I read an article called “Secrets of Success in Daily Practice” on a friend of mine’s blog, www.tamiross.com that got me to thinking about my goals and dreams. I think everyone had dreams when they were kids. Some of us wanted to be a firefighters, others doctors or maybe a sports celebrity. During my teens, I really didn’t have a career in mind, but instead I focused on life goals. I set these goals young and they have been the driving focus in my life today, even though I might have lost a little focus on the overall dream for my life. My goals were simple:
- Education – I wanted to have my undergrad before I was 26, my graduate degree before I was 40 and my PhD before I am 50.
- Travel the world
- Marry my dream girl
- Have 2-3 children
- Be successful enough to live comfortable.
Out of all of my goals, I have achieved all but one. I checked them off as I went through each one.
- I finished my undergrad at 30, my MBA at 41 and I have planned on starting my PhD before I am 45. So I feel my education goals are on track or close to completion. Check.
- I traveled the world thanks to the Army. I met that goal even though my military career delayed my education, it was still worth it. Check.
- I married my dream girl Sheri and I have 2 wonderful children with her. Check. Check.
- I have a very good career and business. Plus I can’t complain about our life style. Check.
So, I have achieved all but one of my goals, I’m done, right? No, it isn’t that easy nor should it be. What I have realized is that while I pursued by goals, I lost sight of my dreams. Your dreams may or may not come true, but they are your driving force to get you to the next hurdle. When I was in college, I had big dreams. You could go in my office at my house and see pictures of cars, homes, vacations, and a host of other “lofty” dreams or dream items hanging on my wall and bulletin board. I always kept those dreams in front of me because I knew that if I believed it, I would achieve it. Everything I did in my life was working toward achieving my dreams. I listened to motivational tapes, read books, attended seminars and met with people who I looked up to and aspired to be like. I did all this because I had dreams. You could walk in my house and see what I dreamed of.
Each step of my life from the time I as a teenager was outlined in the goals that I hoped helped me achieve my dreams. Now truthfully, my dreams changed many times as I grew older, but my goals never changed. I adjusted goals on occasion to make them more achievable but I never changed them drastically because I used them as my life’s map. Until yesterday though, I had truly forgotten about my “dreams”. Sure my goals are there and I have achieved all but one, but for some reason I lost sight of the dream. When I lost sight of the dream, I stopped setting goals. For all intents, I was done.
Today, I woke up with this thought on my mind. What are my dreams? What do I really want to do with my life? Where do I want to be in 5 years? All of sudden, I am starting to dream again! As I started to consider my dreams, I began thinking about my goals. I need new steps to guide me toward the dream. At 43, my dreams are a little different from when I was 23, but they all have the same premise and focus.
My plans have changed, but my life’s decisions or dreams really haven’t. My dreams now include my family and our lives together. What I want for them is part of my new and improved dream. Life today is too hard to just go through it on cruise control. Your dreams give you power and hope for a better life or at least a different life than what you have now. Your dreams should be achievable but should be just far enough out of reach to make you stretch and achieve the next goal.
What are you dreams? Write them down, cut out pictures, and then put them in your office or your special book. Look at them often. Ponder or “dream” about them. Now, set your goals. What do you need to do in order to achieve your dreams? Take a good look at your life. Have you lost sight of where you want to be and what you want out of your life? Give this some thought. Sleep on it tonight and tomorrow, write it down. I think it can change your life or at least give you greater purpose than you have today.
Whatever you do, don’t stop dreaming. Where would we be today if people didn’t dream or stretch themselves to go beyond their current situation and reality? Don’t stop dreaming. Reach for the stars and you won’t be disappointed if you only get the moon.
David Beckham
MarketProMBA
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