Don Loyd
We in sales and marketing sometimes get so busy with our business activity that we forget the importance of having a dream. The hectic nature of our profession means that scheduling a time to reflect and meditate on our priorities, and where we are going with our lives, is often consigned to the end of our To-Do List.
We are success and objective driven. Failure to dream, however, will limit our total overall success. Today I want you to consider a very important lady.
Born into slavery in 1822, Harriet Tubman had a dream of freeing her people from slavery. She risked her life many times during a ten year period to help free people along the Underground Railroad, a secret network of safe houses where runaway slaves could stay on their journey north to freedom. Harriet Tubman realized her dream and you can realize yours, too. Here’s step one:
Clearly define the vision of what you want to accomplish.
If you don’t know what it is that you want in your marriage, relationships, spiritual life, business endeavors, financial stability, etc., how will you know when you’ve arrived? The more distinct your dream becomes, and the better you articulate it, the faster you’ll realize your dream(s).
I want you to try an experiment. Put your feet flat on the floor with your back straight. Now, relax and close your eyes. I want you to picture success, whatever that is to you in a specific area of your life. I want you to explore the benefits and pleasure of that success. I want you to feel the exhilaration of it. Taste it, smell it.
Now determine to make that vision of success your reality. This new reality can be extended and enlarged upon as you make progress, but without first visualizing your definition of success, you’ll unlikely to achieve it.
In my 2006 book, My New Reality Journal, I encourage you to dream. I want you to have huge, expansive dreams. And I want you to clearly see where you’re going.
Start dreaming process today by specifically defining what it is you want to accomplish. Don’t cheat yourself by stating your dream in general terms such as, “I want to earn a million dollars” or “I want a successful marriage.” State your goal in clear terms that will force you to identify your dream.
For example, you might want to state it like this: “In my role as a trusted financial adviser, I will earn a million dollars by working smart while providing my clients the best products available from which they will receive a competitive return on their investment with little or no exposure of risk.”
In that one statement you are including the steps you need to realize your dream. You’ve stated your beginning point (become a trusted financial adviser) and your ending point (earning a million dollars) and the steps in between (establishing a good reputation, working smart, providing excellent products for your clients and protecting them from risk).
What is your dream(s)?
Today write it in a simple, clearly defined way.
Now, full speed ahead. As the Nike commercial commands, “Just Do It!” And do it now!
