We all have goals.
Some are big, some are small.
Are you actively pursuing yours? Or simply waiting for them to happen?
Because when it comes to your dreams, no one is going to hand them to you.
That’s not how it works.
You have to go out and get them.
Waiting Doesn’t Get You Anywhere
Too often, I see people who have goals and dreams and they are just waiting for them to occur.
I ask them, “What are you doing to make them happen?”
Do any of these sound familiar?
“I waiting for my ship to come in.”
“I’ll start when I have more free time.”
“One day people will recognize my hard work.”
“I’ll do it when things get back to normal.”
“Some day my Prince will come.”
Waiting isn’t a strategy. It is an excuse.
Are you just waiting around for life to happen?
No One Is Going to Give It To You
You have to make your dream a reality.
No one is going to give it to you. Really. They aren’t.
Here are some of the things you need to do:
- You Have to Go Get It – Too many people think that if they just work hard, their dream will come to them. To the contrary, you have to go out and get your dream. It will not simply show up on your doorstep.
- You Have to Pay For It – Every goal, every dream, has a price. You have to be willing to pay in your time, effort, and discipline.
- You Must Earn It – Despite myths to the contrary, there are no shortcuts. No get rich quick schemes. You have to earn your dream.
- You Must Start It – You will never cross the finish line if you don’t cross the starting line. Hope is not a strategy. Action is. Start now.
- You Have to Do More – As the saying goes, “What got you here, won’t get you there.” This happens to many people in their job. They think that if they continue doing their job better, faster, harder… that they will get different results.
Go Get What You Want
So, if you know want, then go out and get it.
But, be willing to put in the hard work.
To pay the dues and make the sacrifices.
Stop waiting for life to “get back to normal” or to present a “better time.”
There is no better day than today.
What have you been “waiting” for?
LOVE IT….
LOVE IT….
And if you don’t want to do all these things in order to get what you want, that’s okay. You probably actually want something else. It’s okay to have idle daydreamy kind of want-to-wants floating around in your head too. Just be sure to distinguish these low-key “it would be nice” desires from the things you truly want passionately enough to truly make happen. You might find that you’re already working that hard for some of your dreams already in ways you take for granted because those dreams and the work for them are so integral to your life you don’t even notice them.
@thekla_richter Thekla! Haven’t heard from you it a bit. 🙂 Hope you are well.
Great point… sometimes you don’t know *what* you want. And that is OK. However, concentrating on your passion is key. 😉
@TMNinja Yes, we’re well – I get more internet time now that the baby sleeps at night! Totally agree that passion is key. I think I might write my own post one of these days soon about how sometimes passion lies in what we are doing already rather than out on the horizon.
And if you don’t want to do all these things in order to get what you want, that’s okay. You probably actually want something else. It’s okay to have idle daydreamy kind of want-to-wants floating around in your head too. Just be sure to distinguish these low-key “it would be nice” desires from the things you truly want passionately enough to truly make happen. You might find that you’re already working that hard for some of your dreams already in ways you take for granted because those dreams and the work for them are so integral to your life you don’t even notice them.
Great article!
Great article!
@thekla_richter Thekla! Haven’t heard from you it a bit. 🙂 Hope you are well.
Great point… sometimes you don’t know *what* you want. And that is OK. However, concentrating on your passion is key. 😉
@TMNinja Yes, we’re well – I get more internet time now that the baby sleeps at night! Totally agree that passion is key. I think I might write my own post one of these days soon about how sometimes passion lies in what we are doing already rather than out on the horizon.
Great post, and I definitely agree with you Craig. I believe in massive action, not just massive hoping. As a colleague of mine likes to put it – “positive thinking without positive action gives you positively nothing.”
@LeeLo Love the quote! 🙂
@LeeLo Love the quote! 🙂
Great post, and I definitely agree with you Craig. I believe in massive action, not just massive hoping. As a colleague of mine likes to put it – “positive thinking without positive action gives you positively nothing.”
And sometimes the investment we’re paying right now seems high, but if you keep learning from your mistakes, and keep investing, then inevitably you “arrive” !Great motivational article, Craig 😉
@Matttanguay Agree… the discipline is in not giving up too soon. 🙂
Too many people start to pay the price and then quit when they don’t see immediate results.
@Matttanguay Agree… the discipline is in not giving up too soon. 🙂
Too many people start to pay the price and then quit when they don’t see immediate results.
And sometimes the investment we’re paying right now seems high, but if you keep learning from your mistakes, and keep investing, then inevitably you “arrive” !Great motivational article, Craig 😉
Craig,
I have to admit these were my excuses in the past. Once I realized that I’m responsible for my life, things changed.
If you are trying to reach your big goal or passion, you don’t have to know the “how to do it” – you will figure it out during your journey 🙂
Timo
Craig,
I have to admit these were my excuses in the past. Once I realized that I’m responsible for my life, things changed.
If you are trying to reach your big goal or passion, you don’t have to know the “how to do it” – you will figure it out during your journey 🙂
Timo
@LeeLo Love the quote! 🙂
@Matttanguay Agree… the discipline is in not giving up too soon. 🙂
Too many people start to pay the price and then quit when they don’t see immediate results.
You and I are of one mind on this. There’s a big difference between wishing for something and doing nothing and dreaming and doing everything you can to make it happen.
http://whowritesforyou.com/2012/01/24/the-influence-of-unicorns/
What book is “Hope is not a strategy” from? I think I seen it in a book from CreateSpace….
Nice website….
Thx, eman.
Love the post.
Right now, it is probably the hard time ever to make something happen for yourself and the easiest time ever to make something happen for yourself. What I mean by this is that the old model of getting an education, finding a decent job and working your way up the ladder really doesn’t exist anymore. Student debt is crippling our new graduates, most are forced to take jobs that high school grads took a couple decades ago. The chances of moving up a corporate ladder are very small.
On the other hand, the Internet gives everyone a level playing field, you can setup a website/blog and start developing something for yourself where the sky is the limit. The only thing holding you back is your own doubt and self image.
As you so aptly put it, you don’t have to get it perfect. Just get it going!