Climbing to the Top of Your Dreams
Where are you on the mountain?
“The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty.”
— Zig Ziglar
We all have dreams. Reaching new heights begins with the first step and then followed by the next.
We were born to love everyone, and that includes ourselves. When I started writing, I was afraid of what others would think. Now, I wish I could touch more people’s lives with my writing.
I remember writing my first article; I didn’t even know what I was doing. Ultimately, I knew I wanted to share my writing as a way of giving back to others.
When I look back at it, I can see how far I’ve come but my goal to write a book seems still so far away.
I’m happy to have followed through with the first step of writing which at the time seemed so big. I can’t wait to finish my book one day and look back and think how big that goal seemed.
One day it will just be a pebble amongst the mountain of books I’m planning to write. I knew I shouldn’t have deleted those drafts.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve started my book over. All I can tell you is the tugging at my heart keeps pulling me.
I can’t keep ignoring this monster any longer. I used to beat myself up about not writing my book.
I now look at this delay as the much-needed time to develop my character further, to learn more, and for some good old living before aligning myself with this dream.
Life is one big waiting match. We hurry up to wait most days. I’ve started my book over, but this time, my plan is even better.
It won’t be easy because nothing is. Everything takes effort and a lot of facing our fears.
No matter what your big dream is, aligning yourself is honestly the first step.
Honesty
Honest people aren’t afraid of what others will think of them. They know that honest information builds trust and deep connections with others, which is confirmed in their words and actions.
Honest people don’t exaggerate. They don’t elaborate just to get attention, sympathy or a higher paycheck.
Honest people have empathy towards others because they see the world through others’ eyes.
Honest people’s words and actions align. They are accountable for their actions. They learn from their mistakes and aren’t afraid to take the next step. They stop making excuses.
Honest people know what holds them back from their dreams. An honest person is transparent like a jellyfish.
“Our ability to handle life’s challenges is a measure of our strength of character.”
– Les Brown
Character
Developing your character comes through the testing of life. Simply going through hard times doesn’t mean you’ll build your character on the spot.
Being nice when things are going smoothly is easy. It’s not going to build your character.
When you’re being nice even when your life is in the pits, and you don’t feel like being friendly is when you slowly develop character.
In the hard times, your character begins to shine. This is when you prove to others and to yourself that you can live up to your principles.
A person with a strong, positive character knows how to persevere towards their goals even in the hard times.
Integrity
Live with honesty and keep your promises. It sounds so simple, but why aren’t there more people of high integrity walking around the streets these days?
A broken promise is effectively a lie that is conflicting with living with integrity. Lying to ourselves about our dreams is not living with integrity as well. This is why it’s essential to follow that voice inside leading you.
Make a promise to yourself and go for it! Living with high integrity makes you become a doer and not just a dreamer.
Faith
With big dreams come challenges and setbacks but with faith and a positive mindset, you can face failure with a new mindset.
Allow yourself room for mistakes and learn from them. Failure is just as much a part of life as a victory. Why are we so willing to embrace victory but slam the door to avoid failure like it’s a monster? We must begin to get comfortable with failure by accepting that mistakes are destined to happen.
“And a step backward, after making a wrong turn, is a step in the right direction.”
– Kurt Vonnegut
Love
Everyone is doing the best they can with what they have been given in life. Where we are is exactly where we are supposed to be.
You must learn to be gentle with yourself. Loving yourself doesn’t mean you are egocentric or a selfish person.
We were born to love everyone and it starts with yourself. You can’t love from an empty vessel.
We are all human which means we will make mistakes time after time. It’s how we grow and move forward learning to accept the valleys through self-love and appreciation. Nobody likes to be grounded from their passions. We must stop punishing ourselves subconsciously.
“Everyone of us needs to show how much we care for each other and, in the process, care for ourselves.”
— Diana, Princess of Wales
Loyalty
Loyalty is not something I talk about much. Lately, it even seems unpopular in certain environments.
However, it is a vital quality to accept in our personal lives to achieve our goals.
Loyalty always allows us to be true to ourselves and to our values. Loyalty promises a clean conscience and leads us to live a transparent life.
You can only live loyally when you live with high integrity. Being consistent is likewise vital to being loyal.
In love
We must learn to be in tune with our little whispers inside.
These promptings have a purpose. We must act not always knowing why.
Could the reason I’m supposed to write this book to be for someone a hundred years from now to read?
Maybe it has nothing to do with the now. Maybe our good works will never gain traction while we are still alive.
Perhaps we need to trust in the process, knowing that the outcome isn’t as important as the process. Keep climbing; you’re almost there! What is your next step?
I have a bonus story for you! I just met Tanisha Jones, and when I read her story, it felt as if she was filling in the parts of my story that I left out. Thank you, Tanisha.
She is a new writer; I love her way of thinking, and she is genuine and transparent. Her story will not disappoint:
