♥ USE YOUR FEAR. Often, being afraid of failure or of looking like a fool holds us back from pursuing our dreams. But fear can be a great motivator, too. Imagine yourself ten years from now, still totally stuck and afraid. How would it feel to still be letting fear keep you from achieving your dream? Use the rear of that to motivate you to take action.
♥ START A DREAM JOURNAL. Dedicate one to your goal—write about your thoughts and plans, jot down facts and phone numbers, and paste in pictures that inspire you. Getting everything down on paper gives you momentum. It makes your dream real before you even get started.
♥ MAKE A TIMELINE. Write down when you’d like your dream to come true, and give yourself a deadline for each step that has to happen along the way. For example, if you want to take a big trip abroad with your kids, decide when you want to go, then figure out when you’ll need to make reservations, earn money to pay for it, and so on. Make a poster of your timeline and keep it where you can see it every single day. You may not hit each deadline exactly on time, but having a time frame helps you keep your dream high on your priority list.
♥ DO ONE THING EVERY DAY. No matter how busy you are, set aside five minutes each day to take one small step toward your goal. Whether it’s a phone call or doing research on the Internet, take daily action so you don’t look up and realize another six months have gone by and you didn’t even try to make your dream come true. Plus doing something, even if it’s small, is what will give you that sense of accomplishment that pushes you to do even more.
