I have always been able to dream without limits; Big, Big Dreams! As far back as I can remember I’ve dreamed of being wealthy. Having the big house with pool and a jacuzzi. Someone to clean, cook, do laundry and take care of all life’s little things, especially me. Traveling to exotic, beautiful places. It is realizing the dream that gives me problems.
Unfortunately, I was never taught the planning piece to making dreams come true. My parents worked 9 to 5 jobs their entire lives. Although those may be bankers hours, the jobs they worked definitely were not banker’s jobs. They were manual labor jobs, head cook in a family diner and a mechanic in a small engine repair shop.
Dream Small or Dream BIG?!
To dream small or dream BIG, that is the question! Sometimes we dream too small. We set limits on our success or set our expectations too high with unrealistic goals. You all know what I mean, “I’ll make a million dollars in one month.” I always thought, I dreamed big; but when I had the opportunity to achieve a dream, I dreamed small, or maybe dreamed realistically is a better description. My husband and were married for a couple of years when we decided to build a house. Due to bad past financial decisions on my part plus my husbands divorce and subsequent bankruptcy 4 years earlier, building a house the traditional way, that is having some one else do the work, was not an option.
At the time, there was a popular infomercial for essentially a do-it-yourself home building program. While I know how to frame a house and be a contractor’s worst nightmare; plus, I’m grateful for the opportunity, I wouldn’t do it again. The company turned out to be a bit shady (that is a story for another page) and we were fortunate to get a house out of the process. Others weren’t so lucky. But, the house we chose was a basic 3 bedroom, 2 bath 1600 square foot starter home. Since we were living in an 800 square foot apartment with 2 bedrooms and 1 bath, this seemed amazing. But, it wasn’t the Big Big Dream home.
Not achieving your dream goal, or only achieving part of it, can lead to frustration and ultimately cause us to give up and quit trying. Set goals and time limits with reasonable expectations. Think about all you want to accomplish and make a plan with a way to set that plan into motion. Allow for setbacks, failures, and in general LIFE!!! Life is too unpredictable no matter how much we think we have everything under control. As they say, life is what happens when your plans don’t work out so be sure to plan for the unexpected. Make your dreams big but real. Set tiny goals along the way to help you achieve the Big Big Dream goal. Achieving tiny accomplishments along the way will make the inevitable failures less painful but give you the drive to continue.
Dare to Dream Big
Having dreams of any size, small, medium, big or really big, was never an issue in my family. I remember watching my parents sitting at the dining room table, drawing their dream house. These were drawings that would have made any architect proud. But the dream never came to fruition. They never learned how to set goals let alone how to make plans to achieve them. Their parents, my grandparents, were no different. I imagine the same can be said for many. All having big dreams, but no tools to make the dreams a reality. And, no desire to find or learn the tools.
Dare to Dream Bigger
As I’ve gotten older, my Big Big dreams have changed a bit. If I win big in the lottery, the first calls would be to the attorney and the financial planner, of course. But the next call would be to the developer and anyone else deemed necessary to help me create, run, and manage a no-kill animal shelter similar to Best Friend’s in Utah. I even have the name picked out; Another Chance Animal Welfare Society. I also want the wealth to donate to every shelter across the country so they all become no-kill shelters. But how do I make these dreams come true?
Dare to Dream and Work to Win
The solution is to surround yourself with like-minded, goal-oriented people. You know those people who can raise you up, give you advice, and the knowledge and skills you need. But, most of all they are there for you during your successes and your failures. We only learn how to be successful through our failures. For yourself, create a strong support organization with success-driven people and the rest will take care of itself. The naysayers will come around when they see that you do not give up and that nothing will stand in your way.
How do you find success-driven people? I know there are a number of ways to find success-driven people; google, online networking groups, social media, to name a few. But, I found my support organization by joining this amazing community of online marketers and entrepreneurs. Through this community, I have found a way to achieve my Big Big Dreams. Finally, I am learning how to set achievable goals and how to create a plan to achieve them. Ways to turn these dreams into achievable goals. Plus a best of all bonus; a way to pay it forward and help others learn to turn their big dreams into achievable goals as well!
Rejoice and Have Fun!
Along the way, enjoy yourself!!! No matter how big or how small, rejoice, have fun and celebrate your successes!!! Take the time to relax and enjoy the results of all your hard work. Sit back and enjoy a glass of your favorite wine from your own wine-club-membership. Have a great meal either at home or out on the town. Travel and see the world. Then, come back refreshed, refocused and recommitted to continue Dreaming Big Big Dreams and Winning!!!