“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?
Dr.Manisha Kesharwani says
Trust me I could identify with all the points.Thank you for writting these points because you know we all know these points but they exist in our mind in such a puzzled way that we want someone to tell us each of them in a stategic way…may be it’s kind of reinforcement.I’m also doing lot of it.
I have just now followed you on twitter and I’m saving this piece of writing in my phone’s bookmark.Will let you know when I achieve my goal-the most urgent one:) because may be everybody needs to know how they impacted people in such a wonderful way.Thank You once again
Dr.Manisha Kesharwani
charles eze says
I love the whole thing. I’m 23yrs now. I always wanted to be a writer and motivational speaker. I didn’t set a deadline, initially, I said to myself that after college, my book “creating a bright future (future is creatable) )should be published. Its been three years now, my book is yet to be published. Well, I will say financial I’m down for now. But seting deadline after reading your post this year has attracted someone to sponsor me.
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VJ says
Congratulations for your blog! It’s inspiring, well-written, and articles like this trigger a quake in our minds. Really worthy reading :).
Thank you very much for sharing your tips to fulfill your dreams. Although our steps are important, I think the most difficult ones are believing in yourself and taking action everyday to conquer your dreams.
To overcome those, I would suggest one more step – find a way to help others through your dreams, a higher purpose than yourself. This may be one of the most powerful motivations to help you achieving your dreams.
In my case, I’ve always loved art since I was a kid – whether writing, drawing or taking photographs. For me, creativity it’s like breathing. Along with my loved ones, it’s what makes me feel alive. The things I do are far from perfect, of course, but I don’t mind as long as they reflect the same passion I felt when I created them.
But for almost twelve years I’ve been dragged away from my passions by college first, and my job afterwards. Not that I hate my career – I wouldn’t say it is my dream job… because I never dared to dream so high. So I try to be thankful for this great opportunity working with as much care, enthusiasm and devotion I can offer. However, my job sometimes can be really demanding, and sometimes leave me little time to work on my other dreams.
So, after reading your article, I’ve rescued a novel I really loved when I was a teenager. It pained like hell to abandone it in order to fight for my studies. And after so many years, I’m still dying to write it.
Now I’ve committed to write a little everyday, even if it’s only 5 minutes – but to give little steps until I finish, and enjoy the whole journey in the meantime. And I have set a goal to keep me on track, no matter what – to craft the best novel I’ve ever written and publish it as a free ebook, so everybody that wish to read it can do it even if they don’t have money. And if someone with enough money enjoys it enough (hopefully), I’d like to encourage them on the last page to donate the money they would have paid for it to the NGO they wish. Even if I don’t succeed, even if I only managed to help a single person, everything would be doubly worthy. And that’s the best way to honor my characters for bearing with me so many years. It seems I can’t give up this time :).
Thanks so much for shaking our minds and encouraging us to pursue our dreams. That’s what some of us needed :)
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Lizzie says
I want to become a famous fashion designer or an actress, but what if my dreams are too big? I can definetly do something as simple as cleaning my apartment inside out, or becoming a teacher or something like that, but what if I’m not qualified to become famous? The chances are slim, but that’s my dream, and I don’t know if I can fulfill it or not.
Konstandina says
Hi and congratulations!
In a couple of months I will completely change my life moving abroad as I always dreamed of. I have a lot of fear though!
What about when you share your dream with others, with friends they discourage you? What if there is noone to support you?
Gary says
Hi Konstandina,
Good for you in doing something for yourself! That’s such a character building thing. It will give you even more independence, build your confidence even more, and will help you learn what life throws at people.
If your friends are discouraging you, it’s because they care for you, and will miss you. They are worried that something may happen to you. They are worried that they’ll lose you forever.
Listen to them. Are their own fears speaking out at you? This is what holds them back from achieving their dreams. What should you listen to, fear, or hope?
Expect success, but plan for failure, and you’ll very likely be fine!
Make sure you can get home in an emergency!
Good luck!