Introduction

"Where you find yourself tomorrow is a function of the decisions and actions you take today" -Akin A. Awolaja

Like the song by Linda Ronstadt, "a dream is a wish that your heart makes." To lose a dream is to die a little yourself. It means closing down the part of you that can soar above the reality of your current life to see new and exciting possibilities.

It is important to talk about your dreams to your friends, best is to write-down your dreams that will give you direction, a purpose to work hard and a passion. It is also important to share your dreams with people, who, you feel will be happy with your failure, doing that means you will be more focused and will be carrying a little bit extra pressure.

(You can also read this article on my blog at http://sanjeevhimachali.blogspot.com/ )

RECIPE FOR CHASING YOUR DREAMS

1. DEFINE THE DREAM

First you must know what you can accomplish in your heart and mind. If you are not sure of this, the game is over. You will never accomplish anything if you don't first believe you can. Every action starts with a thought, good or bad. One good thing to do is to write exactly what it is you want to do, become, accomplish. This will make it more real to you, and cements in your mind what it is you really want to do. Sit down with paper and pen. Define EXACTLY what it is in your heart that you dream of. (Hint, the bigger the dream, the harder to achieve...but as long as you are prepared to give what it takes, you'll find a place in the scheme of things.)

2. RESEARCH THE DREAM

Take an action, any actions towards your goal. This starts you physically working to achieve your goal. Do this every day. And review what you have accomplished every week, so that you can see your progress. Write down what you have done to lead you towards your goal, (at least every month for you non writers). This way you can review your steps at the end of each year, and see how you are progressing.

3. PRACTICE THE DREAM

Don't allow negativity to take root. Don't worry if you have a setback. There will be times that you are ill, or not progressing for some reason. Don't make it into a catastrophe! Know that you are progressing even if it is not perfect, and continue. When you make the problem larger than it is, you have a tendency to quit, and in starts the "I don't know why I even thought I could do all this, it is useless" type of thinking. This will destroy all your progress, plans, dreams much quicker that having a little set back will! Be aware of this negative thinking and nip it in the bud. Remember everyone has setbacks, and problems. The ones that are successful just keep going when others quit.

4. REWRITE THE DREAM

If something doesn't go the exact direction you thought it should have, rewrite the situation. If you find that you thought you wanted the big dream, but then you realize that your dream didn't include all the nonsense that goes along with one of those in exchange for your "other dream(s)," (perhaps your family or job?), it is TOTALLY alright to adapt your dreams to accommodate each other. Unfortunately, some dreams require 24-hour dedication to maintain. (Ask any professional who is a megastar in their field.)

5. PURSUE THE DREAM Don't give up. That's the first thing ANYONE successful who is giving advice says, so it MUST be true. (Ok, it's pretty logical that if you DO give up, your odds will go way down...) What I'm really saying is leave no stone unturned. Take advantage of all opportunities, work, work, work at it.

Don't allow negativity to take root. Don't worry if you have a setback. There will be times that you are ill, or not progressing for some reason. Don't make it into a catastrophe! Know that you are progressing even if it is not perfect, and continue. When you make the problem larger than it is, you have a tendency to quit, and in starts the "I don't know why I even thought I could do all this, it is useless" type of thinking. This will destroy all your progress, plans, dreams much quicker that having a little set back will! Be aware of this negative thinking and nip it in the bud. Remember everyone has setbacks, and problems. The ones that are successful just keep going when others quit.

6. LIVE THE DREAM

Remember that each time you sing, play, write, perform, discuss, pitch, etc., you are creating a reality that supports your dream. Don't forget to applaud the little steps, as well as the big. You write a birthday song for your sister-in-law, and it makes her cry with your kindness. Your song is used in a campaign for adoption, and though it didn't earn a dime, it was perfect, and said so much to so many. A peer complimented your writing at a recent song pitch. You were the hit of the community musical. GOOD FOR YOU! It all matters.

All these things make us more professional, and give us the reasons for doing the work. They are as important as the royalties, and enrich our life of music. Don't overlook them.

7. APPRECIATE YOUR DREAM

Did you know that most of your little steps are someone else's big dream? Some people would give a great deal to have the opportunity to perform ONE karaoke song in front of an audience...or have anyone use a song for any reason....or play a great guitar lick...or own a computer...or you name it. Appreciate the skills and opportunities God has blessed you with that you might even have a dream.

Remember that success is built on all our little decisions we have made over a period of time. It doesn't come in overnight, but is built brick by brick. That is why it is so important to write down our accomplishments every week. So you can see them! This way we can see the bricks we are using to build with, and make corrections along the way.

