Success is not an accident. But sometimes we might feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, making our dream come true.
Waiting for this success, without doing something, will probably never happen. That’s what kids are doing when they dream of becoming a princess or astronaut. They mostly don’t take any action in order to achieve their wish. But we can make it happen when we know about the basic steps on the way to success.
Clarity of the Goal
Achieving our goal requires us to be very clear about what the goal looks like and about how to get there. It’s like going on a journey without thinking about the destination. We will probably never be happy with the place we end up. One technique is, to imagine how it feels to be there. How does it feel to have reached the goal? Using this visualization every day helps to keep the emotional commitment high. Otherwise, we will lose momentum sooner or later. We have to be clear about what it requires to choose this path. If we are not willing to put in the work and effort, it’s probably not the right goal. Persistence, diligence, planning, and challenge are always parts of this journey.
Tip: Write down your goal as precise as possible and plan backward to bridge the gap between where you are now and where you want to go. Visualize your goal each morning.
Required Skills
Even if we know the destination, we have to think about what kind of luggage and equipment we need to get there. If we are going on a beach vacation or a jungle experience, we need to be completely different equipped. For our goal and performance, it means to get clear about what we need to succeed. Planning, based on the skills we already have, limits what we can achieve. We never could have imagined finishing school successfully, if we just considered the skills we had on our first day at school. Reaching our goal might require us to learn new skills. That’s a challenge, mastering it, will result in personal growth!
Tip: What skill would you need to achieve your goal. Learn a new language, learn to set up a web-page, learn to be a good speaker or how to make a business plan.
Daily Structure
We lose a lot of momentum by wasting our time. We often focus on the less important stuff and lose hours to Facebook, Netflix, and TV, while missing time to get important things done. One of the best tips is to plan your day before checking messages in the morning. Start with a great breakfast and short workout (distraction free, no phone, TV or messages). After that, you are set up for the day and all the requirements of others are flying in. If you have the luxury you can even delay checking incoming messages after lunch to use your morning in the most effective way. Our agenda for the day helps to set priorities actively before reacting to the needs of others.
Tip: After getting up, write down 3-5 bullet points about what you want to accomplish today. Choose tasks which are important to reach your goal.
Habits save energy
Success requires many things to be mastered. One of them is our behavior and thinking habits. They make or break our days and long-term success. Creating habits like daily structure, reading, visualizing our goal, gratitude, focus, and mindset, save our energy. They pay out because of persistence. Great habits help us to be less susceptible to distractions, bad mood, health issues and ineffective busyness. We get more done in less time and can enjoy our evenings with the family, our workout time or holidays fully.
Tip: Identify 2 or 3 habits to improve your time management and to reduce distraction. Start implementing them one after another and make them part of your daily life!
Balance is a priority
People who grow their business are often exhausted, tired, and seem to have no time at all. It’s not surprising that we are not willing to pay the assumed price. But that’s not the face of success, that’s the appearance of little structure and clarity. Success requires balance. Wasting our health and sacrificing our relationships is not part of long-term success. Clarity, structure and daily habits unfold their full benefit because they enable us to maintain balance in our lives. Of course, there will be periods of deadlines or busy weekends, but efficient planning and minimizing distractions are key in prioritizing to recharge our batteries frequently.
Tip: Managing our time and avoiding busyness with the small time-consuming unimportant stuff, includes planning relaxation, recovery and family time with the same urgency as business tasks.
Achieving our dreams and outstanding success is possible when we are highly excited and passionate about our goal and the challenges on the way. But it requires structure, planning, and discipline to make it happen, otherwise, it remains a dream. The experiences of deep involvement, personal growth, mastery, and contribution to society are highly fulfilling on itself and can be a purpose in your life.
What are you dreaming about?
Here you can read part 1 of this article:
And here you find our related quote:
Reading Recommendation:
Brendon Burchard (2017) High-Performance Habits. How extraordinary People become that way. Hay House. (Hardcover, Kindle, Paperback, Audio Book)
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