You can live your life by default or you can live a life by design.

Well the truth is your life is on a trajectory and if you want to know where its taking you look at what you’ve got and what you’ve achieved over the last year and follow the same trajectory. Do you end up where you want to be? The blessing of being human is that we have a choice, we can choose how we respond to the challenges and circumstances of our lives, we get to choose what success looks like for us. But the challenge of being human is that we are where we are today because of who and what we were in the past. If you want the future to be different from the past first we must change. Of course this is not easy else you would have already done it. Success doesn’t happen spontaneously or by accident. It requires input and effort. Success requires focus and dedication over time.

What does success look like for you? What is your definition of success? You can choose to live life on default or you can design your life, you can decide how you wish to experiences and spend your life during your time on planet earth. Remember we are multi faceted creatures so consider all the aspects of your life – your business, your wealth, your relationships, your health, your community, the experiences you wish to have. Clarity about what success looks like for you will make all the difference. Spend time apply this formula for success and allow it to change your trajectory towards a life that will fill you with joy, peace and a life well lived.

DREAMS X GOALS X LEARNING X PLAN X ACTION = SUCCESS

“Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all is a form of planning.” Gloria Steinem (activist, writer, and ground-breaking thought leader)

Step 1: WRITE DOWN YOUR DREAMS. Do you have dreams that fill you with both fear and excitement or have you stopped dreaming? It all starts with a dream, dreams are the things that drive our combustion engines make it worth getting up for in the morning. Once you’ve reconnected with your exciting dream write it down. Create a dream board, keep a journal, whatever the method, make your dreams tangible. Be willing to commit and start making the picture in your head a bigger reality. Keep in mind Dreams are things you want to achieve within 10-20 years from now. So, you have time to get that big house, the helicopter, to dive with sharks or to lose the 100 lbs. It all starts with clarity and the commitment to pen and paper.

“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success”. Pablo Picasso (artist, author, visionary).

Step 2: CREATE GOALS Now that you have the big, juicy dreams on paper, move to setting goals. Set S.M.A.R.T. goals to help you achieve the dream you have articulated. Goals are things you want to achieve or change within the next 5 years. But setting long term goals isn’t the only option. You can break the goals down into chunks. Also consider breaking goals into yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily goals to achieve your dream. As a refresher, ensure your goals are (S) Specific, (M) Measurable, (A) actionable, attainable, (R) relevant and (T) time sensitive. If your dreams are worth it this process will take some time and effort

“Development is a series of rebirths”. Maria Montessori (physician, innovator, educator, trailblazer).

Step 3: Learn If the dream and goals are big enough chances are you’re going to have to learn something new, otherwise you’ve simple created a to-do list and not proper goals. Remember you are where you are because of who and what you are. No ones coming to rescue you, so what do you need to learn to support your own success? who do you need to become? The learning phase will take time, and needs focus. Remember the old saying: practice makes perfect. You may have to add to your education, read books, take a class, go to workshop, get a mentor, or do all the above.

”So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable”. Christopher Reeve (actor, author, philanthropist).

STEP 4: Plan If you have set proper goals your going to need to build a bridge from where you are to where you want to be this is called a plan. Plans need to have action steps and activities, outlined from a broad timeline, right down to what needs to be done this month, this week, today. Daily action plans keep you focused and allow you to drill deep into the activities you need to do to get closer to your dream.

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home, and think about it. Go out and get busy.” Dale Carnegie (write, salesman, and public speaking innovator)

STEP 5: ACT Get started. Work your plan. Action might lead to a failure which means you need to go back to your learning and planning stages and rethink your strategy. Don’t consider a setback as a roadblock or the end, it is simply feedback of what hasn’t worked quite as well as you’d hoped. Fear is a dream killer. Overcoming fear in the action steps is paramount to your ultimate success. Which is on of the reasons that surrounding yourself with people who support and believe in you is so vital.

If you’d like more guidance in unlocking the power of this formula, whether its getting clarity on your dreams and goals, building a dynamic plan or even someone to make sure you actually take the action, take us up on our offer of a complimentary session and see if a Business Coach would be the right person to have in your corner.