Dreams are important. Your ability to realize your dreams—or not—determines your level of happiness. Therefore, it’s helpful to periodically review your dreams to see if they still fit. If a dream still appeals to you, do it. Make it happen. If it doesn’t, dump it. Let it go.
During Marcia Wieder’s recent Wealthy Visionary Conference, people shared what seemed to be impossible dreams and how they realized them. I saw how people took action even though they were afraid. Sometimes achieving your dreams comes from taking action even when you’re scared and resistant.
Marcia herself had dreams that people thought she was crazy to pursue. She recognized that she couldn’t help other people achieve their dreams without achieving her own, and in the end she created an industry and certification program for just that—dream coaching and dream realization.
Based upon the lessons she’s learned over the years, Marcia’s processes guide people through the steps necessary to realize their dreams. She shared some of her tips during the conference, and two of them really resonated with me:
- Develop discernment. Know what to say yes to and what to say no The skill of discernment is like any muscle. You need to exercise it in order to strengthen and improve it. You must commit, as an entrepreneur, to the art of discernment. I’ve seen people be overwhelmed and sometimes even have their businesses fail because they didn’t master this.
- Do it or dump it. To move forward, revisit each of your dreams. If you’re no longer working on it or willing to do it, or if it’s not working, dump it. If you need to mourn it, do so, and then move ahead.
As you review your dreams, keep integrity in mind. Whether or not a dream supports your integrity—your ability to stay true to yourself—is important to consider when deciding which dreams to keep or toss. Integrity is an inside and outside job, since it involves keeping your word with yourself and others. I admire Marcia for working really hard to maintain integrity with herself and others. You’ll be more able to succeed in business and life if you stay true to yourself.
One of the things I realized during the conference is that I’m good at manifesting my dreams. I think that’s because I’ve always been more dedicated to my dreams than to doubts. I’ve also always been good about asking myself hard questions, like How would I feel at the end of my life if I haven’t done this? As you think about your dreams, ask yourself the same question. You could rephrase it this way: What will happen if I DON’T move forward with my dreams?
If you’re like me, you’re well aware of how quickly time is passing. Revisit your dreams, and then do it or dump it!
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I like to collect stories about belief change experiences. If you have any interesting ones, let me know or post them below so I can comment on them in subsequent articles or posts.
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P.S. Do you want to share this post? Please do. Just be sure that it remains intact and includes the following bio.
About Terry: Terry Hickey, M.S., is a Certified NLP Professional Coach, Business Trainer and Consultant, a Certified Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming and the co-owner of NLP Advantage Group. Originator of the Belief Breakthrough Method™, Terry specializes in teaching coaches and entrepreneurs how to rapidly resolve limiting beliefs about wealth and success. His tips and strategies can help you launch yourself into the future you want… NOW. http://terryhickey.com/
What ultimately motivates you?
Motivation occurs on different levels. Let me explain…
We all have a drive to survive. We share this with all living organisms. Maslow spoke to this in his famous theory of the hierarchy of needs. He described how humans organize themselves to meet the basic needs first—food and shelter—and when that is realized, we can begin to focus on self-actualization, intellectual and spiritual development.
Most of us work with people who have realized their basic needs, but occasionally we have experienced or worked with people struggling to meet their basic needs. If you can’t make your house payment, it’s hard to focus on self-development. I’m going to assume that you have resolved your basic needs and have time to investigate your dreams or higher-level motivations. Your dreams speak to a deeper level truth, a higher calling. When we as coaches or change agents began to help people realize their dreams, we are doing a different kind of work.
Dreams almost always connect to our deeper mission or purpose. Having a dream implies you are connecting with something really important and meaningful. I would suggest that an inability or unwillingness to follow our dreams leads to a deep soul or heart dissatisfaction. Of course following your dreams allows your soul and heart to feel a deep level of satisfaction.
What actually causes and inspires dreams? I propose that they come from our mission or our greater “why.” Your why is ultimately what creates your passion and drive. Follow your why, and you will lead a more congruent, passionate and fulfilled life. Failure to follow your why or dreams can lead to deep dissatisfaction and even depression. At a minimum it can lead to a vague sense of boredom.
We have many ways to talk about following your dreams. We use the words fulfillment, destiny, the hero’s journey, following your bliss, etc. We also have many people in our lives who are dream stealers, people who tell us “That’s not practical,” or “You won’t be able to make a living doing that.” Why do they do they do this? Because someone stole their dreams.
To follow your dream often requires a leap of faith or requires you to challenge your internal critic, the parts of you who whisper “That’s not practical,” “You can’t make money doing that,” “No one will pay for that,” or similar messages.
So what is a person to do? Well, if they’re smart, they’ll invest in a coach or mentor who can help them follow their dream. And again, that dream often stems from or is influenced by their mission or why.
