Your office, your garage, your church, your work, your stage, your house… hiding behind an excuse?

Wherever you’re at, it’s time to take it to the next level. It doesn’t matter if you just got there, if you have been waiting there for a while or see no opportunities… Just as we began this journey before anyone including ourselves felt we were ready or “qualified”, we will move to the next level in the same manor.

Sometimes forward motion can trap us. We make a step, get a promotion, get the dream job, get involved in something we desire to be a part of, get an opportunity to use our talents, or simply make a step of progress and then feel as though it should hold us over for a while…

Why?

Why should we have to be “held over”? Why not keep moving? We feel as though the progress itself was so far out of our scope of difficulty that we deserve to, then, stop continuing to make progress. This isn’t so. This is a trap.

So, you got the promotion, you pushed yourself to achieve something that was difficult for you, you took an uncomfortable step, you took an opportunity, you succeeded at your first task to get you to your dream… Congratulations! Yes, take a break, give yourself a pat on the back, celebrate, do something to reward yourself, have a drink! Do all of the above!

Don’t stop there! Don’t let that be your only celebration. Move from your own office, to your own building. Move from one opportunity, to multiple opportunities. Move from forced progress, to efficient progress. Move from steps, to a lifestyle. Expect the celebrations to continue, until your life is just one big celebration.

So, I ask you, where are you at? What’s the next step for you? If your last step was small, think bigger, challenge yourself, surprise yourself.

Whatever you do, quit sitting in your last bit of progress, getting discouraged and wondering what’s so great about it? Because, if you don’t keep moving forward, it’s all worthless, anyway.

We often want to be finished with something before the finish line. Things get tiring, the work gets hard, you realize there’s another idea that might be easier… The thing is, anything worth getting will be hard. What’s easy is the idea.

You see, we can get so caught up chasing ideas instead of fulfilling dreams. This is the moment where a dream dies, or maybe an idea fails. Take a second to remember the moment when you had enough strength in you to believe that your dream was possible. That’s when you knew what you wanted to do. When you felt strong enough to handle anything that came your way, you knew what you would do.

So, simply because you’re out of strength is no reason to change your course. If anything, it’s the best reason to remain on target. Trust your judgement at your strongest moment, not your weakest. Whatever you had decided to do before you got tired and it got difficult, just keep at it. Keep pushing, keep working, keep up the effort.

Think of it this way, if you don’t at least finish this particular quest you set off on, you’ll never know if you can finish the next. What will it hurt if you finish a great quest and realize you want to try something else? You’ll have gained the ability to persevere, the knowledge to achieve, the courage to face a great task. What is left if you give up? Discouragement, incompetence, frustration, inadequacy… I only know from experience. I’ve given up many times, and maybe you have too.

So, we could look at it this way. We’ve already tried the route of giving up and trying something knew. We always end up in the same position. Discouraged and unaccomplished. Let’s try something different this time. Let’s finish the quest and decide only then if we shall try something else.

What do we do when our dream feels out of reach? What do you do? Is that the moment when you cave and take the easy route? We realize how hard it is to pursue something even when the inspiration fades and we ask ourselves if it’s really worth it.

I promise you…Your dream is worth it. Don’t go your whole life, giving up and then wake up one day and realize it’s too late. You had the opportunity to do something great, and you passed it up. You don’t want to be that person. You want to be the person that looks back and sees a lot of attempts, accomplishments and failures. Because, without failure, there will be no success.

Are you really trying? Or are you merely dreaming? The thoughts, questions, doubts will swarm your mind and you have to fight them off. Get ready for battle! It’s a mind-war and we have no choice but to win in the end, if we set our minds to it.

I’m assuming at this point, you’ve gone out, told the world and are beginning to let each person you meet know about your dream and what it means for you, and possibly for them… Has anyone gotten on board? Are you speaking up enough? Are you asking for their help? Their participation? Each turn we take on this journey, it’s important to take a look back and ask ourselves why it did or didn’t work and what we could or should do differently next time. There’s always a lesson to be learned.

So, figure it out, QUICKLY! Learn the lesson, swiftly and take the next step. What’s the next step, you ask?

Make An Investment: “an act of devoting time, effort, or energy to a particular undertaking with the expectation of a worthwhile result”

Are you expecting a worthwhile result? Or in the back of your mind, are you simply doubting and waiting for it to fall through? Stop! That thinking will guarantee your failure! Make an investment!

Devote Time: Don’t go a day without putting in the time toward your dream. (Yes, there are days where life happens… spend 5 minutes before bed just doing something or preparing something) Just one day without making a step can spread doubt in your mind and that is devastating.

