Living Successfully - Making it happen

Take a leap of faith and begin this wondrous New Year by believing. Believe in yourself. And believe that there is a loving Source - a Sower of Dreams - just waiting to be asked to help you make your dreams come true. - Sarah Ban Breathnach

It’s now the end of January 2017.

Every year on beaches in Barbados tens of thousands of turtle hatch-lings break free of their sandy nests, most will make it to the water, after that however the odds of them making it to adulthood change dramatically with less than 1 in 1000 reaching that milestone. Many perish before making it past the reefs becoming a meal to predatory fish and sea birds. This sequence of events reminds me of the many dreams that are hatched at the beginning of every year in the form of new years resolutions, like the baby hatch-lings most will survive the first day maybe week, this is the water’s edge, after this the mortality rate mirrors that of the hatchlings. The question is how can we turn this around and make your dreams reality? The answer to this can be found in “The Five Steps to Successfully Living the Dream” there is only one precondition, and that is the dream must be realistic. It can be audacious, difficult, even out-of-this-world, once it can be attained these five steps will apply;

Visualize – Visioning what achieving this dream would feel and look like.

Plan – Design a strategy and roadmap that moves you towards it

Implement – Take action

Review – Do you need to make any adjustments?

Achievement – Success at last!

Visualization

Many great visionaries were able to articulate their dreams long before they had a plan, as a matter of fact the process of visioneering is the fertile soil from which the plans germinate and grow, take for example the Wright brothers, considered to be fathers of sustained man flight. It is said that they first had this dream as children, and through imagination and trial they were able to conceptualize the first airplane. Noted author Andy Stanley says it this way “Visioneering is the course one follows to make dreams a reality.” It therefore becomes more than just a dream or a wish when it can take you mentally to the place where you visualize in a “real” way what this dream looks and feels like. Without this important first step the dream is not likely to get past the shoreline of the New Year.

So we are dreaming about making 2017 our best year yet, take time to visualize what that looks like, feels like and taste like. What would have changed by midnight December 31, 2017 for this to be successful?

Now on to the step 2;

The Plan

“A dream without a plan is only a wish” – Katherine Peterson

Time now to put some legs on that dream and get moving. To do so you will have to answer these 4 questions “what”, “when”, “how” and “where”. The “when” is the easiest of the lot, … December 31, 2017.

Next let’s consider the “where”; where are we now and where do we intend to go, this is the value in the process of visualization, it permits us to see the gap between these two points. A good example can be seen in the building of a house, where starting with a bare piece of land with shrubs and weeds, you end-up with a 5000 square foot, 4-bedroom, three bathroom house with large kitchen, family, entertainment and dining rooms, dual car-port, 500 foot driveway, and pool on a 25,000 square foot property. Now your dream may be completely different than this, but the same principles apply. There is a gap between your present and future realities; now that you have identified and quantify this gap you need to determine what (who) is required to fill this gap. With the example of the house it would include items such as, building materials and the relevant construction workers. So what and who do you require to help you bridge your gap?

The final question left in the planning phase will be “how”. Here you identify the process for acquiring the resources needed. Again using the example of building a house; you will need to design a plan, have it valued, secure the funds, hire the builder and purchase the material. It would not be a good idea to start purchasing material before you have determined the design and type of structure (stone, wood, steel, etc.). Similarly you need to answer these questions in your planning.

On now to step 3;

Implement

Action is the foundational key to success – Pablo Picasso

A plan is no good until it is implemented, so take action start putting in the foundation, what is the first thing you need to accomplish? You have worked hard developing the process let it work for you by following it, now there may be things which will happen during implementation which take you off course, the important thing is to insure that everything happens at the correct time in the right sequence. The key point is to keep heading in the direction of your goal, at times this may require taking a step back, we will address this further under the “Review” step. Don’t be overly concerned that you may have missed something, obsessing over this can lead to paralysis, rather keep moving ahead in a careful and systematic way as you have outlined in your plan.

What happens if the plan appears not to be working? Here is where we go to the next step.

Review

Even the best made plans sometimes have to be adjusted or even abandoned if circumstances warrant. This is why it is critical that you frequently review your plans against the stated goals. By asking, is the plan moving you in the right direction? Can this be done more efficiently? Are you sure this is the right action? All these are questions, which you can use as to evaluate your progress.

Review of your plan should be continuous and not left to the end where it might be too late to remedy any deficiencies. By regular review you are able to make timely corrections and adjustments saving you time, money and frustration all the while moving closer to your destination.

I urge you therefore to review, review, and review. Even in the planning stage it is important that you review. Just image how much time and effort can be saved if a potential problem is spotted in the planning phase.

The final step is the results of all that has gone before. This is Step 5;

Achievement!

You have visualized, planned and implemented, everything has worked out maybe even better than you could have hoped for a year ago, it’s now time to do this all over again for 2018!

What if it didn’t turn out quite the way you expected? Then you would have learned some new things even if it were only what not to do, this suggest that you are 12 months wiser, and closer to your goal than when you would have begun. Setbacks when viewed as stepping-stones can take you to even higher heights than if you had attained your goal without obstacles. Actually if everything went exactly to plan I would question whether the goal was audacious enough. This then is not a failure; rather it is your second chance to achieve your best year yet.

This for me would be the greater success!

So let’s turn that dream into a reality, book your free 15-minute consultation right now. In this call I will apply these 5 steps specifically to your life and vision in order to make your 2017 your best year yet. Ready? Click link below

https://calendly.com/lsi-2016/15min

You can also join my group where you will receive free tips and get help from a growing community of like minded persons https://www.facebook.com/groups/283503172049720/