Today contains another one of those steps which separate the DREAM-wishers from the DREAM-livers. From this moment forward the DREAM will begin to take on a trajectory of its own as you move from one step to the next.
ENGAGING THOUGHT
Had enough of the corny cliches yet? Too bad, here's one more: Rome wasn't built in a day. Absolutely true, it wasn't built in a day - it was built every day. I once read an interesting book about the planned infrastructure of the Roman Empire (sorry, I cannot recall the title or author) and the seemingly endless number of building projects and civic improvements the Romans undertook. It was a monumental (often literally) task that went on and on and on. Talk about job-security for engineers and construction foremen! Can you imagine the task of keeping all those details and schedules coordinated...without computers or smart-phones!?!
One of the most important steps in the pursuit of any goal or DREAM is also one of the most easily overlooked or discounted steps. This step in the process is the one that many "successful" people look back at and credit as the turning-point in the pursuit of their objectives. It is powerful...and it is boring. It is the...timeline. Cue the band and the fireworks.
Some people are wired such that a looming deadline energizes them like nothing else, forcing them to tap into a creative vein or kick-it into high-gear and motor through some accomplishment; others, sense an approaching deadline and take that as a cue to...finally clean out that junk-drawer in their desk, or pretend that organizing their sock-drawer is now the single-most-important task facing mankind. Wherever you are on the I-love/I-hate deadlines continuum, they are an important step if you want to take tangible steps forward in pursuing God's DREAM for your life. Just remember this: deadlines or timelines are your servants, not your masters.
Superman's only weakness (other than Lois Lane) is Kryptonite; just a little bit of that glowing-green stuff and he's reduced to a quivering weakling. Do you know what the "kryptonite" to your DREAM is? Someday. That's right, someday. You know the drill:
One of the most important steps in the pursuit of any goal or DREAM is also one of the most easily overlooked or discounted steps. This step in the process is the one that many "successful" people look back at and credit as the turning-point in the pursuit of their objectives. It is powerful...and it is boring. It is the...timeline. Cue the band and the fireworks.
Some people are wired such that a looming deadline energizes them like nothing else, forcing them to tap into a creative vein or kick-it into high-gear and motor through some accomplishment; others, sense an approaching deadline and take that as a cue to...finally clean out that junk-drawer in their desk, or pretend that organizing their sock-drawer is now the single-most-important task facing mankind. Wherever you are on the I-love/I-hate deadlines continuum, they are an important step if you want to take tangible steps forward in pursuing God's DREAM for your life. Just remember this: deadlines or timelines are your servants, not your masters.
Superman's only weakness (other than Lois Lane) is Kryptonite; just a little bit of that glowing-green stuff and he's reduced to a quivering weakling. Do you know what the "kryptonite" to your DREAM is? Someday. That's right, someday. You know the drill:
"Someday I'll get serious about becoming a Rodeo Clown." "Someday I'll have the time to learn to do Cosmetic Surgery." "Someday I can quit this job and do what I really want." "Someday..."As long as someday has a place in the vocabulary of our DREAM we will never follow through on pursuing and living it. Someday has the power to subvert our DREAM and reduce it to the category of wish (go back and reread Day 3 if you need a refresher). We use someday to hedge our bets and build a safety-net of excuses for why we can't pursue the DREAM to fruition. The good news, however, is that the nefarious someday has it's own nemesis: the Timeline. The moment we wrangle and wrestle our DREAM to coincide with dates on a calendar (even if they get changed and modified - which they will, guaranteed) is the moment that we can no longer use the term someday and now we can say, "On this date I will..." or "By September 3rd, 2012 I will have accomplished...." Those are powerful statements; they can be DREAM-ensuring statements if you want them to be - if you choose for them to be.
ACTION STEP
For today's ACTION STEP you'll want to have a calendar available and you'll want to do this one in pencil. Here we go!
Take your bite-size pieces from yesterday's ACTION STEP and start coordinating completion dates with the calendar. Yep, that's right: you're assigning deadlines.
Be sure to take into account the realities of life: you probably don't want a lot of deadlines near the Holiday season, pay close attention to the load you are placing on yourself if you have regular seasons of extra work or tasks related to your career, etc. Keep reminding yourself that you are taking steps forward in pursuit of the DREAM - not finishing it all in one season or even in one year.
Also, don't freeze-up or freak-out over this step: nothing about your timeline is permanent or unalterable. You will make changes along the way, so don't fret over getting it perfect - you won't anyway. It's just an important step to start forcing the pursuit into recognizable, measurable progress.
Take your bite-size pieces from yesterday's ACTION STEP and start coordinating completion dates with the calendar. Yep, that's right: you're assigning deadlines.
Be sure to take into account the realities of life: you probably don't want a lot of deadlines near the Holiday season, pay close attention to the load you are placing on yourself if you have regular seasons of extra work or tasks related to your career, etc. Keep reminding yourself that you are taking steps forward in pursuit of the DREAM - not finishing it all in one season or even in one year.
Also, don't freeze-up or freak-out over this step: nothing about your timeline is permanent or unalterable. You will make changes along the way, so don't fret over getting it perfect - you won't anyway. It's just an important step to start forcing the pursuit into recognizable, measurable progress.
Tomorrow we'll pull it all together in one spot and see how the DREAM looks on paper.
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