Devote Effort: (strenuous physical or mental exertion) – Strenuous! Think of the last time you put in strenuous exertion. Maybe it was doing a chore around the house, exercising, or trying to work out a family issue in your mind… It took force, and a lot of discipline, but it was important to you, so you did it. Your dream is no different. There will be days and times you feel exhausted, weak, and almost as if you have to force yourself to work on your dream. Find the discipline to push through, because anything worth having, takes effort.

Devote Energy: (the strength and vitality required for sustained physical or mental activity) – Find the strength that you need to keep up the effort, required. What keeps YOU going? Is it exercise? Caffeine? Regular breaks? Maybe it’s spiritual refreshment… Whatever method you use to keep yourself energized when you have to do something in which you have no choice (say, going to work every day or chasing your young kid around) whatever gives you the drive and energy to keep THOSE TASKS UP, use those methods to keep your dream ALIVE!

Just as you have a want, need, and responsibility to take care of your family or keep your job, you also (obviously) have a want, you have a need and a responsibility to yourself to take care of your dream, as well.

Another way you could invest in your dream (although the others are not optional, they are a must) is money. Invest money in your dream so that it sends a message to your mind that failure is no longer an option, you’re invested. With the time, effort and energy method, you will get the same feeling of investment. But, if you need to go the extra mile of a monetary investment, by all means, do it!

And, don’t forget to expect a worthwhile result

I had someone ask me today if an artist knows what the end will look like. Although I answered the question pretty quickly, it got me to thinking. We are artists of our lives, right? We are painting each day with our mood, our reactions to what life throws at us. No one knows what the end will look like. We simply have ideas and that’s where our dreams come in. Our dreams are what we hope our painting will look like in the end… Our painting called life.

The truth is, no one knows what the painting will turn out like. Like any art, there is no definition to perfection… sometimes it’s the little mistakes that make it beautiful in the end. Without them, the painting almost has no character. Each brush stroke leads us to another stroke and it’s a journey that turns the blank canvas into a masterpiece.

So, although the dream is what we want our masterpiece to turn into, we have to realize it will never fit the exact definition of perfection. Life will throw things at us, we will have to learn to adjust our dream along the way, but only one thing is for sure. As long as we continue making each small and seemingly insignificant brush stroke, it will be beautiful.

So, therefore, keep on painting your life and get excited to see the final masterpiece.

Who are you telling?

Maybe you’re telling no one, because either you’re scared of the reaction, or you don’t quite know what to say or what to tell. Maybe you’re letting fear of either failure or success freeze you up. We can’t let this happen. Fear can paralyze us, but then we’re not moving forward. And, remember, being stagnant is just as harmful as taking steps backward, away from our dreams.

So think of what’s stopping your from telling the world about what you’re doing or wanting to do. Is it that you aren’t sure you’ll be taken seriously? Then give people a reason to take you seriously. Is it because you don’t know what to say? Then try telling yourself, first. Are you merely afraid of moving away from your current state of comfort? Whether it be toward success or failure, moving from our comfort zone can be scary.

Try picturing this: The rest of you’re life… you’re exactly the same as you are now. No successes, no dreams fulfilled, no passions lived out. Wherever you’re at, picture it… forever. Forever wondering how to make your dreams come true , forever getting ready to make the leap, and never actually making it.

Now, tell me: Is that scary? Perhaps that’s scarier than leaping and possibly failing. Perhaps it’s scarier than leaping and succeeding and having your life changed, possibly for the better. I know that my current state of comfort feels great right now, but the thought of staying here forever scares the hell out of me. That scares me more than the idea of failing or being looked at funny when I tell the world what my dream is, or having my life changed completely because I’m living my dream.

I hope your current state in terms of FOREVER scares you, as well. I hope it scares you into motion.

I suggest you figure out what you need to tell the world, and tell it. Before forever comes, and you’re in the same spot.

It’s a new day! What are you going to do with it? Each day is an opportunity, a second chance, a possibility to do something great, or make one giant leap toward your dream. So, how will you use this opportunity? How will you spend this second chance?

We need to not only take the opportunities in front of us, but make our own opportunities by taking risks. Trust yourself and your ideas enough to take the chance. See, a risk is called that for a reason: The definition defines it as being exposed to danger. Not that the risk is necessarily dangerous, but we seem to classify anything that is surrounded with uncertainty as a possible danger. Why are we so afraid of uncertainty?

