You and I have something in common.
We dream about a successful career. We dream about a successful personal life. And we dream about success for our friends and family.
There are several things you can do to accomplish your dreams. Here are 5 of them to get you started:
- Step 1 -- Understand the Difference Between Vision and Action: A lot of people think if you simply visualize success, it'll happen. That's not true. You have to both visualize success and take action towards that vision. One doesn't work without the other.
- Step 2 -- Discover Your Core Essence: In order to accomplish your dreams, you need to understand what motivates and drives you. Do you have a deep need to help others? Or are you driven by the need to be creative? Or by the need for stability and predictability? Understanding what motivates you is essential. If you'd like to find out what drives you, take my Core Essence exercise out for a spin. It'll help you get on the right track.
- Step 3 -- Find a Few Role Models. It's easier to become the person of your dreams if you have few role models to follow. They've already plowed a path that you can copy (nothing wrong with copying). My role models are Oprah Winfrey, Bob Iger (CEO of Disney), Indra Nooyi (Nooyi was the Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo from 2006 to 2019), and Rick Rubin (music producer). Who are yours? If you'd like a list of business leaders to choose from, check out this list of The World's Top 100 CEOs on the Unspoken Rules of Leadership website.
- Step 4 -- Change Your Thoughts and Your Actions, but Let Go of the Outcome. If you want to accomplish your dreams, you have to start by changing your thoughts. Are your thoughts honorable? Noble? Appropriate? Once you've changed your thoughts, that will lead to better actions. But here's the hard part. Changing your thoughts and actions is great. And that's likely to lead to changed outcomes. But you have to release yourself from the outcomes. In other words, you have to control what you can control, and then let go of the rest.
- Step 5 -- Use the 85% Rule. New research indicates that we actually perform our best when we're running at about 85%. People who say, "I'm giving it 110!" are actually shooting themselves in the foot. The research shows that trying too hard is actually counter-productive. Key point: I'm not saying you shouldn't try your best. What I'm saying is that you should take your foot off the gas pedal a little bit and get into a state of flow. Top performing athletes know this technique and you should, too.
One last thing. My newsletter last week about managing stress and depression got a lot of great responses. Thank you.
Several people (including long-time reader Brian Phillips) pointed out that if you're feeling hopeless or suicidal, you should dial 988, not 911.
Remember that -- dial 988 when you're in need. There are people there waiting to help.
In the meantime, please know that I believe in you. You're capable of so much. And I hope what I write in these emails helps you.
About the Author: Jamie Turner is an internationally recognized author, professor, consultant, and speaker who has helped employees at The Coca-Cola Company, Holiday Inn, Verizon, Mercedes-Benz and others do a better job leading, managing, and mentoring others. To have him speak at your event or organization, email him at: Jamie@JamieTurner.Live
