How Motivation Makes You Chase Your Dream

Author: Michael Lowe

"Build a dream and the dream will build you."
- Dr Robert H. Schuller

#1 Define Your Mission
Think of all the things that you would like to accomplish within your lifetime. Not just the big, bold and daring things but also the smaller, yet still important, things. What would be your ideal weight if anything were possible? What places would you like to visit if you had unlimited funds to do so?

Who would you like to meet? Picture yourself with the house you truly desire; the car; the social life. Describe the type of person you want to become in this no-holds-barred, dream environment. Start writing.

"A pencil and a dream can take you anywhere."
- Joyce A. Myers

While your creative right brain is being encouraged to soar freely, your left brain, the analytical, executive part, may be thinking, "I'm not sure these things are possible." You must suspend your beliefs about what is impossible long enough to allow your creativity, spontaneity and imagination to start to show you what is possible. You have to replace words such as "I can't", "I never" or "I couldn't" with "I want" and "I will".

If you over- rationalize in this elementary process, you will greatly limit your ability to tap the power of your inner potential.

Would you like to spend a week away on an enchanted tropical island? Maybe you desire more money because "there's too much month left at the end of the money"! Perhaps you'd like to take your children to Disneyland? Have you ever dreamt of starting your own business? How about meeting the perfect man or woman? What about these: would you like to climb Mount Everest, buy a new car or contribute to the less fortunate in a generous way? It's your life so dare to dream! Get in touch with the things that, deep down, you'd love to be, have or do. Go for it!

Write down on a piece of paper, in a journal or notebook, all you would like to be, have or do. You don't have to know the "how", just work on developing and planning the "what".

While this process will cause you to search deep within, the rewards can be life-changing. If you're serious about improving your present conditions or if you have a dream that you've been too shy to express, engage your power of choice and act now!

By defining the big picture, your life's mission, you will have taken your first important step towards making it possible.

#2 Assign ETAs
Now, next to each item on your list, write an Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA). How long do you think it will take to achieve each of your dreams? You might write, next to some of the smaller ones, one month, three months or six months. These we refer to as short-range. You may categorise other items as being medium-range by writing one year, two years or three years next to them. Anything you believe will take you five years or beyond we refer to as long-range. Calculate your ETAs quickly and roughly.

#3 The Seven Areas of Total Success

"A dream is what you would 'like' to have; a goal is what you 'intend' to make happen."
- Denis Waitley

Now, let's get tangible. It's time to create a few specific, short-range goals that will begin to propel you towards your mission in life. If you want to turn your dreams into reality, there are two important things to consider.

The first is - Goals must be written .

Goals must be internalised and clearly defined within the imagination. Writing, however, crystallizes thought and thought motivates action. Therefore, when you write your goals, you'll enable your RAS to lock on more precisely to your intended destination.

The second fundamental is - Goals must be specific .

All those who produced great things in life had one thing in common: they all knew precisely what they wanted. The same law that controlled their success also controls yours. This is why you must know exactly what you want if you are going to receive it. The problem most people encounter when attempting to create their goals is that they don't really know what they want; therefore, they can't be specific when naming it.

Here's a goal I often see: "I want to be happy." So, too, does your neighbour's horse! He's happy if he gets a pat on the neck, a rub down and the occasional bale of hay!

Final Note by the Author

Generalisations and fuzzy thoughts get lost in the fog of non-specifics. So, don't soar into the fog zone by programming your RAS with an imprecise or vague destination. Goal setting makes it specific and prepares you to shatter the boundaries of limitation!