In my early years in corporate America, I found myself in misery because I worked a job that sucked the life out of me. Not only did I work for a jerk, I also wasn’t energized by the type of work I was doing. I had always imagined I’d be on a “stage” telling stories, acting or anything that involved entertaining, informing or inspiring people. But at the time, it all seemed so out of my reach, especially when I had bills, student loans and other responsibilities that demanded my immediate attention.
Things changed when I took a chance one day to audition for community theatre. It confirmed my belief that a “stage” was where I belonged. I still kept my day job and never went to Broadway or Hollywood, but I did pursue other opportunities that led me to be in front of people, using my natural ability of public speaking to positively engage with audiences. One step led to the next step. And here I am today, a national speaker, just beginning to live the life that I had dreamed.
In my journey, I’ve learned a few things. I know everyone has the ability to dream, and our dreams give us insight into our purpose. Where does your mind drift while daydreaming, driving to work, sitting in front of your computer or lying on the bed? Like coming attractions, our dreams are divine gifts to muse and encourage us with previews of our future.
But our dreams will never come to fruition if we never take action. Even if you’re unsure of your dreams or the direction your life is to go, just take a step in a direction…any direction. Because if you take a step and fail, you will learn a valuable lesson of what worked and what didn’t. Then you can reset your life and start again. There are many doors in life. Most of them will slam in your face and for good reason. The few doors that remain wide open to you are the ones meant for you.
But the key is to start. Take a step. Trust the opened doors and the closed ones until you discover the correct path for your life.
This is one of the keys to owning your opportunities—start somewhere. You have to put things in motion, get the ball rolling and commence the journey from wherever you are with intentional and actionable steps—and never stop. You have to will yourself to believe that you deserve the life you see in your dreams and simply work towards it.
So how do you start? The following are four actions that worked for me:
- Write down what you see or create a vision board. Begin with getting your imagination out on paper. Guess what? If you keep your dreams locked inside of you, it will continuously nag and frustrate the hell out of you like a rabid dog rattling a cage. Have you ever felt this way? This is why people often become restless, depressed and angry because they’re not moving in the direction of their desired future. You become less mental when you move the location of your dreams out of your head and onto a physical place where you can see it each day like a guiding light.
- Create a plan. Think through initial actions—just simple baby steps—you need to take towards your dream and compose it into a plan. If you dream of becoming a lawyer, then the first step you may need to take is registering for the LSAT. If you want to write a book, then take the first step of attending a writer’s conference and learn from the people who’ve written books. Ask yourself, “What is one thing I can do each day to position me towards my dream? Or, three things I can do in the next 90 days?” Put it in a plan.
- Share your plan with trusted advisors. Remember, everybody else may not see what you see, and that’s okay. It’s not their role to see it—it’s their role to support it. So be intentional with whom you share your dreams and make sure these are people who genuinely support you.
- Track your progress. Check off all the steps you’ve accomplished according to your plan and celebrate your progress, big or small. Tracking enables you to stay focused, measure your progress and see your momentum (or where you’re slacking).
Are you ready to get started? Use each day to do one thing to make your dream become a reality. Make 2020 your year of owning your opportunities. Leave a comment below, include the hashtag #OYOkeys, and let’s chat. CLICK HERE to join our #OYO Community and be sure to follow me on social media for daily inspirations.
A 2023 Nautilus Book Award Silver Winner in the category of self-help and personal growth
Awesome insights to geet things starting and rolling
However Start=Sustain Engagement =Success
A few other small pieces of seasoned wisdom and sight on Sustaining Engagement for Success After Your Start
Strive to create a track record of performance
Constantly learned as much as you can about your the subject of your vision and passion ( webinars, seminars, etc)
Become a known expert and /or specialist
Establish a good reputation from the start
Put in the work, time and energy daily
Measure and evaluate your progress
Always maintain your aim; keep the goal in sight
Failure is an option, and learn from it and keep striving
Align your vision with your purpose and passion
Don’t be distracted by the success of others; keep moving
Make a daily plan and do the hard stuff first; complete every item on a daily plan
Network, Network, Network, Always Strive to Build Great Relationships
Be Deliberate and Intentional in all matters related to your work and vision
Establish and never compromise your boundaries or values
Don’t give with the expectation of receiving something in return;
Rise early in the AM; Make A Daily Plan, and Work It
Keep yourself mentally, physically and spiritually tough
Consistency equals Success
Do Periodic Check-Ins to make sure you are on track
Strive to Build Trust in ALL Relationships Related to Your Work
Take a single day out of the week to do administrative tasks
Constantly work on fixing what is broken and our weaknesses
Save your money and make sacrifices for the long term; make good financial decisions
Practice Self-care and Self Love Routinely
Do You First; About You FIrst; For You First
Strive to Make Persons Who are important to you in your life happy and smile and shine
Learn to work well in a Team, and get along with others; be a contributor
Take calculated risks
Be known for your reliability; follow up and follow-through
Hone your leadership skills
Manage your downtime and keep it to a minimal
Move seamlessly from one task to the next
Manage time wisely and never compromise
Remove yourself from environments that are not productive or aligned with your purpose
Be firm and assertive; not timid and shy
Strive to turn your dreams into impossibilities into realities
Constantly work to close the gaps between and your vision and reality
Keep good people around you
Develop the bandwidth and capacity to multi, multi, multi-task
Be humble and not boastful
Stay in prayer and keep God Fit
Make and sustain great Friendships which are essential to the Soul
And all dreamers and visioners have setbacks, run into unforeseen barriers and obstacles ..Just remember to ..See It Through
Even hope may seem but futile,
When with troubles you’re beset,
But remember you are facing
Just what other men have met.
You may fail, but fall still fighting;
Don’t give up, whatever you do;
Eyes front, head high to the finish.
See it through!
Long list, and definitely great wisdom for the seasoned veteran or for someone who has already started down their path and gotten far. I think for people stuck at a crossroads, or for a fresh youth, a simple list to get them started towards their dream will help them not feel so overwhelmed. You gotta feed the baby milk before you give them meat.
In response to your comment above ..See Third Sentence “A few other small pieces of seasoned wisdom and sight on Sustaining Engagement for Success After Your Start” This baby is already walking and grabbing table scraps ( smile) …from my experience as an entrepreneur the earlier you learn how not to fail ..the better…just my two cents..perhaps the topic of the next blog in this series