Do you know your mission, your greater purpose, your why?
It’s important to understand your why. What is it that you believe in? Can you articulate your mission, your purpose, your dream? The clearer I get about my dream and what I believe in, the more it resonates with others. They can more readily identify if it’s a good fit for them and if it’s meant to be.
In writing this I realize that my work really answers my mission—my why—and I know that when people work with me, they often speak about how my passionate support of them has made it possible for them to realize their dreams. No wonder I love what I do!
So if you do not yet know your mission or dream or why, make the commitment to do so. You don’t want to be at the end of your life describing to your loved ones how you failed to go for what was really important, do you?
It takes courage and perseverance and faith to follow your dreams, or you can make a therapist rich talking about your regret of not having gone for what was really important. So I invite you to go for your dream. Take the leap of faith.
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P.S. Do you want to share this post? Please do. Just be sure that it remains intact and includes the following bio.
About Terry: Terry Hickey, M.S., is a Certified NLP Professional Coach, Business Trainer and Consultant, a Certified Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming and the co-owner of NLP Advantage Group. Originator of the Belief Breakthrough Method™, Terry specializes in teaching coaches and entrepreneurs how to rapidly resolve limiting beliefs about wealth and success. His tips and strategies can help you launch yourself into the future you want… NOW. http://terryhickey.com/
This article is a departure from my usual “Insights,” but I think you’ll understand why I’ve shared it today.
It has been a little more than a week since Munai passed. Based on the kind comments many of you made on my Facebook page, I know that you understand deeply the significant relationships we have with animals and their heartfelt impact our lives.
When My Chow-Chow, Waiki, passed two years ago, I wrote about what she taught me. Now I’m doing the same for Munai.
Beth and I first saw her in the Pima County Animal Care Center, where we had gone to find a pack member for Waiki. We had lost our Golden Retriever, Wiser, about two months before and decided that we would adopt a rescue dog.
Well as many of you know, in a shelter setting a dog as much chooses you as you choose it. Munai was a six-month old little lab mix being kept with two other dogs. When she saw us she immediately came up and said in Doggie language, “I want to be in your pack.” She wasn’t the only one, but she was the most persistent, so we decided to bring her home.
After being spayed and treated for kennel cough, Munai came home. She was initially scared, but she settled in quickly as a result of being held close and Waiki’s willingness to welcome her into the pack. Her personality emerged. She was playful, loving and always a little scared, but she managed her fear by seeking reassurance.
We also discovered two other traits: she was very protective, and she was an exceptional hunter. One time we saw Munai catch a pigeon in flight by launching herself into the air and snatching it six feet off the ground. (We were able to release the bird, which then flew off.) She also never met a lizard she didn’t chase. The funniest memory of this particular characteristic was the time she caught a mouse in the house. We saw the mouse just as she did. It looked like she had it cornered, but then it disappeared. We thought it got away, but then we looked at Munai sitting quietly and noticed a tail emerging from her mouth. I told her to “OPEN,” and she did, only to have one scared and lucky mouse leap out and run off. I think it moved out of the house that very moment because we never saw it again.
With puppies and small dogs Munai was always loving and gentle, having a natural mothering aspect. She expressed this time and again. She was also affectionate and playful with kids and interacted well with other people, except when she sensed that Beth was concerned or wary about someone. In that case she was protective and fierce. She also used to support Waiki in the job of protecting the neighborhood from strange people and dogs.
What Munai was absolutely best at was being a loving friend. She would want to be there in the same room, close but not suffocating, just enjoying the closeness. She decided early on that her place at night was sleeping on the bed next to Beth; she wanted that connection. Munai did this until she was older and couldn’t jump on the bed any longer.
Munai also especially enjoyed the kitchen experience, where she took on the tough job of chief taster, a role she was not willing to relinquish to anyone else. When Beth and I changed our eating habits and went on an anti-inflammatory diet, that included a muffin made without wheat or sugars—one that had lots of fruit as its main component. Well, after one taste, Munai decided that this would be part of her diet, patiently waiting for her share every morning.
So what lessons did we learn from sweet Munai?
- Once you make a choice of the heart, do all you can to make sure that you honor it.
- Enjoy physical touch.
- Stay close to the people you love.
- Fully enjoy your relationships.
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I like to collect stories about belief change experiences. If you have any interesting ones, please share them below so I can comment on them in future posts.
P.S. Do you want to share this post? Please do. Just be sure that it remains intact and includes the following bio.
About Terry: Terry Hickey, M.S., is a Certified NLP Professional Coach, Business Trainer and Consultant, a Certified Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming and the co-owner of NLP Advantage Group. Originator of the Belief Breakthrough Method™, Terry specializes in teaching coaches and entrepreneurs how to rapidly resolve limiting beliefs about wealth and success. His tips and strategies can help you launch yourself into the future you want… NOW. http://terryhickey.com/
Some of the questions I have considered have to do with people who have worked with the same coach or taken the same business training and yet experienced widely different results…
Why is there a difference? Is it simply taking action, or is there more to it?
