From ‘I wish’ to ‘I will’

Our dreams carry power, the power to motivate and inspire us to become greater. Almost everyone will admit to having a dream, but for many it will always only be a dream. Many won’t act on it because they simply don’t know where to start their journey.

So here it is:

Step 1: Invest in yourself

Part of choosing to live out your dream life also means deciding to become your biggest fan. No one has any reason to believe in your dream; your dream is not for anyone else but you. Realizing that from the very beginning will help you overcome failure later on. After every failure expect to lose people from your support group. Decide you are worth it, decide you have what it takes and get ready to prove yourself. The world loves success, but the world isn’t interested in standing around to watch you figure it out. Commit to yourself, commit to your dream, commit to the journey and know there will be times when you will walk alone, but decide ahead of time that the temporary moments of feeling alone will be worth it.

Step 2: Set goals

Turn your dream into a goal. Break it down into long- and short-term goals. Writing them down along with timelines, is extremely important. Set daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals. Don’t look at the short-term goals as less important. The small daily goals will be what will get you one step closer to your dream. Physically crossing off completed goals will help you feel a sense of accomplishment and keep you motivated.

Step 3: Stay motivated

Failure is going to hurt, really bad, but know it’s not the end of the world. Don’t run from failure, acknowledge it, find the lesson to be learned, and keep going. Take the disappointment, the anger, the fear, whatever you may be feeling, and give yourself one day and one day only to feel those emotions. After your 24 hours pass, pull yourself together and work harder. Read books about the people you admire, watch movies that inspire you, be social and find friends who also love to dream.

Step 4: Celebrate your accomplishments

Working toward your dream is a big move, so celebrate yourself. Celebrate your accomplished short-term goals; those will lead you to your long-term goals. Remember, you are doing amazing things that most people will not have the courage to take on. It’s a big deal; you’re a big deal! Be proud of yourself.

Step 5: Live out your dream life

Begin living your dream life as you picture it. You deserve to live a great life full of experiences.  Make the dream a reality. Who do you want in your life? Who is holding you back that you need to let go of? What do you need to make space for? Take the time to go into detail; it’s important.

This is your life.

Don’t wait for perfect timing to begin – there is no such thing.

This is your dream; dream big.