This week has been all about how we can move towards living the life of our dreams. I think that some of us think that this is only for a few ‘lucky’ ones. We convince ourselves that we can’t have the life of our dreams unless we win the lottery or some other miracle happens to us. This could not be further from the truth.
Of course, there’ll always be a few people for whom everything just seems to happen for them as if my magic and, abra kadabra, out of nothing they have the life of our dreams without having to do anything.
This is not normal.
The danger is to look at the tiny percentage of people for whom this is what happens to them and choose to be apathetic. Either something magical will happen to me or I’ll just settle for the average, mediocre life that I have right now.
Not only that we put a false interpretive filter on all the successful people we see. We start to assume that they all got to where they got to by chance. We look at the glamourous life that, for instance, Richard Branson lives and think that that all just fell out the sky. It didn’t.
Richard Branson works harder and longer than most of us. He has put in countless hours of hard work year after year after year. He made choices and decisions that led him to getting to where he is now. In other words, it didn’t happen by accident.
We can all be tempted by the idea of success without hard work but, it’s a false dream.
If we are going to move towards living the life of our dreams it will be because:
- We choose something we are passionate about
- We are using our natural talents and abilities
- We are doing something that is in sync with our life values
- We are making choices that align with our responsibilities
- We are realistic about our circumstances and yet not limited by them
- We work really, really hard
We don’t just stumble into the life of our dreams. We make daily choices that keep us moving in the right direction.
ADD YOUR VOICE
I’d love for us all to share some of the stories from our own lives of trying to live the life of our dreams. What have we learnt along the way? What have we got right? What mistakes have we made? Why not help the rest of us by leaving a few thoughts in the comments?
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Sam
I loved the bullet points in this especially “We choose something we are passionate about”. How often we settle for something “we can do” rather than something we “desire” to do.
To be aware of but not limited to our circumstances is SUCH an important aspect as well. All to often our situational mental models are created and embedded before we are conscious of the impact they have. We live out our lives sometimes oblivious to the influence they have and yet, if we can identify them and CHOOSE to step beyond our inherited or false boundaries we can be so much more…
Great post…keep it up
Passion fuels success. Everybody is born with a unique special gift but it’s not until they are ready to start living their own life will they recognize their gift. To live a life of dreams you must live your own life detached from the world around you, and your passion will move you towards the desired direction that will fulfill your dreams.
Excellent post!
Sam, I love your posts. They always make me stop and think. Thank you! The first thing that came to mind in pursuing my dream is that it hasn’t fleshed out exactly as I thought it would, and it has taken longer than I thought it would. Learning to relax and not fight these two phenomenons is my wisdom for the day.
@Shaun | Thanks Shaun, glad you enjoyed. Loved this that you said too: “All to often our situational mental models are created and embedded before we are conscious of the impact they have. We live out our lives sometimes oblivious to the influence they have and yet, if we can identify them and CHOOSE to step beyond our inherited or false boundaries we can be so much more…”
@Bruno | Thanks for stopping by, Bruno. What exactly do you mean by, “To live a life of dreams you must live your own life detached from the world around you”? Would love you to expand on that.
@Colleen | Glad you find the posts helpful. It’s always good to know! And you’re right. Life doesn’t always (often?) slot into place just as we plan or imagine. Learning to relax is good advice…thanks!
I definitely agree that working hard is one of the most important parts of success. If you don’t do that, then there really is no way to get the most out of your natural talent, right?
I recently started my own blog, and I’m discovering just how tough it is to keep up with everything needed to keep it successful. Between writing, Tweeting, and reading I find that everything would quickly become a chore if I hadn’t chosen something that really brought out my passion.
Great post! Looking forward to more =)
To live the life of my dreams I am
-trying to keep up with the awaken nwslttr
-giving structure to my daily routines
-setting higher standards for my job
-reaching a few goals at a time.
@Ben | Very true about passion!
@Ricardo | Good steps you’re taking there. Keep stretching, risking, and aiming to achieve more.