“Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.” – Gail Devers
This past week (February 22) marked the one year anniversary of our e-book’s launch. Over the past year, Simplify. 7 Guiding Principles to Anyone Declutter Their Home and Life has sold over 2,600 copies and it continues to sell every single day. Its launch was truly a life-changing experience.
And it continues to be the evidence of a dream fulfilled.
For nearly 35 years of my life, I wanted to write a book… to be an author. Selfishly, I wanted the pride that I associated with having my name written on a book’s cover. Unselfishly, I wanted to provide valuable inspiration to others… in a form that could far outlive me.
And given the fact that I wanted to write a book that people actually read, Simplify has indeed become the tangible realization of a lifelong dream. Actually, this past year has been defined by the fulfillment of a number of lifelong dreams:
- Dream: Spend more time with my family. Accomplished by finding minimalism.
- Dream: Write a book. Accomplished in February, 2010. Again in August, 2010.
- Dream: Run a marathon. Finished in May, 2010. Time: 4:31.
- Dream: Save Financial Emergency Fund: Accomplished in November, 2010.
I’ve discovered over the past year that dreams come in all shapes and sizes. But their fulfillment is almost always found in the same 7 steps…
1. Select a dream to fulfill. Some of us have so many dreams swirling in our minds, we don’t know where to start… while others of us are unable to put our finger on even one. Whether the decision be to write a book, run a marathon, buy a home, or find true love, fulfillment always starts with the intentional identification of one single goal and the heartfelt conviction to accomplish it. Take some time. Pick one. And then, set out to accomplish it.
2. Believe it is achievable. Unfortunately, too many people will never accomplish their dreams because they simply refuse to believe in themselves. Optimism is absolutely required for dream fulfillment and life enjoyment. If you don’t have natural self-confidence, make finding it your first dream to accomplish. I suggest, “A Helpful Guide to How to Be More Confident” If you do have self-confidence, begin to specifically direct it towards your chosen goal.
3. Ask for help. People have gone before you. Learn as much as you can from them. When I decided to run a marathon, I read How to Run Your First Marathon and talked to my co-worker Carole almost every single week. When I decided to write an ebook, I talked to Jeramiah (technology), Martha (editing), and Jana (title/outline). Each had information that I needed and played a significant role in helping me accomplish my dreams. Don’t let your pride be the one obstacle that keeps you from them. Instead, humble yourself and ask for help.
4. Adjust your life as necessary. By definition, if you have not accomplished your dream yet, you’ll need to adjust your lifestyle to accomplish it. And while some of the adjustments may be major, they always start small:
- Running a marathon starts with running one mile.
- Writing a book starts with deciding on a subject.
- Clearing your home of clutter starts with cleaning one drawer, closet, or room.
- Losing 50 pounds starts with changing one meal.
- Buying a home starts with saving one dollar.
Fulfilling your dreams will require you to change your lifestyle – one small step at a time. And while there may be a large number of steps to take, the good news is that the first one is completely achievable… and so is the second…
5. Set a deadline. Deadlines force our hand and call us to action. Therefore, it is absolutely essential to pick a realistic timeline and get moving. Buy a home in the next 3 years. Fix your marriage in the next year. Lose 20 pounds in the next 6 months. Or start a blog in the next 30 days. Find a calendar, a red marker, and a day. Go ahead, circle it. After all, a dream without a deadline is just a wish.
6. Tell others. I have found limitless encouragement by sharing my dreams with others. The number of people cheering for me automatically doubles. Soon, it triples. Suddenly, I’m not just trying to let myself down, but I’m trying to not let my friends down as well. And the cost of failure has just increased.
7. Stay focused. By nature, dreams will require perseverance. There will be successes and failures along the way. Those who persevere through the failures will accomplish their dreams. Those who give up will return to step #1. And if you’ve gotten this far, why would you want to start over? Instead of allowing failures to kill your dreams, use them to refocus you and your resolve.
On a side note, I realize all too well that the circumstances of life ebb and flow. I humbly recognize that the positive circumstances of my life this past year have allowed these dreams to be accomplished. One major illness, accident, or misstep could have derailed any of them listed above. If you currently find the circumstances of life derailing you from reaching your dreams, let me encourage you. Don’t lose hope. Just redirect your dreams.
In the comment section, I’d be interested to hear if you can specifically identify with any of these seven steps. Are their goals in your life that you are working to accomplish? If so, what are they? And which of the steps above are you currently working towards?
Cara says
Congratulations on being an author and all your success! That is awesome!
My biggest dream is to be able to support myself through my writing and quit my day job, so your story hits close to home for me! All seven steps are exactly what I’ve been doing. The biggest step for me was #3: I hired a coach to help me create a business around my blog. I usually have a hard time asking for help or spending money, but this was one of the best decisions I ever made. _Maybe_ I could have done it alone, but I’m not convinced, and even if I could, it would have taken at least 4x as long.
Right now, #4 is the part I’m struggling with the most. I’ve got all the business-building stuff, plus my regular job, plus the writing I set out to do in the first place. I’m doing everything except get enough sleep! That’s not going to work in the long run, so I need to come up with a better approach.
