DREAM BIG & SET GOALS

(ACTION 1: PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT SERIES)

1. WHY DREAM?

When I was in lower classes of school, my father and mother used to have dreams for me. They used to say that soon I shall become an influential person and have a great lifestyle. I shall have a beautiful wife. We shall have a car and bungalow and servants etc. etc. They used to help me spend time with successful people in our family and surrounding. So, from childhood, I became a dreamer and it helped me to live a lovely and purposeful life.

Friends, the fact is that in life you get what you dream consciously or subconsciously: nothing less or nothing more. Of course, certain conditions are attached. But the first step is to dream.

Children are always great dreamers. But as they grow, their capacity to dream is reduced; often by parents, teachers, and relatives. They do it inadvertently and with so-called good intentions. But, they don’t realize that this is the great harm they are doing to their children. Here is an example:

Monty Roberts (MR), son of a horse trainer was once asked by his school teacher to write his dream. MR went home and that evening he prepared a 7 page write up about his dream of having a 200-acre ranch.  He explained all about the placement of buildings, stables, and the race track. He also drew a floor plan for his 4000 sq. foot house. He put all his emotions into the project and submitted it to the teacher the next day. But his teacher gave him an F grade and asked him to rewrite a REALISTIC dream. After a week MR submitted the same dream and told the teacher that you keep the F and I will keep my dream. Needless to say, MR, now has his own 200-acre ranch with 4000 sq. foot house and much more. He runs an Equestrian Academy in Solvang, California, and an Online University to promote his ideas. He has authored a few books and has traveled the world.

https://www.bravethinkinginstitute.com/blog/life-transformation/realistic-person

My purpose to put this real-life story here is to explain that those who have dreams and stick with them no matter what; are the persons who become achievers.

When you put a date with your dream, it becomes a goal. In the words of Brian Tracy, goals are the fuel in the furnace of your achievement. Goals set a path for your success.

2.FUNDAMENTALS OF DREAMING:

1.DREAM BIG:

The first step towards success is to dream BIG. We are witnessing new inventions every day. They take place only because someone starts having dreams beyond what is possible today. You love to keep a new version of the mobile. But the new version is always a result of someone’s dream.

Think about what you really want in your life. Think big. My Punjabi friend says लड्डू मन के ही खाने हैं तो फिर वो छोटे क्यों और फीके क्यों? So, think about all your dreams, even the craziest ones.

2.BREAK LIMITS:

Quite often we put limits on our dreams based on our present condition. While I was working in BHEL, my mentor asked me that would you like to go on vacations in foreign countries every year. I replied that it is just not possible as the company does not have the policy to permit visa every year. And he explained to me that your dream must decide what job you pursue and what job you don’t. It was only after dreaming firmly that I could find ways to pursue my dream by quitting that job. So, while dreaming, assume that there are no limits and your current situation is temporary.

3.OFFBEAT THINKING:

Akio Morita, the co-founder of SONY Company says that once he was walking in his garden with his wife. While walking they were listening to music on a handheld tape recorder which was the latest innovation at that time. His wife asked him why can’t we have a pocket tape recorder so that we can walk freely without keeping the recorder in hands? Initially, his engineers said that it is just not possible. But Akio persisted and you can observe that such offbeat thinking only has now made the pocket tape recorder and CDs obsolete and the new way is to listen streaming on your mobile. Is this the final way? Of course: not.

4.NO NEGATIVE THOUGHTS:

Negatives thoughts are like weeds. They are automatic. It is necessary to learn to stop negative thoughts. While dreaming, sometimes negative thoughts may stop a person from dreaming big. When you dream of having y our own Mercedes Benz, your present reality may take you away from this dream. Oh God! Right now I am not even having a good quality bike and I am thinking of Mercedes? Come down, man! Don’t keep flying. Well! There is a need to throw away your negative thoughts and replace them with your dreams, big dreams.

5.REKINDLE YOUR STOLEN DREAMS:

Your childhood dreams might have been stolen by your relatives, parents, friends, or teachers. Revive them. Believe that with great determination and the right efforts, you can make everything possible.

6.DREAM AREAS:

Following are important dream areas:

• Study & personal development.
• Profession.
• Health & fitness.
• Happy Family.
• Finance: Retire young & rich, multiple sources of income.
• Social circle and respect in society.
• Spiritual.

7.SIMPLE EXERCISE:

• Keep some time reserved for dream building on a weekend. Select a place where there is no disturbance. Try not to use your mobile unless it is absolutely essential.
• Keeping in mind all the points discussed above, let your imagination fly. This is the time you are planning your future life. Think about the best things that you want to have in life in all of your dream areas.
• Now, write down whatever has come to your mind in a diary. This is your precious dream diary and will help you to achieve big.

https://thelifeuddeshya.com/you-can-live-your-dream-life/

3. SET YOUR GOALS:

A person without goals is like a ship without rudder, compass, and Captain. Once left in the sea, it will just keep moving with the winds and will ultimately get destroyed by colliding with the rocks. But, a person with goals is like a ship with rudder, compass, and a Captain. Using the compass and rudder, the captain will take the ship straight to its destination. So, if you want to be like this other ship, then you must have goals. Goals are dreams with a date.

