3 Steps to Remember While Moving Towards Your Dream

Having a dream of doing, being or creating something more in your life can be trying at times. Stay focused, keep doing what you need to do, even if you feel like you aren't going anywhere with it...it just means that you are right at the threshold of your big break. It may not be the million dollar deal; it might not be that movie deal that you have dreamt of as a kid or that #1 best selling book that you have always wanted to write and publish. It might be on the threshold of the next big step in the ladder of your success that you need to take to get to that final destination. Just when you feel like quitting or giving up in frustration, that is when you need to realize you are that much closer to your dream becoming a reality.

The past few days I have been struggling with my dream coming to fruition. I have been struggling with writing my daily articles, because of issues I am having, also family things that need taking care, house chores always there, bills to be paid, yida yida. The point is that I have to constantly stay focused on my dream. If I don't write the article everyday, then what am I doing to keep on track for my dream? Well, I might not feel like writing, but that doesn't mean I get the day off. I do research, make notes, call people about questions I have, read books about others that have succeeded in getting their dream.

No matter what day it is, 5 days a week, I focus on writing...actually it is 7 days, but the other two days are fun days that keep me focused on my dream of becoming a full time paid freelance writer. I don't know what your dreams are but I am sure it is something absolutely out there and looks like it is impossible for you to achieve, but those are the dreams that need focus and working on. Without the passion for this big, impossible dream then you will never accomplish that dream.

Three important things to remember while working towards your dream even if you take a day off from working towards it:

1. Intention = A crystal clear focus of knowing what you want to create in your life and what you are passionate about.

2. Attention = What you focus your attention on will draw the energy to that dream and make it stronger. You need to create a plan on getting your dream, but then you have to take Action. Without action your attention will only take you so far. Action engages the attention that you give your dream.

3. No Tension = Act from a calm and peaceful state within yourself. Be fully present in the now while acting on your attention and clear dream. Then the second half of this is once you have done all you can think of doing to get to your dream, let it go. Your dream will happen, but might not look like what you expected it to.

If you can stay the course while accepting that you are having a bad day and don't feel like working on your dream, then try to find something small or easy to do that still keeps your focus strong and then let the tension and negative energy go. We are all human and have good days and off days. Time to make those off days work for you too, don't you think?

Until next time, "It is kinda fun to do the impossible"~ Walt Disney

Leaving a Lasting First Impression - Make it A Good One

Anyone who can turn on a computer these days, at any age can log in to such social medias as Facebook, twitter, MySpace, blogs, etc to find out what is going on in the world, with their friends, family and keep up with fashions, celebs and the latest gossip. Businesses are even finding it a great place to get new customers, clients, employees and advertising because it is more cost effective then through newspapers, TV, highway signs, etc.

Teens and young adults aren’t the only ones caught up in the fun, entertainment and pastime of the social media. Baby boomers and generation X (my generation) are also enjoying logging on or signing in daily to check out the latest in people’s lives.

The other day I was talking with someone and she related a story to me that really didn’t have anything to do with social media, but it got me thinking about first impression and being online. Here is the story and then I will explain how it made me connect the two.

She is a successful business owner and has been for more than 20 yrs. Her and her husband have run everything from his construction company, her licensed daycare to a group home, she was/is a freelance writer and while running a 4 star country inn, for the past 5+ yrs, she has also held a government position and on a few tourism boards.

She had been the girl’s dorm advisor in a private school before it was shut down and upon its closing she found it had been the most trying, stressful time and naturally, she was burnt out. Deciding to take a couple months off of being her own boss and go waitress… you know a no brain, just do what you are told job, so she could recover, before starting on her new venture. She hadn’t waitressed for about 20 yrs but like riding a bike, it would come back to her. After a couple months of this, she quit and her and her husband started running a group home.

Years later after she had been well established with working for the government, running the 4 star country inn and on a tourism board, she decided  to sit in a coffee shop in her home town just to see what the locals were doing and catch up on any local gossip. A man came to sit with her that she knew from her job working in the government department and they chatted.

He brought up during the conversation about this woman that was running the water district and how everyone had to pay much higher water taxes because of her. This lady asked what he meant. He said that thanks to this woman everyone had to pay higher taxes and he couldn’t figure out why she had this power because she was just a waitress. The woman looked at him stunned because he was talking about her! She was that woman that worked in the water district office and she hadn’t waitressed in years and when she did it was only for a couple months. She told him this, he didn’t believe her. Long story short, even though she had not waitressed in over 10+ years, and was a successful business owner and worked in a department of the government, today, his first impression of her was as a waitress. She would always be just a waitress to him and possibly everyone in that town, because she had worked in the public’s eye that one summer.

This got me thinking about first impressions online and in my life. With social media being made so public as well as people searches done easily thanks to Google, Yahoo, Mozilla, etc, you have to wonder about your first impressions on others. Thanks to places like Facebook that hold information permanently it doesn’t matter what you said 3 years ago or now because at any time a potential employer, business partner, client, customer, or spouse could very well go on the internet to see what comes up for your name and it might affect that relationship.

We are so worried about ID theft, predators, stockers, etc, but what about that future boss or partner? Posting stuff could be misunderstood, deemed inappropriate, offensive or hurtful is something that we should be aware of. Do you really want that important client, future boss or possible business partner finding something that you had posted when you were young and foolish or when you were angry, and decide not to work with you because of it? It doesn’t go away, even if you delete it from your profile, status, blog, etc…there are spiders, cookies, caches, whatever you want to call it that saves EVERYTHING you put out there for others to read and see. Those pictures, nasty words, not too nice comments will be there for someone someday to find.

You will wear it for life. This doesn’t just affect you now; this is something that could haunt you for the rest of your life and may very well come back at you when you least expect it. So try to remember this the next time you want to say something about your boss, friend, ex or neighbor…you never know who is reading this or when. I know I have gone back over all my postings on all my sites to see what first impression I have left.

Until next time, I hope you find that the foot print you leave is one you wouldn’t mind leaving again.