The funny thing is… There isn’t much in life that is certain. No job is certain to remain. No action is certain to succeed. No degree is certain to bring a career. No life is certain to make it another day. With that undeniable truth, what’s the difference between the “safe” life of getting a degree, get a job, support your family, and the “risky” life where we chase our dreams, take the road less traveled, try to turn our dream into our career and do what we love?

Now, this in NO way is encouraging “irresponsibility”. If you have a family, they should be your first priority. But, listen to your heart. Do you feel somewhere in you that you should take a risk? Going after you dreams may present them, along the way. There may be a point where (as “unsafe” as other’s may see it) you feel it’s time to quit the day job because your dream is taking off and if you put all of your time in it,  you could support your family even more.  Again, please oh please don’t take this as me recommending you quit your job for your dream.

The point is: FOLLOW YOUR HEART… your heart. Not mine, not the person next to you, not your parents, not your friends’. Yours.

Be open to the risks that might present themselves. Nothing in life is certain, so just pick the best route possible.

What risks are you facing? Today, on this new day… what risks are pulling at your heart to take? Trust your heart and take them! Let’s let life surprise us as we take them and see our dream unfold before us.

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As well as needing other people, our dream needs a few other ingredients to get off the ground. It’s going to take time, effort, persistence and… (the big one) Money!

This is where things get a little difficult, because if you’re anything like me… your dream might include making money by doing what you love. This may be because you’re tired of a meaningless job, or a job you hate and you feel you have a dream that could sustain you, financially. But it remains, you need money to make money. You must first invest, in order to reap.

So, how do we go about this without feeling like life is the big cycle of doom. Need this dream to make money, need money to achieve the dream. Need a car to get to a job, need a job to pay for the car. You see the dilemma? Well, if life is really that unfair what’s the point of all this? Is it some big trick being played on us? No, surely not.

Have you ever played jump rope? The kind where others swing the rope and you jump in? Life is like a game of jump rope, I think. We all jumped in to this cycle of money when we became so eager to become adults. So, do we just keep jumping? Avoiding the rope, trying to keep ourselves from tripping and falling in life?

Well, with jump rope, there’s a couple options. We can stop jumping and plant our feet firmly on the ground. We may get smacked in the face with the rope, but the cycle will be finished. Or, we can jump out of the swinging rope and desperately hope we don’t trip on the way out.

How can we apply that to the game of money? Well, we can stop everything we’re doing, and plant ourselves on something solid and firm, trusting that the ground and our own strength is stronger than the rope. Or we can jump in a different direction, out of the cycle we’re stuck in and hope it doesn’t backfire.

Both require a lot of trust… maybe some faith.

I’ll use myself as an example: I’m stuck in a cycle. Although my dream isn’t too expensive to get started, I have another dilemma… I have a family and we’re struggling financially since I lost my job. How can I sit and spend every moment of my day working toward a dream that won’t take much money, but might not make a profit for a few months, or maybe even a year. So, I need some sort of income while doing this. A few cycling problems are these: If the job doesn’t pay very well and takes a lot of time, I might be only making enough to pay for daycare. I also won’t have the time I need to focus on my dream. I also would need a second car, which I need income to get.

So, that’s my endless cycle. How can I stop the game of jump rope that I’m stuck in?  Well, let’s apply.

I can either stop trying to get a job, plant myself on the hope that we’ll make it without making those sacrifices. Or, I can jump in a different direction that wouldn’t have the sacrifices and hope I don’t fall on my face. Either stop doing what you’ve been trying to do and just plant yourself on something sturdy… Or jump in a different direction and try something you haven’t thought of that wouldn’t keep the cycle going.

You see, sometimes the cycle can just be an excuse not to move forward. Life’s not a trick… It’s not a dead end… There’s always a way around life’s obstacles. Just think out of the box. Have faith. You’ll see.

Just not feeling it?

Do you find yourself going day in, day out and pumped about going after your dream and then wake up one morning to find yourself doubting everything, too tired to put in the effort, and just flat out lazy? Why do those days hit us like that? It’s simple… We all learned the reason for it when we were kids, right? Life isn’t fair.

Or maybe it’s less about fairness and more about difficulty. Life isn’t easy. We’re human and our emotions, our body and our mind get the best of us some days. So, what do we do about it? Give in to our nature and set aside our dream for a day? 2 days? A week… Because, let’s face it: who get’s in a slump for merely one day? If it’s you, congratulations.

