How To Prove To Yourself That You Are Going After Your Big Dream. I have a personal story to share with you that happened not that long ago. But first. Realize this once and for all. You have a Big Dream. In fact, Bruce Wilkinson, author of the hugely successful book, The Dream Giver, demonstrates that God has given each one of us a dream to go after. The problem is that few of us take the time to understand what our Big Dream is. And even fewer of us take the necessary action on our Big Dream. Life is Unfulfilling If You Dont Really Go For It! How sad! How tragic! Think about it. In my experience, I have seen few people really go after their Big Dream. Instead, I see people, including friends, hiding themselves from their dream. They live a life of comfort. They get up each morning and follow the same routines, same behavior patterns, same thought processes without really realizing that this life of auto-pilot is really a chain preventing them from truly experiencing life. And many of them create a faade to hide themselves from the pain such as living for the weekend mentality. Life is Too Short To Play It Safe! When I left my job as a Vice Principal I went through some psychological discomfort. All of a sudden I realized that I no longer had a steady pay check coming in. And neither did Fiona, my wife, as she had left her job as an Occupational Therapist. I had been so busy replacing my income and Fionas income in record time127 daysI did not have time to reflect on this until I took my kids to school for their first day of school last year. It Was a Beautiful September Day In Canada, kids go back to school the day after Labor Day and as soon as we walked onto the playground my kids were gone as quickly as my friends and I used to run when we went pool hopping in the middle of hot summer nights and we saw lights come on in the backyard (Thats another story!). As my kids were re-aquainting themselves with their friends, I talked with some of the parents who had walked their kids to school. You Should Have See The Looks On Their Faces When I Told Them This! Then a few teachers came up to me. They were puzzled and asked me why I was not at school. They couldnt believe when I told them that not only had I left my job, but also Fiona had too. Wow, I thought as the bell rang and I watched the children line and enter the school. This was the first time in 14 years that I was not going back to my job. And Then I experienced It For The First Time If you have recently left your job to go for your Big Dream, you will understand exactly what I am saying. What I experienced for the first time in my life was the fact that I now really had to show up each day with my game face on. I had to participate actively in the adventure. Sitting on the sidelines was not an option. Was I excited. You bet! Was I scared? No question! And Herein Lies The Key To Growth. You must acknowledge your emotions. I never really acknowledged the emotions that were associated with living my dream until I turned my back on my childrens school that day and began walking home. This Is How You Know You Are Really Living Your Big Dream There are two emotions that you must experience, which will prove that you are really going for your Big Dream. What are they? Lets put it this way. When my clients decide to go for it, I always help them acknowledge these two emotions. I ask them the following: Are you excited? and Are you scared? If you are really going for it in life, you will be able to answer a definitive yes to both of these questions. Why should you be excited? Because you are about to tap into the new paradigm of possibilities as opposed to limitations. The I can mentality and not the infamous I cant self talk. And that is really exciting. Really, really exciting! Why should you be scared? Because you are now preparing yourself for competition. And who is your foe? Just look in the mirror and see your worthwhile opponent. You are now about to go into battle with yourself. You are now going to have to develop a new belief system, new attitudes and new behaviors that will ensure your success. And you will have to create this, despite years of prior conditioning. Change makes us uncomfortable. Thats why most people never really get into the game, because it forces us to get dirty. It takes training, discipline, consistency to make our Big Dream happen. And Realize This Once And For All Your business will only grow to the extent that you do. So looking outward begins with looking inward. In and out. Life is like that. You look outward and see the possibilities. You look inward and feel the fear. In school you learned that a force is a push or a pull. Both are mutually exclusive. And life is just like that. It is about equilibrium. Excitement and fear. Both must be present at anytime to know you are really living your dream. If one is absent you are out of balance. Life is about balance. And never is this more accurate then when you decide to really go for it in life! |
