Remember when you were little and people told you “you can achieve anything you put your mind to.” While our thoughts are crazy powerful, here’s the truth: You can achieve anything that you are willing to work hard for. Successful people do what average people won’t. Success is more than just thinking about it, it’s putting in the work to make it happen.
We all have something that burns inside our belly, something that lights us up, something that we want to pursue with everything in us but… only a few are willing to push past the fears, the what-ifs, and put in the hard work to make that dream a reality. Will you be one of them?
“Successful people do what average people won’t.”
-Katie Hedrick
Step 1: Start
There’s a dream, a goal, a vision… there is something on your heart. Maybe you want to open a coffee shop, become a better parent, start a new home based business, write a book, start a ministry, change careers entirely, learn a new skill, mend a relationship, break a bad habit, go back to college: whatever IT is, hear me… it’s time to START. You don’t have to have it all figured out to move forward!
When you decide you want to chase your dream MORE than you want to stay hiding behind your fear, all wrapped up in your comfort zone… you will START. And then you will submerse yourself in learning the things you need to know to make that dream happen. You will jump off the proverbial cliff, you’ll find your wings on the way down and friend, you will SOAR.
Step 2. Become a Master of your Focus
Once you’ve made the decision to start, it’s time to dive headfirst into figuring out the things you don’t know. Here’s the key: you must become a Master of your Focus. If Facebook sucks aways 5 hours of your life every day, delete the app. If there are toxic people in your life, telling you that you’ll never succeed, stop hanging out with them. It’s time to STOP getting distracted by things that have nothing to do with your goals.
Make the most of the hours in your day by being focused and PRESENT in whatever you are doing. If you’re working towards making your dream a success, give it your full attention. In contrast, if you’re spending time with your family, give them your complete attention. I would never tell you to put your family on the back burner, because they will ALWAYS be more important than whatever you are chasing. In fact, they will probably be your biggest support system on your journey.
Keep your priorities in line, come up with a manageable plan of exactly HOW you will be spending your time and stick to the plan. It’s amazing where you can find “extra” hours in the day when you are laser focused on a goal. Side hustle, night hustle, whatever you want to call it… Make time for all the important things in your life, weed out the things that are sucking your time or energy away and be totally focused and present on the task at hand.
Step 3. Know that there will be “off” Days
I love you enough to tell you the truth: there will be “off” days when you just don’t feel like you’re at the top of your game for whatever reason… the kids get sick, the car breaks down, you have writer’s block, you’re tired, the dog dies, whatever…
Press on anyway. Remember WHY you’re doing what you’re doing. Close your eyes and let the fire light back up in your belly. And when you really, really need to… take a break. It’s okay to not be okay. But don’t stay there. Your dream is waiting for you to pick it back up and run with it.
Pro Tip: Batch work, or work ahead, on the days when you are on fire! In the event that you have an off day, you won’t have lost much, if any ground!
Step 4. Be Consistent, Be Consistent, Be Consistent
Do you know what wins the race? It’s not what you think and it’s not what you’ve probably been taught. Fast and furious might work sometimes. Sloooow might get you there part of the time. But the secret for winning the race EVERY time…⠀
Consistency. ⠀
It’s about never giving up. It’s about pressing forward when you’re tired, overwhelmed or when you want to quit. It’s about staying the course. It’s about knowing how to reignite your passion and remembering what the end goal is. When you’re tired or questioning whether you really want to keep working towards your dream, that’s usually when you’re on the brink of a major breakthrough. You’ve come this far. Do NOT give up.
Please hear me: Success does not happen overnight. It will take an insane amount of work. That’s a fact. BUT… if you will stay consistent, it will be the one thing that gives you the biggest return in the end.
Step 5. Stay Humble and Teachable during the Journey
There will come a point where you realize your dream is unfolding, success is happening. It will feel shocking. And awesome, so awesome.
It will also be the moment where you need to stay completely humble. It’s the part of the journey where it will serve you well to seek wisdom more than ever. I don’t know what your dream is, so I don’t know what “success” will look like for you… maybe it will be a large chunk of income, maybe it will be opening the literal doors of a brick and mortar store, maybe it will be the moment you realize your influence has exploded to the masses. But here’s what I know: Success will make you more of who you really are.
It will be critical to stay humble and teachable, to remember where you came from and how hard you worked to get to where you are… and if you do, your success will rise above what you initially dreamed of.
Step 6. Pass It On
Your success will taste so sweet and guess what? It will taste even sweeter if you pass it on, if you lift up someone else who is on their own journey.
You get what you give. What you put out into the world is what will return to you. It’s a Law of the Universe. If you plant more seeds, you’ll harvest more plants. If you share your success, more will come to you. Celebrate your success briefly and then get to passing it on!
Looking for more success tips? Click here to download the newly released eBook “7 Habits of Happiness” for Free. It’s 11-pages packed with growth tips to help you live your best life!
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