Have you ever asked yourself these questions?
Is my life where I would like it to be?
Am I doing something I care about?
Does what I do make a difference?
Am I fulfilled or treading water?
What is my purpose anyway?
Those questions are exactly what I asked myself early one morning about five years ago as my feet swung to the bedroom floor, I felt an overwhelming sense of discontent - like I was treading water but getting nowhere. And, at that point, I had no idea what to do about it, but I was pretty sure that something had to change.
What started as an idea in 2018 became a business in 2022. But how did I get here? Well, here are eight things I did that got results.
1.GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO DREAM.
There is a proverb that says people perish without a dream. And I felt like I was perishing, figuratively speaking. I knew my destiny wasn’t over yet but I didn’t know how to move forward. So, if you’re feeling cast adrift without a sense of purpose, or perhaps you feel stuck or even disappointed by past failures? Then giving yourself permission to dream again can be your new starting place. So, here are a few pointers to get your dream button turned on again:
Carve out a couple hours of deep thinking time.
Get alone.
Turn off your phone.
Take a walk (if possible).
Think deeply about your life.
If you could have the life you wanted, what would it be?
2. WRITE DOWN YOUR DREAMS
Virgin Airlines CEO Richard Branson swears that writing things down (on paper) has been a major source of some of his company ’s best ideas. In an Inc Magazine article he stated “Many people think writing notes is below them - but everyone should be doing it as it can greatly improve what you do." In an article titled “4 Reasons Writing Things Down on Paper Still Reigns Supreme” Psychology Today stated. “Analog notebook use activates multiple brain regions associated with optimal memory-encoding (and subsequent retrieval) more robustly than using digital devices.” In other words, pen-to-paper activates our internal systems.
3. TURN THEM INTO GOALS WITH DEADLINES
Someone once said that “Goals are dreams with deadlines.” The next step is to take your goals and break them into smaller doable pieces with deadlines. Take the annual goal and break it into monthly tasks, which can be broken down by week. One example could be:
Dream: Save $10,000 in 12 months
Monthly Goal Save $835.00 per month
Weekly Goal: Save 208.00 per week.
Any dream can be broken into digestible bite size pieces. The key is to make them small enough to not be overwhelming - then do them consistently.
4. WORK ON 1- 2 GOALS PER DAY
Once your goals are broken down by week, work on 1-2 of them every day. This helps to solidify them internally and develops new habits while fading out old ones that are not serving you. James Clear, author of “Atomic Habits” says, "Success is the product of daily habits not-once-in-a-lifetime transformations.” He calls the process ‘compound interest, and compares it to interest accrued over time in an investment account.
5. CREATE A VISION BOARD
Believe it or not, two years ago I didn’t know what a vision board was but it is a place to display your dreams in visible form. Vision boards serve as a powerful reinforcement that triggers your brain into forward motion. Goalcast.com puts it this way - a vision board makes the dream real in your mind so you can begin to believe it’s possible. How to get started:
Search online for pictures that represent your dreams.
Print and cut them out.
Paste/thumb tack them to a board or wall.
Hang the board in a visible place you see every day.
Read it daily (and let yourself dream for a couple minutes about each one).
6. LEARN SKILLS THAT PROPEL YOU FORWARD
Want to start a podcast? then research everything there is to know about podcasting and listen to successful podcasters for inspiration.
Do you want to become a blogger? Find courses on starting and developing a blog.
Have dreams to publish a book? Take some writing classes to learn how a book comes together then go for it.
Podcasts have been one of my favorite go-tos and I’ve probably listened to 100s of them over the last few years. The best thing about podcasts is that you can listen to them anywhere; turning your car, kitchen, bedroom, or office into an instant classroom. No more wasted time on those long commutes.
There are also numerous online resources where you can learn about 1000s of subjects and hone your craft. Have a zero start budget? then go to YouTube. It’s almost guaranteed that someone has already created video tutorials about your subject matter. (That’s exactly how I got started). As your knowledge and application grows you can graduate to paid courses. Here are a few other sites for online learning that are sure to help you along your path of choice:
7. CELEBRATE SMALL WINS
It is so important to celebrate small wins. This has really encouraged me to stay in the game. When you are starting out on a new venture it can feel overwhelming at times and like nothing is happening. That’s when celebrating small wins can make a big difference. Small wins can be anything like:
a)Adding a new subscriber to your email list. b)Getting a follower on your social media page. c)A kind comment that encouraged you along the way. d)Publishing your first blog post. e)Learning a new process. f)Posting your first Instagram Reel.
8. REPEAT
Yep, I’ve got to use the “D” word - Discipline! It’s not a word we enjoy hearing but there’s no getting around it. Take it from global business magnet Warren Buffet who said, “We don’t have to be smarter than the rest, just more disciplined than the rest.” You see, most people give up if they don’t see immediate success. That’s because we live in a drive-up window culture with the expectation of quick results, so anything else feels slow by comparison. But the power of sustained success is almost always in the process.
Remember too that there are also many valuable lessons to be learned along the way - lessons that will position you for longevity. So go ahead and decide right now to get comfortable with the idea of rinse and repeat.
There you have it!
Change is a tough path for most of us because it represents the unknown. But like a car that hasn’t been driven in a while - the battery can die and need some jumper cables to get the engine going. And, there’s nothing wrong with that my friend. Just get those “jumper cables” out, hook them up to your battery and get that vehicle back on the road to new destinations. Then watch and see how your whole life will start to shift in a new direction. And you know what…?
There are others waiting to follow you.