 How does a plan become a "Dream Come True" As you might suspect, achieving your dreams will literally change your life. Accordingly, as crazy as this may sound (given our current situation) let’s start now. In other words: As soon as you read this, immediately combine these 5 aspects of your life into a single entity that fully uses each of these precious resources as if you KNOW they are within your total control: Acceptance, Attitude, Response, Vision, and Commitment. ACCEPTANCE This is the #1 factor needed to make plans, set goals, and subsequently achieve your dreams. The $100,000 question is “HOW”? Much more than a fancy way of saying, “Don’t cry over spilled milk,” I offer “4 Little Questions” as the basis for a strategic and tactical plan out of almost any scenario:
I’ll touch more on acceptance later. For now, I will foreshadow this one little phrase: “As if.” The truest application of acceptance is when you view a particularly unsettling event and act as if you personally had planned it that way. Try it; after all, there’s not much you can do to un-do what has already happened. You can, however, refer to those “4 Little Questions.” ATTITUDE Our attitude is the single most important event governing our lives. If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times: A little bit of attitude goes a long way. As a vehicle for your soul along this path in life, you are the only driver. People don’t push your buttons… You push your own buttons. People don’t drive you crazy. You do. The $100,000 question is how do we maintain a good attitude? I cannot stress this enough. One of the best ways to maintain an AWEsome attitude is to GET CLEAR on two things: forgiveness and gratitude. During your 20-minute morning routine, find some time to think about those two bottomless cups of gold that hold forgiveness and gratitude. RESPONSE Isn’t it great to be able to say and do almost anything you want? Of course, there are rules and laws about what we can and cannot do. Ironically, as much as you love saying and doing whatever you want, the people you see every single day like doing and saying whatever they want. The $100,000 question is how do we deal with their ridiculous, offensive, hurtful, or thoughtless behavior? Two free answers: (1) Be glad you are not as ridiculous, offensive, hurtful, or thoughtless as they are. Forget about teaching them a lesson. They know what they did, and they’ll likely do it again. (2) Accept the fact that you cannot change them. Adapt to their behavior by simply forgiving them. Believe me: it’s the best possible thing for you and them. VISION Every week, I tell my daughters that all things are created twice… once in our mind, and then again in the physical world. This concept also applies to the re-creation of self… and the fulfillment of our dreams. Cooking chefs are great at mental design. After all, a great meal does not magically mesh together from numerous ingredients and utensils. A great meal begins with a vision; visual picture; a mental description of what could be. Interestingly, some chefs will forbid the tasting of their products until the very final stage. Even then… we may say the final product tastes marvelous, but it is only the chef who truly knows how close the final product comes to their original plan. Similarly, only you can visualize where you want to be and when you want to be there. And once you learn to focus fervently and frequently on your vision, you can do almost anything. See it in your mind. Discuss your success with your self – repeatedly. Capture your random thoughts and keep them in A Special Dream Book… not as some sort of galactic or cosmic wish-book, but as a thought repository for your seemingly random thoughts. Newsflash: Those thoughts are not random. Those thoughts are solutions generated from your conversations with your self. Listen! COMMITMENT When I left my hometown at the age of 18, I became committed to succeeding at becoming something different. I became committed to getting up early; doing what others told me to do; going different places; learning new systems; and, in general, doing things I had not normally done. You must cheerfully make a similarly same type of commitment to your plans. You must see your plans as a requirement, and not a choice. Your plans have to be part of your daily requirements; part of your weekly routine; and every bit as a part of you as are your short and long-term goals. You must literally commit (and re-commit) yourself to being a new person. This new person has a different style of life. She has a different way of eating, drinking, and living. Most importantly, he has a different way of thinking. He is no longer focused on “them and they.” He is focused on his plan, his goals, and his dreams. Her? She is a changed woman. After today, she sees how her dreams are interconnected to her goals, and how her goals are linked to her plans, and how her plans are united with her hourly routine, daily path, week ahead, and the month that follows. THE BOTTOM LINE: As we go through this challenging time of uncertainty, we can and SHOULD still plan. First, let's accept the reality of the current situation; denial will get us nowhere except, perhaps, in a worsening situation. Then, underscore your acceptance with efforts to keep a good and realistic attitude. Subsequently, think of the possible responses to your plan (this is called sensitivity analysis – how would your plans change **IF** this, that, or the other happened?). As you go through the process of creating goals and plans, be sure to obtain information from a variety of sources and create a vision for WHAT to do and HOW to achieve the goals for the next four weeks. And finally, be committed to doing what you need to do to succeed at following your plans. Your mission for today is to use a plain sheet of paper and plan for the next four weeks. Week #1:
Week #2:
Week #3:
Week #4:
Lastly, remember this: People change. Circumstances change. Accordingly, plans will change. And by investing a few minutes planning the next four weeks, we can bring back a little bit more sanity and, perhaps, a tad bit more certainty into a whole new world that might appear to be less and less certain with each passing day. Today, I ask you: MAKE PLANS. Oh, and… As you plan to plan your next successful step... Accept what is. Adapt to a changing landscape. Achieve the best possible outcome.   |
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