What does it really take to achieve your dreams?

Aren't dreams awesome!  When I was a young lad I dreamed of becoming a firefighter, then a police officer, then a heavy equipment operator and on and on!

As the song "Angel in Blue" by J. Geils Band states "And she (he) never had dreams, so they never came true."  Most of my dreams never came true, but I had dreams and some did come true ... and it wasn't by accident!

There are a few things that determine whether or not you will achieve your dream(s)!

They include:

• Passion
• Commitment
• Focus
• Sacrifice
• Direction
• Magnitude/Speed
• Momentum
• Re-commitment

Truthfully, most dreams will never come true.  At least not until you convert your dreams into goals.  And while you may notice that there are a lot of hurdles and roadblocks between you and your goal the biggest of them all will be the ones that you create.  

More to come on each of the above bullet points in the near future.  So, as the chorus in the Aerosmith song by the same name goes "Dream on, dream on, dream ..."


Have a blessed day!

Tubby

Stop doing "it" right now!

I heard a quote on the radio the other day and it moved me.  The credit for the quote was given to Earl Nightingale (in a quick search I couldn't confirm it); I'll paraphrase it hear:

                     What are you willing to NOT do in order to hit your goals?

That is a very interesting concept.  This quote obviously comes from the last century (since Mr. Nightingale died in 1989) and it seems that there was never enough time in the day to do all that someone wished to do!  Our ancestors struggled so much with creating more time (increasing efficiencies ... a day is still just 24 hours) that they created washing machines, dryers, computers, tractors, then bigger tractors, fast cars, then faster cars!  They imagined a day when we would be able to do everything that we wanted to do without having to make sacrifices.

As it turns out, whether you lived in the early days of man or you are living in the next century ... you will always have to make choices when it comes to spending or investing your time.  There will still only be 24 hours in a day!  I use to think that you just had to do more of the right things to make your dreams and goals a reality.  I now realize that you can't just do more ... you have to do less of some things, you have to cut things out of your life to either make room for the activities that will help you achieve your goal.  Or you have to cut some activities out because they are pushing you in the opposite direction of your dreams!

So, what are you willing to give up for your dreams?  What are you willing to NOT do anymore?

• NOT Watch TV
• NOT Play video games (not just for kids)
• NOT spend hours on the computer posting to Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Etc.
• NOT wake up as late as possible, without being late for your current career
• NOT spend every weekend with your buddies bar hopping
• NOT spend every weekend chasing red tag sales at the mall

You may think you have no time to spare.  You may be constantly on the move and perhaps your the time that doesn't stop until your head hits the pillow.  But if you have dreams/goals and your aren't actively working towards them (or your progress is slow) ... then reflect on your life and decide to NOT do stuff!

Have a great day!

The First of Life's Secret Ingredients (1 of 10 or more)

Having the secret ingredients in your hands is like being the keeper of the holy grail.  All you need to overcome any of life's hurdles is the "secret ingredients."

You toil and you struggle, you step back and you stare at your problem until your eyes go crossed ... and then suddenly someone walks by and hands you the secret ingredient and "BAM!"  ... problem solved, mission accomplished, game over!

Yes, that does happen with some of life's challenges.  And usually the person that walked by and handed you the secret ingredient only possessed that "secret" because they had to overcome that same problem the week before or  last year and kept it in their "secret ingredient fanny-pack" for future use.

But, why were you still there working on your problem when that kind person walked by and handed you their secret ingredient?  It's because [ALERT - SECRET INGREDIENT #1] you had DETERMINATION.  Yes it's an oldie, but a goody!  Determination is a secret ingredient and it is required to solve many of life's harder puzzles and to jump life's highest hurdles.  It's also what my dad use to call "sticktoitiveness" (pretty sure it's not a real world, but I'll hashtag it at the bottom of this blog anyway).

Determination is NOT required for easy challenges or ones with tiny rewards, although it won't hurt.  But if you are interested in the bigger challenges (like slaying dragons or curing cancer) and bigger rewards in life (like making children laugh or curing cancer) then determination will come in handy.

** CAUTION ** Determination isn't the only secret ingredient.  It is an important one, but without the others you can be blinded by your determination and will set yourself up for a life of misery.  Picture yourself being trapped in a cave due to a rock slide and you have to dig out with the only thing you brought with you spelunking ... a wooden spoon (Really? This is what you brought?).  All the determination in the world won't keep that wooden spoon from being whittled away by the first rock you attack.  Officially stuck.

There's a happy thought to leave you on ... Have a great day!

1. DETERMINATION (#sticktoitiveness)
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