It’s good to be hopeful, but it’s not enough on its own. You have to have a plan.
Hope is a good thing. But hope is not a strategy. It’s not an action plan. The “wait and see” method will not get you to where you want to go.
Don’t be passive when it comes to getting what you want. The world doesn’t care what you want. It’s not deliberately trying to keep you from your goals, but if you don’t aggressively pursue them to live your best life, you’ll end up working for someone else to help them live their best life.
Think to yourself, “if it’s to be, it’s up to me!” You are the hero of your journey and in order to get what you want, you will need to find ways to overcome the hardships that you will inevitably encounter.
Those who think, “if it’s meant to be, it will happen” are not taking responsibility for what happens in their life. Take ownership of every area of your life. Have a plan and then execute that plan. Always work to improve yourself and to help those around you. If you’re taking the right steps, you’ll get closer to your dream every day.
Hope is a good thing. It can keep us uplifted when times are tough. But hope is not a long-term strategy. It can’t be the sole thing that you rely on. Make sure you have an action plan to go along with hope and you’ll be on your way to a better life.
I truly believe that anyone can achieve their wildest dreams if they have enough time, put in enough focused effort, and have enough money to not go broke while attempting it. But here’s the catch…people often don’t have all three.
The first reason that people don’t reach their goals is because they give up on them too soon. They try hard for a little while, but when they aren’t getting as much traction as they want to in the beginning, they give up – not realizing that if just keep at it and build momentum that they’re closer to achieving their goals than they think. If you are thinking BIG for your goal, it will probably take some time to get there.
If it’s the right goal for you and your family, DON’T GIVE UP. You might be closer to achieving it than you realize.
The second reason that people don’t achieve their goals is because they aren’t willing to do the difficult things to move the needle towards success. They say they want their goal, but they aren’t willing to sacrifice to get it. They aren’t willing to miss out on some sleep, to hang out with friends, or to miss the newest Netflix show. Eventually, if you build the right systems and have a team to delegate to, you won’t have to give up as much. But in the beginning, expect to sacrifice a lot. You will most likely have to give up something in order to reach your goal.
It won’t always be easy, but it will be worth it.
The last part that holds people back from really giving it all towards their dreams is not having enough money or resources to give their best effort. This one is the hardest to control out of the three keys to success, because sometimes you have to invest a lot of money into something (like a business) to get started. BUT, don’t let that be an excuse to stop you. You can set yourself up by living within your means (spending less than you make), by working additional jobs, selling items that you don’t use, living a minimalist lifestyle, and then taking a calculated risk on if you’re willing/able to possibly go into debt to get started. Just remember that the majority of small businesses fail within 5 years of opening. You need to be willing to give it everything you’ve got (mentally, physically, emotionally, financially, and even spiritually).
If you truly want something, you’ll find a way to get it. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.
What’s holding you back? Do you have dreams for a better future? Are you doing anything about those dreams to try to reach them? Make sure that you’re willing to invest the time, energy, and money into making it come true and then come up with an action plan to make it happen.
Know the power of your voice. Know when to use it (when to speak) or when not to. Know how to use it. More is not better (it’s not how much you say, it’s what you say).
Speak up for what’s important to you and learn to let things that don’t matter go. You don’t have to win every battle (or argument), as it may end up costing you the war (damaging your relationship with those you’re arguing with).
The more positive your outlook is, and the more encouraging you are as a leader (think of a nurturing parent), the more you will energize the workforce around you. The positive energy from those around you will then feed back to you, which will create a self-perpetuating system that leads to improved work performance. After all, who does their best work when they feel that they have to walk on eggshells around their co-workers (or worse, around their boss)?
When you have a positive work environment, co-workers will be more likely to offer suggestions or come up with new ideas, because they don’t fear being chastised by others.
With a positive work environment, co-workers care more about their team. Their team becomes a second family. And when they care more, they’ll go the extra mile to achieve for their team.
Once negativity creeps into the workplace, it will encourage others to stay quiet, not to speak up/contribute, and to look to serve themselves, NOT the team.
Just remember, you can’t force anyone else to be positive. The only person whose actions you can control is your own. Be the positive force that you would want to work with and watch as your surrounding environment is transformed around you.
“Rules without relationships lead to rebellion.” – Andy Stanley
Imagine trying to impose rules on someone that you just met. It isn’t going to work. They’re going to respond poorly. They don’t know you, or know if you have their best interests at heart.
This is the same thing when it comes to being a manager at work or a parent at home. If you’re an absent parent, then decide that when you come home you’re going to implement new rules or be a tyrannical dictator when talking with your children, they won’t respect you.
Build your relational foundation with respect. If you treat them with respect, they will respect you. If you don’t treat them respect, don’t allow them to feel heard, and shut down every idea that they offer without hesitation, they will look forward to the day that they can leave.
“Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.” – Richard Branson