No, when those days of discouragement and weakness come over us, we have a choice to make. We can let it take over and simply excuse it away by saying ‘I’ll just pick my dream back up when I feel more inspired’, and go weeks or months without progress and maybe even give up all together. Or, we can say to ourselves, ‘My dream is bigger than my laziness, my tiredness, my frustration and my discouragement.’

When you signed up for this dream, did you do it because you felt encouraged? Did you do it because you felt energetic or awake? No, my guess is you had to push yourself to feel encouraged about it, you had to wake yourself up, get energized because this is your dream! Whether or not you’re tired, or frustrated… it’s your dream!

So, why put a stop to your dream due to these non-determining factors? Let me rephrase… Don’t put a stop to your dream due to these non-determining factors! Get up, find some coffee, put on some encouraging music, whatever you have to do to get out of your funk. I know from experience, they seem harmless and we can explain it away to say we’re just taking a day to rest, but they’re far from harmless! They will pull you in, suck all the passion out of you and leave you completely empty and further behind than when you started.

I heard this quote the other day, and I thought I would share:

“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.”
– Vincent Van Gogh

See: http://projectwhitespace.com/2012/06/19/by-all-means-paint-inspirational-quote/ for more… When you start to get discouraged, just make yourself do it and those voices will be silenced.

What does confidence do for us? What does it do for our dream? What does it do for our lives?

When you see someone walk by you, who is confident, poised, determined… Does a part of you want that? Do you feel drawn to those people? Now, although I’m not condoning envy, there’s a point to be made here: We’re naturally compelled to confident people. Whether it’s because we want to be like them, be with them, or simply be them, we’re compelled.

What if you could be that person. Not someone else, or be something you’re not… but what if I said you have everything in you that those confident, resolved people have in them; and the only difference is your mindset? We have it in us to be confident and have others look at us wondering what it is about us that makes them want to get to know us.

The reason confidence can be such a good key to achieving our dreams in one way relates to my earlier post in mentioning that we need others. What better way to find those connections than to draw them in with confidence. Another great benefit is that people want to know that we have faith and confidence in ourselves and our dream. You see, some people put their dreams out there and have no confidence in it or themselves… Those people leave others feeling that if they don’t help, they probably won’t make it. But, those who put their dreams out there and are confident in it, make others feel that if they don’t help, they will be missing out on such a great success.

We want the second.

Because the truth is, although we need others and we want others beside us… we also need the mindset that we are going to do it with or without. Not without those we love, but the naysayers… and trust me, there will be naysayers.

So, how do we change our mindset to become the confident person that waits inside of us to burst out? There’s plenty of ways. I’m just going to list them, otherwise this post could get a bit long. But, each one should be pretty self explanatory.

1. Dress The Part: Not to “appear” a certain way, but how we look directly affects how we view ourselves. i.e. : sloppy, poised, lazy, strong, bored… or confident.

2. Be Energetic: You will fell more confident if you’re not hiding quietly in a corner. Don’t draw unnecessary attention, but put a spring in your step.

3. Be Grateful: the more at peace you are with life, the more confident you will feel. No one likes self-pity.

4. Take Opportunities: Sit up front, speak up, ask questions, offer yourself when others have needs. Soon enough you’ll feel helpful, useful and knowledgeable. That’s a great way to build confidence.

5. Notice Others: Compliment others, mention others strengths. Focus on others and less on yourself. The less you think of yourself, the less reasons to be shy.

Those are just 5 that I think really make a difference and are very important. I got some of these ideas listed on this site: http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/10-ways-to-instantly-build-self-confidence/

I didn’t list all 10 because I didn’t feel all 10 were completely necessary and 5 is a little easier to remember when you’re out walking about trying to remember to be confident anyway.

Slowly change your mindset to focus on the way you present yourself, the way you view life and the way you treat others… Suddenly you’ll find yourself much more confident.

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Where does the line separate goals from organization?

I was wondering this, myself as I sat, thinking of both areas I want to focus on right now (my music and my blogging). So with all the research to do, presentations to make and preparation while we go on this journey, I wanted to write it all down. This is good, because it concretes it into our minds and it helps us to stay organized and not forget what we were working on or what our next step is.

But, then  I wondered, when does organization go too far and become goals that we never touch? Are you writing these things down to avoid action? Are you making it a list of things you have to do? Or are you simply taking notes, writing down ideas, and in desperate need to organize your thoughts? If you’re the first two, and you start not seeing action… I would take a look in the mirror. If you’re the latter, this is good, but make sure to not waste too much time organizing. Once you can see a clear path, put the pen and paper down, and take it!