Thanks for this post! I think it’s really important for us regular people to see that you don’t have to be a superstar to achieve these things. Your blog is always refreshing–most people who have achieved your level of success get really stuck on themselves, but you seem to have skipped that step. :)
Willow says
This post resonates with me as well. While I have many dreams, I realize that I need to choose and define one at a time (#1). I need to just start! (#4). But the one sentence that snagged my total attention was “After all, a dream without a deadline is just a wish.”
And congratulations on the one year anniversary of “Simplify”.
Lily says
Well I enjoyed the whole thing but especially loved #4! It is SO easy to forget that the little tiny steps which we repeatedly give attention, at some point become large successful accomplishments! I like how concretely you spell this out with that list of examples.
Seeing your list of recent achievements and dream fulfillments is really motivating and inspiring. I have been reading a great book (The Happiness Project) which inspired me to write down all the pesky little unfinished business weighing me down. I thought the list would go on and on for pages but it didn’t! The weight of the world fits into a few easy categories that need to be organized (in my world): music, books, computer files, regular files, family photos, and old family books/scrapbooks/notes&records. After making my list and reading your post, i am very motivated to tackle my unfinished business step by step until it is done. (And then i will maintain it!) Thanks!
Jonathan Blundell says
Staying focused is the biggest hurdle for me right now. When I wrote my novel, it was because I spent a month with all my free time dedicated and focused on writing (it helped being NaNoWriMo.org month). But now with our twins its uber hard to find any free time, let alone the focus needed to finish my current project(s).
Steve says
Jonathan,
I can certainly identify with your frustration (though my obstacles are not even close to something as life-changing as twins). I struggled with focus in getting projects done too.
I just want to encourage you to keep writing (even if it’s 5 minutes at a time). And also give yourself the grace to be a dad. Ultimately, that will pay the biggest dividends. But it’s understandable that your time will now be disproportionately skewed toward caring for your children.
In time, as they grow, you will hopefully be able to bring more balance to your time management of your schedule, but for now, cherish the interruption of their love! Best wishes as you continue to pursue your dreams!
Jonathan Blundell says
Thanks Steve! Yeah, my wife and boys are definitely 1st priority right now… then comes work, freelance work, my blog, my podcast…… ;-)
But good point on the 5 minutes here and there. That’s what it took to finish my novel in a month. 5 minutes at lunch, 5 minutes on the bus, 20 minutes before work, etc. etc.
Thanks for the reminder!
Wolf Pascoe says
I have a postcard taped to my wall. It says, “The secret to making your dreams come true is to wake up.” Well, how? Leading off with selecting a dream (step 1), each of these tips is a pull out of sleep. Personally, I’ve struggled with asking for help (step 3) and starting small (step 4). I find it both hard, and essential, to remember that people do like to help, and that most thousand-mile walks had a humble first hour.
Jenny @ exconsumer says
Hi Joshua,
Congratulations on reaching the one-year anniversary of your eBook’s launch! What a fantastic dream realized.
These are all great tips. The area I have the hardest time with is “setting a deadline.” I can plan, focus, and believe my dream is possible, but when it comes time to select a deadline for reaching my goals, I start to squirm a bit. Thanks for the reminder that without a deadline, there is no reachable destination in site.
Jo@simplybeingmum says
My humble advice would be ‘just do it’ to coin a phrase! I spent a considerable amount of time thinking about what I was going to do when I was younger then when I got my own family, I realised that the only way to beat inertia was to get started. I quit my day job, I started running, I chose to simplify my life and theirs.
I’ll throw another phrase in as I love both Wham and Trainspotting
‘Choose Life’.
Miguel de Luis says
May I add one? Define your dreams well.
Sometimes people can get discouraged in the middle of writing a book – for example – because they realize they aren’t going to be famous; yet often the dream was about writing a book worthy to be read, not getting famous which can even get in the way of writing a worthy book :)
Steve says
This is all too true, Miguel! As I wrote my book, I thought it was about Joy and learning to live a life of joy. When I got to the end, I realized it was about finding a sense of significance and purpose.
Great input!
Steve says
Definitely resonate with this post. Thanks. I’ve been eyeballs-deep this last year in the pursuit of a wonderful dream that I share with you–writing a book. I’d been working on it the last 2 years, but in the last 6 months, had the opportunity to focus on its completion.
I can validate each of the steps you list as essential to the fulfillment of this dream. Now, I’m in project management mode as I’m self-publishing but still applying these steps toward success!
Great post! Thanks again for sharing!
3 says
stupid
Marty says
Joshua, I can identify.
This year I made my wedding photography business a reality, after a couple of years of “hesitation”…and bouncing between a number of your seven steps.
I think you cannot possibly stress enough the need to set deadlines and to *tell* people when you are going to have “something” accomplished. Some people, like myself, have a hard time holding themselves accountable when there is no deadline. That was probably my biggest roadblock.
Now its all “2,3,4,6” and always #7. I think it pays to keep revisiting some of the earlier steps to stay encouraged and focused.
victor oyewale says
Josh good morning. Pls can I learn from as regard the success u achieved in making your wedding photography a reality. I love capturing images and want to specialize in studio photography and wedding photography. Pls help me out