Your SWOT Analysis, to Chase your Dream

Going after the dream can feel so daunting it's often easier to have the fantasy than to live it. Here's my basic philosophy. I don't want to get to 80, look back at my life and think "Ooops! I wish I had..." I want to know I've lived all the life I've been given, whatever that means. So what are your dreams?

What's Holding You Back?

A. I might fail (public humiliation)
B. I might succeed (other people's high expectations)
C. It's too difficult at my age
D. I'll never find the time
E. People will think I'm 'too big for my boots'
F. I don't know how to begin
G. Who am I? There are other people far more qualified
H. I don't have enough self-confidence

It's All Right to Be Frightened

Fear, concern, anxiety are natural feelings so don't expect to be entering a new venture without some pretty intense emotions. You have to decide whether you're going to give them more room in your head than the excitement, anticipation and joy that are equally present. If you listen too much to the anxious feelings, they'll tell you to stop before you begin. Get an image in your head of you at your most successful and let her have more room than the 'little' you that will keep you small if you let her. Draw a self-portrait of your successful self. Start a scrapbook and put her on page one. One of my scrapbooks is filled with cartoons, my own drawings (really bad ones I might add!), poetry (mine and others), clippings from magazines and newspapers, anything that helped me define my dream.

Identify the Skills You Already Have

Being a successful requires courage, tenacity, planning, determination and flexibility. All those qualities are also required for any new venture. For one-month keep a journal in your scrapbook of everything you do in your daily life and the qualities and skills you use to do them. Then imagine yourself in your new activity and list the skills you'll need, marking a tick next to the ones you already have.

Keep Your Feet On The Ground

Be realistic. You may dream of being a ballet dancer at 45, but it's mighty unlikely to happen. However, you could get involved in set design, costume making or any number of related areas. One of the problems that people with impossible dreams encounter is that they make them so big, that not only is it unlikely they'll be able to achieve them, it is equally likely that they will be the best excuse never to begin. I'm a great believer in impossible dreams (I have them myself.), but make sure they can be broken down into 'bite-size' chunks, so that you can see a beginning, middle and end to each chunk. If my dream is to be a Booker prizewinner I can stay in my head autographing first editions and never start the first page. Or I can keep a journal every day, send a short piece into the parish newsletter and write letters to the editor of my favorite magazine as a way of practicing my skills as a writer.

Networking

Go through your address book and see if there's anyone amongst your current friends, relatives and acquaintances who knows something about the area you are interested in. Don't think in terms of what they can do, rather what or who they know. Identify who's already doing what you want to do and ask to pick their brains. It may seem quite a bold thing to ask but, in my experience, people are usually quite generous about telling others what they know (good for their ego too) and will give not only useful pointers but will alert you of pitfalls as well.

Learn To Sell Yourself

If you don't think you have something to offer, why should anyone else? You don't have to wave a banner to sell yourself, but self-deprecation won't do it either. An exercise to do with your support group is to imagine yourself as a product. What's special about you the product? Why would someone want to 'buy' this product? Who are your 'customers'? How will you reach them? Odd questions to ask yourself, but they will put a new slant on looking at yourself more objectively. Then you need to create a Marketing Plan to launch this new product onto the world.

Create Your Marketing Plan: Back To The Future

I know this sounds obvious, but the number of people I've met who have huge dreams and no plans astonishes me. The best way to make a plan that I know is to start with your end point and work backwards. Begin with your goal and think of what would have happened just before you reached it, then what would have happened just before that, and so on till you reach the present day. Draw a graph of what needs to happen when and be clear about the milestones ? those key elements that must be in place for your plan to work well. Put people's names next to the milestones. And most important of all, make sure you create a budget so you know what resources you'll have to call upon at each stage.

A plan should make you feel supported, secure and freed up. If it feels like a burden, you've got the wrong plan.

Conclusion

Dreams are important, a first step to move up and high in life. Have a dream and then work hard, harder and hardest to achieve your dream. Had it not been for a dream, we would not have been in this world as we are living today.

Dreams are extremely important. You can't do it unless you can imagine it. -- George Lucas

To achieve the marvelous is precisely the unthinkable that must be thought. -- Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume

And as written by one writer:

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit-
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up,
Whe he might have captured the victor's cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out -
The silver tint in the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It might be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit -
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

Looking forward to your comments and feedback Have a great day and take care.

Regards,

Sanjeev Sharma
Pune-India
Mobile: +91-9890788259
E-mail: ss_himachali@yahoo.com; s070976@yahoo.co.in
Blog: http://sanjeevhimachali.blogspot.com/