Step #1 - Have a dream

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Step one is to have a dream.  Yes it is that simple, just start with a dream!  What do you really want to do for a career?  Who do you want to become?  How do you want to help society?  Where do you want to travel?  Start dreaming!

But don't stop there.  Next you have to take your dream(s) and super-size it(them).  Yes, make it bigger.  Stretch your dream as far as you can imagine it.

Perhaps your dream was to travel to London or Paris.  Nice dreams ... but why not stretch it and quantify it?  A trip to London from the United States might only require a week off from work.  But a super-sized dream might have you taking a two month sabbatical to travel to London, Paris, Munich, Rome ...

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I definitely mean to super-size in a healthy way of course.  If your doctor suggested you lose twenty pounds don't make it a dream and super-size it to one hundred pounds.  Or you might instead turn the dream of losing weight into a dream of becoming a healthier person ... and super-size that dream!

Now you must write it down.  In order for your dream to become more than a dream (a.k.a. A GOAL) you must write it down.  And by write it down I mean on an actually piece of paper.  Studies have shown that physically writing things down activates parts of your brain that typing into a computer never will.

And away!

When you are done writing down your super-sized dream your next step is to write down "WHY" you want to achieve your dream (now goal).  This part is almost as critical as having a dream in the first place.  The dream is the spark that gets you focused, but the "Why" is the fuel that feeds your engine and keeps you focused on your goal.

The final part of step one is having an accountability partner.  You need to announce your new goal to a friend or family member who loves you enough to hold you accountable.  They need to care so much about you that they will check in with you and remind you of what you are supposed to be focused on and why!  And they love you so much that they are okay with being annoying and pissing you off once in awhile in order to keep you on track.

Have a blessed day!

The #1 Reason why you didn't achieve your goal!

Without a doubt the number one reason why you didn't achieve your goal(s) was because you really didn't have one!  That's right you didn't have a goal.

Oh, you may have thought you had a goal.  But if we're being honest with ourselves ... it was really more of a wish, wasn't it?

Wishes are great, wishes are awesome!  But wishes are something that you make when you are blowing out your birthday candles, when you find an eyelash on your cheek or when see a unicorn.

But please don't mistake a wish for a goal.  They may start out sounding the same ... but that is where the similarity ends.  In fact, if we're still being honest, I don't think any of us really think that a wish will ever come true.

My mom (God rest her soul) wished for years that she could go to Paris.  It never happened.  There were a lot of reasons (a.k.a. excuses) why her wish never came true.  But the main reason why she never went to Paris was because her wish stayed a wish.  She never made it a goal.  There was no planning involved.  Yes, she repeated her wish numerous times through the years, but her wish never turned into a goal.

My wife and I set a goal early in 2018 to celebrate a momentous birthday (I won't say which one) together in Paris.  My momentous birthday was in June of 2018 and hers would be in August of 2019.  We figured we would treat ourselves to the trip somewhere between the two birthdays.  We set the wheels in motion and started planning and saving.  Then she got some good news from work that she had to go Paris in September ... BAM!  It was done, we now knew our travel dates and kicked our planning into high gear.

Yes, there was some good fortune that came our way.  Her travel was covered by a work trip, but the rest was on us.  Would the "for work" Paris trip have ever happened if we hadn't put our goal out into the universe and start making plans?  Maybe, but maybe not.  Could we have both gone if we hadn't started planning in advance, yes ... but not without thousands of dollars of debt.  We were able to spend a week in Paris exploring and enjoying the food, culture and museums without having to bring credit card debt or stress back to the US with us.  That made the trip even more enjoyable.

Wishes are nice ...

but goals are definitely better!

Have a blessed day!

Make every day a 10!

Why not make every day a ten (10)?  Is it possible?  Maybe, maybe not ... but you won't know unless you try.  Certainly everyday can't be a one (1), can it?

If you "woke up not dead again" today (thank you Willie Nelson) then you are already starting at like a five ... or at least a four.  You certainly aren't starting at zero. 

So what's the secret to getting from your starting point to a ten?  It's actually pretty simple, just focus on an attitude of gratitude.  And if you "woke up not dead again" you definitely have something to be grateful for.  You have to learn to appreciate what you have, where you are at and who you have in your life.

You don't have to accept what you have, where you're at or who is in your life.  It's possible that you don't like some (maybe much) of all of the aforementioned ... but none of that has to be permanent.  This is great news!  Now you know where you don't want to be, who you don't want to be with and that you want more or better things in your life.  You've got a starting point.  And if you've got a starting point then it sounds like today is going to be a ten!

Don't get down on yourself.  You're not stuck unless you choose to be. Our world is filled with options and opportunities!  And as Paul Thorn sings in his song "That's life" ... "behind the clouds the sun still shines ... enjoy the journey that's life."

Have a blessed day ... I know I will!

Stopping is so much easier!

It's become quite obvious to me that stopping is easier than starting.  Even more obvious is that stopping is a million times easier than continuing!  I've started many times in life (this blog being just one example); and I've started over many times too!  The reason to start something over is either because that something is important to me or because I think it should be important and is worthy of trying again.

Since I am have no problem starting "things" and I have no problem re-starting "things", it's logical that where I fall down is in the area of continuing.  Perhaps we all fall short in this area?

No doubt that in my case it's because I lose focus on my "why" ... or worse, maybe I wasn't as passionate or as interested in "it" as I thought I was?  Maybe my "why" wasn't BIG enough to push away all the other distractions in life?

For 2019, I am making my primary goal to be honest with myself about my "why's" (a.k.a. my level of passion).  As a secondary goal I am going to focus on creating a cadence and building momentum so that I can create the good habit of continuing.  This coming year will be the year that I will continue towards my goals with purpose ... and if I stop doing something it too will be with purpose.

Happy New Year and God Bless!