Dream World or Dream Life?
Are you successful in your life or work?
Are you getting what you want out of life?
If your answers to the above are not a resounding “yes!”, you may be missing an important aspect of goal setting – a clear purpose.
A goal or dream, whether it’s about having a business or living life well, is a journey. If you don’t know exactly where you want to go, it’s very hard to get there!
You would never go to the airport without knowing where you are going, even last minute package tours allow you to pick the country and the grade of accommodation. So why would we choose to live our lives or run our business like that?
These days getting into the car prompts your GPS to demand – where? Eventually if you haven’t entered a destination entered, the system defaults to the map pointing out any places you have previously shown interest in.
Part of your business or life plan, (possibly the most important part) is to decide where you are heading , a nebulous wish for a bigger house or to make enough money to retire leaves you in just that, a cloud.
Don’t wander around without a map.
Set your Sights
Knowing what your want for your future has many advantages, including:
- Making decisions easier
- Showing when you are making progress or deviating from the route
- Helping you recognize opportunities which will take you toward your goals
Define your Goal or Dream
Vision boards have become very popular in recent years but are based on using other people’s phrases and images.
One of my mentors, the wonderful Lou Tice advocates a less generic and more tangible option. He drew the analogy of buying an unusual color car only to drive off the lot and see the color everywhere, we’ve all had it happen. The idea is that by adding dimensionality to your dreams, you can harness your subconscious brain to search out opportunities to bring them to fruition. Whether or not that is actually how it works, it does keep you on track and helps you resist the urge to settle for less. After all a vision is the picture on the front of the jigsaw puzzle box, it tells you where the pieces fit and helps drive you towards making it look that way.
So consider the car you want to drive (make/mach, model, color and options), the house you want to live in (how you want to equip and decorate it), the suite in the vacation hotel you want to stay in and the activities you will enjoy. Get a photo of the actual thing and place it somewhere prominent, paste a collage of the images on your office wall or scan them to your screensaver (we know you love your kids or your puppy but unless you are away at sea for 6 months you don’t need their picture there to remind you).
If you want to start or grow a business – get a picture of your ideal office setup, down to the art on the walls or the fountain in the entrance and decide the number of clients/amount of income you will need to support the staff you will hire.
If you prefer a more philanthropic option; decide what you will donate to the animal shelter or how many families or children you will support and what will you include in the gift basket(s).
Bill Gates said “I’ve had one of the luckiest situations ever – but I’ve learned that only through focus can you do world class things – no matter how capable you are.” Fortune Magazine, July 8, 2002.
Its time for you to focus on your dream!
See it, Think it, Pledge it, Do IT. Your dream is waiting!
Thanks for the inspiring message. I look forward to more of your inspiration.
Thanks Faye,
I look forward to hearing more about your social networking business and your continued success. Please keep TFAB informed so we can share your story.
Laine, I am so glad I met you on LI – I have finally found the time to read some of this and you are helping to drive me on in my goal of succeeding in my business. Thanks!
Are you on facebook btw? http://www.facebook.com/louise.edington – I shared this on there….
Louise,
I’m so glad we met too! How funny two British girls coming half way around the world to meet (online).
Thanks for reading, I’m working on a piece about brain storming and hope you will give me your thoughts.
Maybe I can persuade you to write your story ~ with all of your travels and constant reinvention it would be great!
I’ll check out facebook.
Laine
Great information, I just bookmarked this.
Laine, nice article, we have a lot in common.
Check out my dream life article: http://www.robseverson.com/general/dream-job-dream-life/
Rob,
We do indeed! I didn’t even know you when I wrote this … I agree our hopes should not be based on a dream job but instead finding peace or less conflict with ourselves – finding an outlet or metier can be so freeing. We don’t need lots of money – it can be a positive but can also be a negative. What we need is a plan.
Thanks Laine for this post. In fact, neuroscience would now support the power of visualization. The brain is like a missile seeking machine once the target is clear and the feelings are congruent with the outcome. It certainly does make goal setting easier to achieve!
Most people only have a vague idea of what they want, what their goals are.
More money? Check.
Nice house? Check.
Better job? Check.
They then proceed to do the same thing they’ve done for the last 10 years without even thinking about it, and end up with the same results.
Just the mere act of actually identifying exactly what it is you are after, then considering ways to get there helps to bring on the change you’re looking for.
I learned the hard way. It took years of killing myself, making other people wealthy, and several hornet attacks to turn on the light bulb on in my brain.
Long story….
Keep pushing your readers forward Laine. It’s the only direction to go.
Paul,
Coming from you that praise means a lot – I love your work. It is also quite obvious that you love what you do, even though it hasn’t made you rich…. yet! http://www.writingfourmylife.com/blog
I’ve had my struggles too, after a successful corporate career doing something I enjoyed in order to do something I loved (climbing) health issues put me in a wheelchair for a couple of years. My husband left, leaving me to raise 2 small kids – literally under my tires, in what was still a foreign country (I’m a new American ) with no family. My fight to find me and bring up my girls was supported by people you wouldn’t expect. Building this website to Pay back the debt I owe has done a lot for me and I hope will help others.
**Actually had to add this – I was writing this editorial while watching my girls do Taekwondo. I normally have a yellow pad but just acquired a new laptop and the lady next to me was reading over my shoulder ~ she suddenly exclaimed “you’re good!” like an accusation and I had to bite back my laugh. The evening before I read your piece about admitting to the guy in the store that you are a writer and, the similarity was too close. Do writers (and I’m not sure I fall into the category) not pick up their kids, or grab a carton of milk!!
I look forward to hearing the rest of your story.
Laine D.
Thanks for the inspiring post, Laine. This one reminded me of the book I’m currently reading by Chris Gardner named “Start Where You Are”. It talks in depth about how dreaming isn’t enough. And even doing isn’t enough. A dream is just a dream without a plan. Thank you for reminding me.
Dennis,
I’ll have to look out for that one, did you get it at the bookstore or library?
– I think my new mantra will have to be ” Dream the life (set the goals) and live the dream”
I always love your input, you have such a good lock on things.
Laine D
http://www.Thoughtsfromabroad.net
Hi Laine,
What a wonderful and inspiring post, everyone should have a dream board.
I am the dreamboard in person! And it always worked, whatever you set your mind to you will achieve. All you have to do is find out what you want and what is important for you and enjoy the ride. Dreams change, so you might have to adjust your dreamboard or make it more precise. Enjoy life!
Franziska
@Flavor Designs