What Experts Say About Making Your Dreams Come True

Do you think that those who have a dream and make that dream come true are luckier than you? Are they smarter? More talented? 

While luck and fate and genes could play a small part in success, for the most part, making your dreams come true is based on hard work, self- awareness, focus and persistence. That’s good news because it puts your success in your hands. 

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Even better, there are strategies, techniques and behaviors that business people, entertainers, athletes, speakers, politicians and others have harnessed in order to fulfill their dreams—here’s how to put them to work for you.

Start with what’s important to you. Base your dreams on your heart’s desires.

Some people know what they want from childhood; most of us don’t. Developing a clear idea of what matters to you, what fulfills you, what your purpose and what you desire provides a foundation for articulating your dreams.  Knowing what is important and what you are reaching for helps you move beyond wishful thinking so that you stay motivated and on track. 

Develop a road map to get you there. The best-laid plans are what it takes.

Business professional Bo Bennett says: “A dream becomes a goal when action is taken towards its achievement. “ The first step is creating a plan.

Break down your dream into actions that will get you there; put them in the order they need to be achieved.  What do you need to learn or do? What help and resources will you need? Be sure to set deadlines to keep you on track. Start with baby steps in the beginning so you get some success under your belt.

Be accountable for your success. Accountability empowers.

Make sure that your plan empowers YOU to fulfill it; don’t rely on others to succeed.

Don’t be a victim of your past; shrug off dependency on others. Remember that you are responsible for who you are and for what you do. Concentrate on what you can control. Stop wasting your time and energy worrying about or stressing over things that you can’t control.

Adopt a success mindset. Make focus and positivity a habit.

Stop focusing on things that “aren’t” or things that you don’t have. Count what you do have. Two positive tools that will enhance your ability to reach your goals are affirmations and visualization. Athletes who excel have been known to use both. Mohammad Ali once said: “It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.”  Ali kept telling people: “I am the greatest!” He said this when he wasn’t there yet, and it was his belief that helped make him get there.

Michael Jordan (and many others) have effectively used visualization.  “I visualized where I wanted to be, what kind of player I wanted to become. I knew exactly where I wanted to go, and I focused on getting there.” Some studies have shown that visualizing success in your mind’s eye can be almost as effective as physical practice. In order to achieve what you desire, your thoughts need to be aligned with and support reaching your goals.

Make room for your dream. Reduce or eliminate things that are not priorities and that don’t contribute to reaching your dream.

Nothing will change until you make room and time for it. You may need to rework your schedule. You may need to eliminate some activities that don’t contribute toward your goal. You may need to remove people who are negative, who are merely an obligation, who are using you or those that take you in the opposite direction. Then it will be easier to focus on those things that truly matter to you and that you’re determined to bring about.

Learn from your doubt. Then move beyond it.

If you let worry and doubt take over, they will sabotage your dreams.  On the other hand, you can use doubts to illuminate obstacles or problems to be solved.  Feel the fear (or worry) and do it anyway. Live by the motto that failure and mistakes are temporary, a way to learn and a chance to do better the next time.  Thomas Edison tried unsuccessfully to get his electric light bulb to work – one thousand times.

Sharpen your brain and keep it open to new ideas.

Learning something totally new… inventing or creating something, these keep your mind active, receptive and better at solving problems.  Broaden your interests and try new things, even if it is just taking the long way to work or reading a publication you typically wouldn’t.

Get rid of clutter in your mind. Write things down so you can erase them from your mind. Make room for your purpose and your objectives to be kept in the front of your mind instead of being pushed to the back.

Work it. Go for the win.

No one says it will be easy. But you definitely won’t get there if you don’t go for it. “The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work.” (Oprah Winfrey) Winners in almost every field will tell you that they worked for their dream.

As Russell Simmons has said:  “It’s all about the work.  Nothing is going to fall into your lap. If you want to be a lawyer, see yourself as a lawyer, go to the library and start learning the law. If you want to be a rapper, start rapping and get out there. Live your life as if you already are where you want to be.”