How do you make things happen? How do you ACTUALLY bring a dream into reality? I was advised by someone wiser than me once, when lamenting that I just “didn’t know what to do” and wasn’t “sure if what I was doing was the right thing” – that if I didn’t know what my goals were then I would never know if what I was doing were the right things to get me there!

In addition to that – often our goals or dreams for ourselves are not always the “right” goals or dreams. Why? Because they are based on our own limited perspective of the world from the bubble around our heads.

For example, when I was about 4 years old – I remember having 2 very specific dreams…one was to have a castle built entirely out of Cheetos, and the other was to own the perfect pair of life size hot pink high heels with a giant plastic rose atop each toe bed, just like the ones my favorite Barbie doll had.  Clearly, my goals at the time – while they truly felt like next level achievements to me where I was at in that moment – in retrospect, were not exactly dreams that were truly worth committing ever valuable time and precious dedication to achieving. And so, I never did.

In contrast, a little later in life, when I was about 6 or 7 – I had a goal (not a dream) to start my own business and make some money. But instead of sitting there simply visualizing this and wafting in my own fantasy for a while, and then coming out of my lovely vision with a sigh, thinking, “Gosh….it sure would be neat to be able to do that”, and then going on with my day – I instead got to work.

I sat down and thought, “Ok, what are the steps that I need to do in order to make this happen? First, I’m going to need some paper. [To make a list] Then, I’m going to need cleaning supplies [Mom]. Then, I’m going to need customers [Neighbors]. Then, I’m going to need employees [Sisters]. Then I’m going to need a list of prices and advertising [Paper in Mom’s desk and colored pencils].”

I sat at the kitchen table, and while I drafted my rainbow colored list of services – made a game plan to go door to door without cleaning supplies first, and tell all of my customers about my services, and show them the prices. Then I would make a list of people who wanted us to come clean. Then I would go back to my house and gather cleaning supplies for my cleaning appointments and bring my sisters with me to help execute the plan.

And THEN…key step: I actually did all of the things on my list of steps – we did a few minor cleaning jobs for our very kind neighbors who probably thought we were just too cute while removing all of their breakable items from reach before we came over to clean…we got paid – and there was the birth of the first business and the achievement of a goal.

Goals change, as people change, and life changes – but I think one for sure key to figuring out whether you are on the correct path or not, and to truly making things happen – is first of all getting counsel from those who you trust the most in order to evaluate whether your goals are correct and worthwhile – and secondly…put work boots on your dreams by forcing yourself to look at what the ACTUAL steps are to achieving your goals. Are your current actions in line with achieving those goals? Or are you procrastinating, sitting around waiting for them to become reality? Contrary to popular belief, it takes much more than creative visualization to bring an idea to life. Action is required, as is honesty with yourself.

Also, its ok for your goals to change. As our perception of reality and our values shift, so do our goals. I think a lot of people feel confused about where to look for the right perception, or the right ‘values’ in order to be sure they are on track with the right life goals… kudos to those who are at least asking those questions – for they are that much closer to the truth.

So, don’t give up your daydream – but make sure your daydream has a nice, good, strong pair of work boots ready for it to wear when its time to get to work (i.e., become a goal)!

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