7 Steps to Achieve Your Dream

Want to get going on your goals? This is how.

“Vision is the spectacular that inspires us to
carry out the mundane.” —Chris Widener

Can achievement be broken down into steps?
It isn’t always that clean and easy, but those
who achieve great things usually go through
much of the same process, with many of the
items listed below as part of that process. So
if you have been struggling with achievement,
look through the following. Begin to apply
them and you will be on the road to achieving
your dream.

Step 1: Dream it. Everything begins in the
heart and mind. Every great achievement
began in the mind of one person. They dared
to dream, to believe that it was possible. Take
some time to allow yourself to ask “What if?”
Think big. Don’t let negative thinking
discourage you. You want to be a “dreamer.”
Dream of the possibilities for yourself, your
family and for others. If you had a dream that
you let grow cold, re-ignite the dream! Fan the
flames. Life is too short to let it go.

Step 2: Believe it. Yes, your dream needs to
be big. It needs to be something that is
seemingly beyond your capabilities. But it also
must be believable. You must be able to say
that if certain things take place, if others help,
if you work hard enough, though it is a big
dream, it can still be done. Good example: A
person with no college education can dream
that he will build a $50 million-a-year
company. That is big, but believable. Bad
example: That a 90-year-old woman with
arthritis will someday run a marathon in under
three hours. It is big all right, but also
impossible. She should instead focus on
building a $50 million-a-year business! And she
better get a move on!
Step 3: See it. The great achievers have a
habit. They “see” things. They picture
themselves walking around their CEO office in
their new $25 million corporate headquarters,
even while they are sitting on a folding chair
in their garage “headquarters.” Great free-
throw shooters in the NBA picture the ball
going through the basket. PGA golfers picture
the ball going straight down the fairway.
World-class speakers picture themselves
speaking with energy and emotion. All of this
grooms the mind to control the body to carry
out the dream.

Step 4: Tell it. One reason many dreams
never go anywhere is because the dreamer
keeps it all to himself. It is a quiet dream that
only lives inside of his mind. The one who
wants to achieve their dream must tell that
dream to many people. One reason: As we
continually say it, we begin to believe it more
and more. If we are talking about it then it
must be possible. Another reason: It holds us
accountable. When we have told others, it
spurs us on to actually doing it so we don’t
look foolish.

Step 5: Plan it. Every dream must take the
form of a plan. The old saying that you “get
what you plan for” is so true. Your dream
won’t just happen. You need to sit down, on a
regular basis, and plan out your strategy for
achieving the dream. Think through all of the
details. Break the whole plan down into small,
workable parts. Then set a time frame for
accomplishing each task on your “dream
plan.”

Step 6: Work it. Boy, wouldn’t life be grand if
we could quit before this one! Unfortunately
the successful are usually the hardest
workers. While the rest of the world is sitting
on their sofas watching reruns of Gilligan's
Island , achievers are working on their goal—
achieving their dream. I have an equation that
I work with: Your short-term tasks, multiplied
by time, equal your long-term
accomplishments. If you work on it each day,
eventually you will achieve your dream. War
and Peace was written, in longhand, page by
page.

Step 7: Enjoy it. When you have reached your
goal and you are living your dream , be sure to
enjoy it. In fact, enjoy the trip, too. Give
yourself some rewards along the way. Give
yourself a huge reward when you get there.
Help others enjoy it. Be gracious and
generous. Use your dream to better others.
Then go back to No. 1. And dream a little
bigger this time!