?

DREAMER: Oh, that would be ______ _______.

GOAL GURU: How did that person begin, and what actions did they take in order to achieve the success they enjoy today?

DREAMER: When they first started out, they joined toastmasters, gave free speeches, marketed themselves to local organizations, practiced all the time and worked on it around their full time job until they got higher paying gigs.

GOAL GURU: Have you done any of those things yet?

DREAMER: Uh… no.

GOAL GURU: So your icon was willing to do the things you were not willing to do?

DREAMER: Um… yes, I am starting to see the light…

GOAL GURU: So is the answer that your dream is achievable for anyone who follows the same or similar path and is willing to do the work? Including you?

DREAMER: Absolutely, it is. I never thought about it like that.

GOALGURU: And might you have some additional tools and advantages to use today that they did not have when they were beginning?

DREAMER: Oh yeah, there are so many things that would help them go even faster if they were starting out today. I have the Internet, a coach like you, and there are so many resources today, oh my gosh, I can do this!

GOAL GURU: It's time to start setting Goals for achieving your dream, let's start with session 1 in Goal University…

DREAMER: I am ready!

End excerpt.>>>

"Dreams are the seedlings of reality." -James Allen

Most people come from the limiting belief that their icons, idols or role models have some gift, advantages or connections that allowed them to rise to the top of their game.

The reality is that most of the biggest success stories in any field started from scratch and worked their way to the top.

Because we only see the icon as they are today, we forget they were once like us, harboring a far off dream that once seemed impossible to them. But we convince ourselves that they are somehow different than us.

It's a story we tell ourselves, and for too many it becomes an excuse to procrastinate or not take action.

The reality is that you probably have equal or greater gifts, ideas and passions as your icon did when they began. And those gifts and your skills will actually improve the more you practice them and use them.

Every day that you engage in pursuing your ultimate dream, you grow in your own understanding of what it takes to bring it into your reality.

The biggest difference between you and your icon is… courage.

They had the courage to begin.

They had the courage to risk failure but they took action anyways.

Every day you take action, you bring your dream closer to you.

There are probably millions of people with the same dream you have.

The ones who realize it are the ones who are willing to do the work, learn how to create a success plan and then work towards it's attainment.

The ones who will realize it are the ones who will find the right guide, make the commitment, create plans, take persistent action, invest their time in the right areas, follow certain steps in a certain order and enjoy the journey.

I say, let it be you.

I say let it be now.

Live Your Dreams