Inspiration

2 Secrets to Achieve That Dream

Finally get it done!

Have you ever dreamed of doing something yet never made it happen? I have yet to meet anyone without at least one such experience. We want to do it and know we should, but never take the time. Why is this? Let’s look at some reasons we stall and two secrets to making that dream happen.

Why do we stall?

Why do so many of us have a dream and want to do something like write a book but never get around to it? What is it about human nature that makes us this way? We keep stalling even though we know we should do it.

You could say we are just procrastinating, but it seems to go deeper than that. There is always some reason we avoid making time for it. Sometimes, we even go in fits and starts but never finish it.

Perhaps it is an avoidance issue where we subconsciously avoid making headway on the dream for some underlying reason. Or maybe it is some form of excusitis where we do nothing but make excuses.

It never fails that something gets in the way whenever we try to start. Or when we do start, something else draws our attention away from it.

As I journaled one morning in 2000, I noted I should write a book. The more I thought about it, the more I realized it was something I wanted and needed to do. Not only for myself but so I could help others save time and live a better life.

“The hardest thing about getting started, is getting started.” Guy Kawasaki (1954-present)

I kept thinking about the book for years but did nothing. I recall the thought that all I had to do was use my journals and what I had learned to get it done! But…

Years went by with life interfering, as it always does. In 2004, Charlotte, my wife, became very ill and died. I shut down my business, moved to another state in 2005, and finally retired in 2013. Surely, I could finally start on that book now, and I did.

I hired a book coach. She was great and helped me gather my thoughts about what I wanted to write and start an outline.

Life interfered again as Jane, my wife, and I sold our home north of Pittsburgh and moved to Richmond, Virginia.

I had started writing just before we moved and must admit it was a mess! All I had to do was keep going. Wouldn’t you know it, I had more interruptions. Life has a funny way of doing that! Needless to say, I made little progress.

Then it happened. As Fred Sanford in the 70s sitcom often said, “This is the big one, Elizabeth!” The only problem was I had four big ones that day, with many complications and a 55-day stay in intensive care.

When you come that close to dying, you tend to reevaluate your life at some point. I struggled with brain fog and wasn’t able to think clearly until nearly two years had passed.

Fortunately, the fog lifted, and my mental faculties slowly returned, as did the desire to finally finish my book.

I worked at it for about an hour or two each day for months and finally had a draft. After working with a great editor, I finished and published it a few months later in 2019. So far, I am pleased with the sales as it continues to do well!

You can take the route I did to come to your senses or commit to making your dream come true by using the following two secrets.

Secret #1 — Get started

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started” Mark Twain (1835–1910)

I learned a lesson in business and used it for many years to build a successful career. The lesson was two-fold. I learned the first part of this lesson when I was in marketing. Just get started! Don’t worry about how bad it is at the beginning.

How I wish I had taken Twain’s advice earlier during the nearly twenty years it took me to write my book!

Do something, anything, without any expectations of how good or bad it will be. Just getting something down on paper can be enough to kick-start the process. Use whatever progress you make to spur you on. The more you work on your dream, the better your ideas become. This is known as the preparation phase. The more you prepare, regardless of what the work looks like, the better the result will be from the next phase of refining and molding your creation.

If you are a lifelong learner, and I hope you are, look at getting started as the beginning of the learning process. Be curious about what you may create by simply starting. Look forward to the journey getting started puts you on. Talk about adding excitement and fun to your life! You will not only create something new, but you will learn much in the process. What’s not to like about that?

“The way to get ahead is to start now. If you start now, you will know a lot next year that you don’t know now and that you would not have known next year if you had waited.” William Feather (1889–1981)

It shouldn’t have taken a near-death experience for me to finish my book, but it did. Mission accomplished, but not without the crucial second skill needed to get things done — follow-through.

Secret # 2 — Follow-through

While procrastination, avoidance, and excusitis are bad enough, not following through is a dream killer. Not following through has destroyed countless careers and has to be one of the top reasons many employees fail to perform.

I was fortunate to learn this lesson early in my career in sales. If you fail to follow through, you will be lucky if you are a mediocre salesperson.

The best thing I did to propel my career to new heights was to follow through. It is easy to separate yourself from the crowd by developing this single skill. Don’t neglect it if you want a far happier, more successful life and career.

“Diligent follow-up and follow-through will set you apart from the crowd and communicate excellence.” John C. Maxwell (1947-present)

I knew this and the first secret and had practiced them diligently in business and life in many ways. The only thing I can say about why I did not apply them to writing my book is that I didn’t commit. I thought there would always be time to do it. But then the wake-up call came, and I almost died!

After the health event, I came to my senses and finally realized that if I died, my dream would die with me. What I regretted most was that I knew better, and if I had consistently worked on it, I would have obtained my dream far earlier. That realization was crucial to helping me follow through and complete the process.

If you dream of becoming an author, please pursue it! There is nothing quite like the feeling of seeing your words in print!

Final thoughts

Whatever your dream is, commit, get started, and follow through to completion to make it come true.

Why deprive the world of your creation any longer? Someone needs it. Don’t waste another minute. Why not start today, or better yet, what is keeping you from starting this very moment?

Heed the following wisdom, and your life will change forever!

“The only thing that stands between you and grand success in living are these two things: getting started and [following through to the end]!” Robert H. Schuller (1926–2010)

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Bill Abbate Leadership Writer and Editor in ILLUMINATION

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