PART FOUR: LIVE IT DAILY

By: Mark A. Campbell MS, LMT, ATC, Performance Coach

I recently spoke at a graduation in Florida, and I began by presenting the graduates with two questions: “What do you want to happen now?” and “What are you doing to make it happen?” These questions accurately sum up the heart of this four-part series on G.O.A.L. Setting. The students that day had the same looks on their faces that these questions usually elicit. A few of them nodded along, revealing that they had some sort of plan in motion, but the majority looked at me like I had written a trigonometry question on the board and asked each of them to solve it in front of the class. And who can blame them? Working to achieve a dream is a scary prospect, especially if you have never done it before.

To combat the overwhelming fear that often accompanies such tasks, we broke down this series into several achievable steps. The first step was “Get it on paper.” I challenged you to find your inner 8-year-old and allow childlike dreaming to occur. We used every crayon in the box to make these dreams as real and as vivid as possible. Michelangelo said, “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim to low, and achieving our mark.”

If you haven’t been following our series, you can begin this process now. What have you always wanted to do but were too afraid to try? Take the chance, decide what you want and put it on paper. Do not limit your thinking or the scale of your dream. Just go for it! Minister and entrepreneur Dr. Robert H. Schuller put it best when he said, “Cut the word impossible out of your life. The only place where your dream becomes impossible is in your own thinking.” The hardest part about putting a dream on paper is having it stare back at you, realizing that you have begun this process. Remember the words of legendary motivator Zig Ziglar who said, “In 100 percent of the cases, people who don’t take step 1 will never take step 2.”

The second step of this process was “Organize a plan of action.” This is the meat of the process, which allows you to plan your journey. I also talked about making a daily to-do list, enabling you to prioritize what is most impor- tant in your life, and allowing you to create the necessary steps to achieve your goal. Building a strong “mastermind group”—your own personal support system—is also essential to this step. Author and management expert Ken Blanchard once said, “None of us is as smart as all of us.”

“Accept” was the third step of this process. This included accepting failures, successes and only the best from yourself. Every “mistake” we experience in life is only as significant as we allow it to be. It is our choice to interpret something as a success or a failure, and this belief will have a big influence on our self- image. These feelings of victory or loss will determine what level of confidence we bring to future events. See your failures as temporary, see your successes as the norm and learn from each experience. When you begin to witness your goals taking shape and you taste the smallest bit of your achievement, you will work harder to get more. Accept only your best. After all, this is YOUR dream. What is it worth to make it come to life?

Now for the final step: “Live it daily.” In my opinion, committing yourself is the hardest part of pursuing any goal because of two words: life happens. Life never stops. It does not slow down. It will not wait on us. This can prove to be tricky when trying to live a dream, but it can be managed.

Each of us has had the good intentions to achieve a goal but lacked the staying power to make it happen. I refer to this little phenomenon as “January 3rd Syndrome.” Early in my career, I managed a gym in Florida. On January 1, we would sell more memberships than in the next three months combined. New customers would come in, charged up by their New Year’s resolutions and ready to make some serious life changes. The gym would become overcrowded with no parking and long lines forming at every piece of equipment. The regular patrons would get upset and complain about the inconvenience. My advice was always, “Wait for the 3rd. It’ll be back to normal.”

I myself have been inflicted with this “J3 Syndrome” in the past, so I can comfortably speak about the cycle. The first day is great—it’s full of energy, hope and visions of the end result. “I can’t wait to look like Brad Pitt in Fight Club,” I tell myself. I’m up at 6 a.m. and ready to go. Day two comes way too early. When I’m able to stand and hobble to the bathroom, I realize how sore I am. Then I remember that I should pace myself, that over-doing it early can’t be good. “I mean, even Brad Pitt has to take a day off once in a while,” I assure myself. “I’ll get it tomorrow.” Day three is a bleary-eyed push of the snooze button. “I didn’t even like Brad Pitt’s last movie.”

Almost daily I speak to people who say things like, “I could try that but…” or, “I’ve always wanted to travel there but…” or even, “I would have followed my dream but….” When I’m older I do not want to look behind myself and only see a big BUT. The key is to make what you want a part of what you do. As you develop your actions, make sure they line up with your life as much as possible. Put your goals where you can see them. When actor Jim Carrey was starting out as a “starving artist,” he wrote himself a check for $1 million and carried it in his wallet. Every time he got discouraged or sidetracked from his goal, he would look at it. This reminded him of the big dream he was working toward.

I can honestly say that no one understands this concept better than David Kiggins, who I have known for several years. As the owner and editor-in-chief of the Fringe, David has pursued his dream of breathing life into this magazine. I know he is always consistent to the same vision he has carried along the way.

Find what works best for you and start living your dream today. The value of a big dream is that it is supposed to make you work for it. I agree with Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, who said, “A good goal is like a strenuous exercise—it makes you stretch.” Find things that inspire you, keep you motivated and make you want to stretch toward your dream.

OK, so now what? The best advice I can give you is to do something today. As soon as you finish reading this magazine, put it down and begin dreaming big. Once you have your dream, develop a plan and start living it. You deserve only the best, but it’s your choice. Work hard, have fun and always live your dreams! ✪

Tags: Dare To Dream

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