Success
We’ve all heard stories of wonder men and women, those who outperform and are the best in their field. We hear the success stories of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Donald Trump, Venus and Serena Williams, William Shakespeare, Aristotle, Jane Austen, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, and countless others. It’s enough to leave our heads spinning.
The question is how do they become successful? Everyone would have us believe that it’s a natural-born talent made easy by super-geniuses or athletes and is impossible for us ordinary people. However, that’s not the case. The skills of each of these people are rooted in hard work, diligence, and a firm belief in their vision.
Now how do we incorporate these ideas in our own life? How, when we have so many things to do and so little time, do we begin to excel at what we love most? The answer is a series of small, but important steps.
Identify Your Dream
This is the fun part. What do you most love? What would you want to do all the time? If you’re not sure, ask yourself some questions. What are your values? What do you most want to accomplish? What sends your pulse racing with excitement? If you’re not sure, try some new hobbies. Try something that you’d never thought you’d do, or at least picture yourself doing them. How do you feel? Do you feel most alive when doing this? Forget about what you think is possible; go ahead and give yourself permission to dream big. Do not settle for the mediocre dreams, the ones that you think that you can do. Go ahead and imagine that big lifestyle, following your wildest passion. Give it some thought and write it down.
Identify an Action Plan
Now that you’ve identified your biggest passion, think about what you would need to have or do to make that a reality. It may include learning new skills, getting to know people in your field, or honing skills you already have. Make a list of all the ingredients you would need to make your dream a reality. If your list includes things like natural-born talent, genius, or good looks, cross off that list and make a new one. Your list should include things that are action-items, such as taking a course, getting a mentor, networking, or plain old practice. Make a list of tools that you may need, such as a good camera if you are interested in photography.
Begin the Action Plan
Order the list in things that need to be done first. For example, if you wanted to be a world-class photographer working for National Geographic, the first thing you would want to do is to purchase a camera. Then you would want to read the manual and learn the basics. Then you would want to go out and begin taking pictures. You would read the employment requirements for National Geographic and discover what is needed. You would probably take at least one class on photography, preferably many more. This may mean going back to school and getting a degree (note that National Geographic and some other jobs often prefer degrees in other fields, but most photographers typically have five years of professional photography under their belt). Hey, nobody said this would be quick. As your skills improve, you would search for a mentor or people to critique your work. You need professional feedback to help you improve and give you tips and tricks. If you’re way off track, it’s better to learn this early from someone whose opinion you trust. Seek out people who can help you. You may join a club or organization to become connected with those in your field and to learn valuable lessons. Whatever it is, make a list of steps in a general order. They don’t have to be followed exactly in the order that you make them, but becoming clear on what needs to be done will give you focus and clarity on how to actually achieve your big dream.
Start Doing
Once you’ve made your list, make a to-do list for that week to reach a specific goal and then each and every day, work on that goal. You’re probably wondering how you can squeeze in your big dreams in between work, family, errands, and chores. The trick is to make it doable. Schedule in twenty minutes a day to work on your goal. This may not sound like much at first, but imagine what you can do in twenty minutes a day over the course of a year. This is much better than not doing anything at all to reach your goal. Twenty minutes of taking pictures a day or learning Photoshop (or whatever your dream may be) will add to your skills tremendously and it will be more effective in the long run than taking an hour once a week to take pictures. Making it a daily habit will ensure that you’re working on towards your goal in a definable, predictable manner. It’s our daily habits that make all the difference rather than what we do occasionally.
Check Your Progress
Make a to-do list every day and every week. Check off your daily to-do list as you do them and check off your weekly goals as you do them. If you skip a day, don’t beat yourself up about it. Just continue with your plan the next day (this works for healthy weight loss as well). It’s a good idea to have someone that you check in with weekly to see if you have met your goals. Being accountable to another person makes us far more likely to meet our goals and stay on task.
Keep Plugging Away
There will likely be a point when all of the magic has gone from the beauty of your dreams and is replaced by daily work. This is a normal part of creating the life of our dreams. We take off the rosy glasses and roll up our sleeves. How do we maintain our sense of wonder and keep ourselves going? There are a couple of things we can do. First, take a few minutes each day to envision that you’ve reached your goal. How would you feel? What would you be wearing? Would you live somewhere else? Taking the time to visualize will help keep the passion going. Secondly, know that as you plug away each day, you are one day closer to reaching your goal. When you get excited about what you’re doing, even the boring, small tasks to get there can be fun. Thirdly, if your task is boring and you are dreading doing it, make a game out of it. See what you can do in as little time as you can. Can you finish the task in five minutes? Can you at least get it started? Make an outline of what you need to do or do the easiest part first. Making a little headway is better than none at all. Once you get started, you’ll feel so much better than putting it off. Get it out of the way as quickly as you can. Fourthly, if things are too tedious, try working on another aspect of your goal. This will give you a break and some fresh perspective. Finally, every now and again, take a break. A day off once a week will give you a much needed break so that you can come back refreshed.
Network
Ask around about your field. Friends and family are potential goldmines for helpful information, or they may know somebody that can help you. As said before, join organizations or groups to get involved and find a mentor. These experts will help you tremendously and can introduce you to other professionals in the field. Attend conferences, keep up on the latest news, and read magazines or journals dedicated to your passion. Consider starting a blog to talk about your passion, goals, what you’ve learned, and experiences. This is a great way to note your progress and get followers with similar interests.
Reward Yourself
When you’ve completed a goal, give yourself a reward. Have smaller rewards for the weekly goals, a larger reward for your monthly goals, and a big reward when you reach a milestone. This will keep you excited and will acknowledge your hard work. This is great motivation.
Reaching Your Goal
As time goes by, if you’ve followed these steps, you will reach your goal. If you’ve failed, you have the opportunity to review your action plan and see what went wrong. But most likely, you will have made significant steps towards your ideal life. By identifying your dream, following an action plan, plugging away, networking, and rewarding yourself, you’ve done a lot more than most people. Having a plan keeps you on task and brings those wild dreams into focus. Reward yourself for daring to dream!
Suggested Reading:
Kiss that Frog by Brian Tracy and Christina Tracy Stein
Why People Fail by Siimon Reynolds
10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace by Dr. Wayne Dyer