As an example:

Suppose your dream is to create assets that can give you an income of Rs. 3 million in a year. Then your goal may be to achieve this by Dec. 2022.

It is better to have a successful person as your coach or mentor in life who can guide you to set and achieve goals. With the guidance of your mentor, you can set a date for each of your dreams that you have already written. Present your goals in the form of a table and keep them handy to read frequently in a day.

4. STEPS TO ACHIEVE GOALS:

1.WRITE-DOWN YOUR GOALS:

Goals are not goals if they are not written down. So, write down your goals. Make a table with columns as S. No., Dream, and, Date. Paste a copy of your goals on your refrigerator and other places in your house. Take photographs of your dreams, write down the date when you want to achieve it, and paste on your refrigerator. The purpose is to view and read them frequently. Keep a copy on your mobile.

2.DEVELOP A PASSIONATE DESIRE:

A story goes about Socrates, the famous Greek Philosopher. Once he was walking with one of his followers on a sea beach. The follower asked him what he should do to gain the whole knowledge available in the world. Socrates started moving into the depth of the water and reached a place where water was neck-deep. He then pushed the follower inside the water and kept his head inside the water. The follower was not able to breathe and tried to come out. But Socrates forcibly kept him inside the water. At one point, the follower put all his energy and moved out and looked at Socrates furiously. Socrates told him that the level of desire he had for saving his life and coming out of water is required to gain the knowledge available in the world.

That is the level of passion required to achieve your goals.

3.VISUALIZATION:

Visualize your dreams as if you have already achieved them. Suppose your dream is to become a motivational speaker. Visualize that you are addressing a mammoth rally of people. Visualize the exact details viz. your dress code, the way you are moving on the stage, the words with which your host has invited you, and the clapping and appreciation you are getting from audience. Visualize such details for each of your goals. The intensity of your visualization will decide the successful accomplishment of your goal.

4.HAVE BELIEF:

Napoleon Hill has written that if your mind can conceive and your heart can believe then you can achieve. You must have a strong belief that you will achieve your goal, no matter what. Situations will arise to shatter your belief. But if your belief is strong enough, nothing can stop you to reach your goals.

5.PREPARE & IMPLEMENT ACTION PLAN:

There can be many ways to achieve your goals. Discuss with your mentor/guru and prepare an action plan. Write down the steps that you will follow.  If some new learning is required, write down how you will attain it.  Have an alternate plan ready in case the original one does not help.

Now, the most important step is to implement it. Some people are very good at planning but very poor in implementation. Remember, your success depends upon strictly following the steps of the action plan.

5.REACH YOUR GOALS:

By following the above steps, one can definitely achieve his or her goals in life. The most important things that must be kept in mind are:

1. You must decide exactly what you want. For example, if your goal is to buy a car; you must decide exactly the model, color, interior, and what accessories, etc you will have.
2. You must pay the full price in advance. When you go to restaurants, you first place an order, eat and then pay. But in the game of success, you must pay the full price in advance. The price is in the form of discipline, commitment, and sacrifices you may have to make in attaining your goals.

Your journey to achieving your goals can become much easier once you start following the above steps.

6.CONCLUSION:

Great deeds are possible only when you have big dreams. Dreams become your goals when you decide a date for its accomplishment. When a person becomes goal-oriented i.e. all his or her actions are driven by goals; a success mechanism starts operating automatically inside the brain. This mechanism ultimately makes the path of success comfortable to walk through.

In order to conclude let us recall Javed Akhtar’s words from the movie Lakshya:

हाँ यही रस्ता है, तेरा, तूने अब जाना है
हाँ यही सपना है, तेरा, तूने पहचाना है

तुझे अब ये दिखाना है
रोके तुझको आँधीयाँ, या ज़मीं और आसमाँ
पाएगा जो लक्ष्य है तेरा, लक्ष्य को, हर हाल में पाना है

मुश्किल कोई आ जाये तो, परबत कोई टकराए तो
ताक़त कोई दिखलाये तो, तूफ़ान कोई मंडलाये तो
मुश्किल कोई आ जाये तो परबत कोई टकराये तो
बरसे चाहे, अम्बर से आग, लिपटे चाहे, पैरों से नाग
पायेगा जो लक्ष्य है तेरा,लक्ष्य को, हर हाल में पाना है.

 Well, friends! Dream big, set goals, take action, and touch new heights.

Dr. Lokesh N Rai

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