3 Tasks That Will Help You Dream Big and Achieve Success The only way to achieve monumental success is to dream big. These three activities will help you fulfill those dreams.
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The following excerpt is from Manny Khoshbin's book Driven: The Never-Give-Up Roadmap to Massive Success. Buy it now from Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | IndieBound
If you're going to dream, and we all do, why not dream big? After all, if your dreams are very ordinary, your life will be very ordinary. So picture yourself in the home of your dreams, driving the car of your dreams, visiting other parts of the world, working at something you enjoy, having great success, or enjoying time with your family. Whatever it is you want in your life, dream big and set goals to make those dreams come true.
The trick is to find something you're good at and keep doing it until you're living your dream. I know, that's easier said than done, but if you keep trying to discover something you like doing and could be good at, you, too, will find your niche.
Set goals
After you establish what your dreams are, it's time to set your goals. Ask yourself what activities can get you to living your dream. For example, what does it take to become the conductor of an orchestra? A successful architect? A restaurant owner? A United States senator? A movie producer? The CEO of a Fortune 500 Company? A real estate mogul? Do the legwork and learn everything you can about your dream goal. Then, get ready to get going.
Be aggressive with your goals. Consider where you see yourself in one, two, five, or even 10 years. Then set your sights on realistic goals that you can 100 percent accomplish each year. These goals should be moving you closer to your dream. They should also be very clear and written down so you can look at them.
Remember, dreams are like destinations -- if you want to go somewhere in life you have to recognize where you are and visualize where you want to be. That's the key to success: to stay motivated, you have to keep dreaming. If you don't have any motivation, you won't have a destination.
Find your sense of purpose
Dreams give you a sense of purpose, and if you don't have a purpose in life, you'll likely get depressed and sit around sulking. Just like you need to stay hydrated to do physical activities, you need to stay motivated. Dreaming big keeps you active and moving forward in life. Very often, people make money and get too comfortable -- they have a family, a nice house, a fancy car, they go on vacations, but they also get depressed. They don't have a destination anymore; they don't have dreams. So, I tell people to never stop dreaming. The former athlete may dream of becoming a coach, a manager, or a business owner. The burned-out attorney might decide to become a law school professor and shape the next generation of attorneys.
My advice is to make a vision board of your dream life and always think about what you'd like to do next once you achieve each dream—what is your next big dream? For example, many retirees don't know what do to once they retire. They've saved up money, looked forward to having time to do what they wanted, but now that they're actually retired, they're lost and unsure of what to do next.
Instead, you should have a mental picture (a vision board in your mind) of what your retirement will look like. Do you see yourself traveling and golfing at the finest courses in the world? Perhaps you're dreaming about your next career, maybe real estate. Maybe you dream of mentoring or doing something philanthropic. Whatever you choose, set your goals and start working toward a new dream. And never stop researching and learning along the way.
It's also important to acknowledge reaching each goal as an achievement. With each small milestone, take a pause and reward yourself. Too many people have long-term dreams and goals, but they ignore the steps they've taken and goals they've accomplished along the way. By acknowledging these smaller goals, you continue motivating yourself, plus you enjoy the journey.
Get practical experience
Once you know what your passion is and can see your dream clearly in front of you, it's time to get practical experience and also understand that you won't start at the top. You need to do the research on whatever it is you want to achieve and understand exactly what it will take to make your dream come true.
Next, you have two options: You can dream of being an owner or work inside the business. For example, you could own a restaurant or be a chef/owner, you could own a dance studio or also be giving the lessons, you could own a tutoring service or be a tutor who owns such a service. The point is, you can be passionate about being hands on in the field, or about being an entrepreneur and have other people with expertise run the business. Either way, you need to learn as much as possible about the business, which means rolling up your sleeves and working in the industry for a while. Most of the best coaches in sports, for example, played the game at some level, and whether they were good at it or not, they learned how the game was played. Those who have really excelled at coaching are those who dug deeper, learned more, and came up with their own ideas and their own strategies.
Besides gaining knowledge, immersing yourself in the industry by working in it gives you the opportunity to meet people who can help you later on. Keep in mind, business is as much about who you know as what you know. Also remember, starting and growing a business takes patience, means learning from your mistakes (and those you see around you), and requires that you keep a positive attitude while focusing on your dreams and your destination.