Of the ones who are successful, what made success possible?
Based on my own work and my research, what seems to matter most is MOTIVATION.
If motivation is the key to success—the factor that makes the biggest difference—then how do you get motivated? What makes a difference in your life? Motivation is often tied to wanting to contribute, to having a powerful mission. What is it that shapes your ability to contribute?
How do you take your dreams and make them a reality? I suggest you adopt these three ideas from successful dreamers:
- Focus on a moment when you realized what is possible. Think of an experience that ultimately satisfied your internal criteria, like achieving a certain financial goal or business goal that at one time seemed unachievable, and use that as a motivator.
Two powerful examples of people who achieved the “unachievable” are 1) the first person whose website got a million hits in a day, a feat now surpassed several times over, and 2) Roger Banister, the first person to break the 4-mainute mile, even though the prevailing “scientific evidence” claimed that doing so simply wasn’t possible. Certainly what you do will work if you believe it will work.
- Get psyched with success, which creates even more actions, creating a success loop.
- Use fear, if necessary. Paradoxically, this works for some—those who became more afraid of what life would be like if they didn’t follow through. This amplified pain creates action.
How can you push yourself to succeed?
- Recognize who you are (identity) and what you are capable of.
- Set a compelling goal.
- Take frequent action, such as consciously doing one thing a week to achieve something.
- Condition your mind each day. (This allows breakthroughs to happen, which is why it is a must for you.)
- Spend time with people who are hungry. (People can change their standards when they are around others who have different standards; that’s why mastermind groups work so well.)
- Seek out mentors, models or coaches.
- Avoid doubt, because when you are in doubt, you are in no man’s land.
- Maintain an optimistic viewpoint. Avoid pessimism.
And finally, persevere. Be prepared to overcome setbacks and keep going, no matter what. Such resilience makes the difference in achieving success. You must create emotional states that can carry you through the difficulties, boring times, or setbacks so that you can ultimately achieve what you want.
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I enjoy collecting stories about belief change experiences. If you have any interesting ones, please share them below so I can comment on them in subsequent articles or posts.
P.S. Do you want to share this post? Please do. Just be sure that it remains intact and includes the following bio.
About Terry: Terry Hickey, M.S., is a Certified NLP Professional Coach, Business Trainer and Consultant, a Certified Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming and the co-owner of NLP Advantage Group. Originator of the Belief Breakthrough Method™, Terry specializes in teaching coaches and entrepreneurs how to rapidly resolve limiting beliefs about wealth and success. His tips and strategies can help you launch yourself into the future you want… NOW. http://terryhickey.com/
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As mentioned before, I have a personal quest to travel on as many of the worlds major rivers as possible. Ive been fortunate to experience the splendor of some incredible waterways already, including this glacial river of ice in Alaska. Beth and I even spent time kayaking in that state last summer.
Have you been to Alaska yet? If you want to go there someday, have you made plans to make it happen? If you have a different travel goal, what are you doing to bring it to fruition?
P.S. Do you want to reprint this article? Please do. Just be sure that it remains intact and includes the following bio.
About Terry: Terry Hickey, M.S., is a Certified NLP Professional Coach, Business Trainer and Consultant, a Certified Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming and the co-owner of NLP Advantage Group. Originator of the Belief Breakthrough Method, Terry specializes in teaching coaches and entrepreneurs how to rapidly resolve limiting beliefs about wealth and success. His tips and strategies can help you launch yourself into the future you want NOW. http://terryhickey.com/
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Thierry Henry photo courtesy Wikipedia
While Beth and I were at a professional soccer game last Saturday night featuring the New York Red Bulls and Sporting Kansas City, we noticed that the Red Bulls’ featured player (star) was Thierry Henry. We then realized that it was exactly 10 years ago to the day that Beth and I saw him play in London when he was new to Arsenal Soccer.
We got to meet Thierry back then because we were working for Tony Adams, who was the captain of the team at that time. We had been hired to set up an addiction clinic for professional athletes, which also included a peak performance aspect. As part of working for Tony, we went to several Arsenal games and sat in his box. Afterwards we were invited to the post-game party in the club. It was there that we met Thierry.
Working in London for Tony Adams was a dream job, not only because I love soccer—and still play—but also because I had the chance to work for one of the world’s best soccer stars.
I truly believe that experience was the result of setting two different goals: one to work internationally and another to work with professional athletes. I just didn’t know that I would get to do both at once.
What important dreams are you setting in place? Do you have the beliefs to support those dreams? Search your memory and see if you have had an experience like mine—one that was the result of setting a big goal and then going for it.
