7 Steps to Making Your Dream Come True

Pursue your dreams. Reach for the stars. Take a leap of faith.

Pick your cliche; we’ve heard them all before. Our minds are flooded with motivational proclamations and anecdotes about following our dreams and accomplishing our goals in life. And inspired we are! We hear romantic stories all of the time that get our blood pumping and compel us to do whatever it is that we always wanted to do. We read the book; we watch the movie; we hear the song on the radio. And we get excited. We’re going for it this time for sure!

And yet, most of us never move a muscle. We feel compelled to pursue our goals but can’t seem to get past the compulsion. Our hearts are filled with wishes and dreams, but our feet are paralyzed with uncertainty. Great, we have a dream! What do we do with it? Read the Rest of This Article »

Are You a Realist?

If one man tells you a horse, he’s insane

if three men tell you you’re a horse, there’s a conspiracy

If ten men tell you you’re a horse, you need to buy a saddle.

- Chinese proverb

 

I stared in disbelief at my Regional Manager. I could no longer hear the words coming from his mouth because all my attention was turned inside in a torrent of abuse aimed at him, the company, the industry, and of course, myself.

How could this be happening to me? How could I be turned down for the management development program when it had been de facto promised to me if I hit certain goals. Goals that had all been reached and most smashed.

As my brain scrambled to make sense of what was happening I heard him say one final thing  before the meeting came to a close and I was suddenly out in the cold, both figuratively and literally: Read the Rest of This Article »

The Case for Being Negative

We’ve all heard it. “Be positive” they say. “Focus on the good in life” they explain.
“Think, you could be in a much worse situation so you should be thankful for what you have” they command. Well, screw that. I say, forget being positive…being negative has its own virtues.

Honestly, I’m not some weirdo who goes out of his way to find things to be negative about.. Nope, I’m not going to tell you that you should be always pessimistic and pissed off with the world. But I am going to tell you that it is absolutely ridiculous to focus 100% on being positive in your life. Being super incredibly uber-positive is detrimental to your health (much like eating lead paint). You see, optimism is a good thing…but blind positivity will keep you from actually changing your life or making a meaningful impact to this world. Read the Rest of This Article »

How To Make A Dream Reality: Fear vs. Courage

Photo Credit: Robert Campbell Photography

Part 1:

Fear is an illusive giant. What is it? What color is it? How is it shaped? Where can it be found? Fear is everywhere and no where at the same time. It has no shape, color, sound, form, or solid visibility. We can see and feel only its effects. What to do when fear is stalking? Stop. Turn around. Look at it square in the face, And what? Fear has no eyes, no face, and no form.

The truth is that fear is: False Evidence Appearing Real.

This step prepares you to overcome fear, and gather up the courage to write your dream plan and to build your Dream Plan Book.

A wise Eddie Rickenbacker once said, “Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared.”
Read the Rest of This Article »

Achieve Happiness by Creating a Life Lie

Reality, when looked at truthfully, is quite depressing. We’re all doomed to tumultuous lives filled with toil and frustration. Most of us won’t live up to our potential. Most of our hopes and dreams will never be realized. Most of us will never become rich or famous or successful.

Just when you think a problem is solved, an uglier one replaces it. The cycle of desperation continues as our faculties decline. We lose our strength and beauty. We become shells of our former selves and eventually die.

Fortunately, thinking about the nasty truth can be averted with a well crafted Life Lie.

How? Luckily it’s easy. If you are relatively happy person, my guess is you already have one.

A Life Lie is a story we tell ourselves. A story we actually believe about our lives that lets us ignore reality and focus on a glorious future. Allow me to provide a background story. Read the Rest of This Article »