making that dream a reality

7/30/2014

My corner

So I took a little vacation! My son left to visit with his dad for the summer, I started a new job, organized my shop, did some on the side photography and just relaxed. So many new things are happening in my life and I am so thankful. Time to buckle down and focus on my goals, so I'm learning about goal setting. It is so easy to say what you want to do, the hard part is actually doing it. Getting that motivation to make it happen.

Narrow your focus

If you are like me, there isn't just one thing you want to do in your life, there are many... MANY things. But in order to really succeed, it seems I need to narrow down my focus. I'm learning the process by getting tips from successful people and this is what I have come up with so far. What is my goal? What do I want to become, or where do I want to end up in my life? These are the steps I've learned to make the process a little easier. The first step is to believe in your dream. If you don't believe it with all that you are, chances are that it won't happen. Nobody is going to believe in your dream for you. Visualize what you want in your life, and where you want to be say, a year from now? What do you need to do to get to that point? Write it down. Look at it as many times a day as you can. Commit to your goal. Anything that you are doing that isn't a necessity and doesn't directly relate to your goal, throw it out the window. Create a plan of action and follow it. Do it now. Tomorrow isn't promised and if you are like me, it is so easy to put things off to the next day and the next day. Hold yourself accountable. Just like a boss would at your job, make yourself get up and do the work. You want to work for yourself, this is what it will take. It is actually harder to be motivated on your own than it is just taking orders from someone else. So this is where I am right now, learning how and beginning to apply this process to my life.

take it from them

"Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself, because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential."
- Barak Obama

"If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things
- Albert Einstein

Don't quit - everyone has setbacks

Achieving your goals is never a seamless process. There WILL be setbacks along the way. What separates the good from the great is being able to overcome obstacles. If it was easy, everyone would do it. Everyone would be famous, an olympic athlete, a millionaire. Its drive that separates us. Its pure will and determination. Here are some examples of people that persevered through their lives setbacks.

Michael Jordan: One of the greatest athletes of all time, Michael Jordan, was cut from his high school basketball team. He turned out to be the greatest basketball player and never let failure deter him!

JK Rowling - Twelve publishers rejected the Harry Potter manuscript! A year later she was given the green light by Barry Cunningham from Bloomsbury, who agreed to publish the book but insisted she get a day job.
What if she stopped at the first rejection? The fifth? Or the tenth?The measure of success can be shown by how many times someone keeps going despite hearing only no.

Anna Wintour: Fashion Editing Icon Anna Wintour didn't have an easy road. While a junior fashion editor at Harper’s Bazaar, Wintour did lots of shoots, but apparently they were thought to be too edgy, and so she got fired after 9 months. She never gave up and ended up being the long time editor in chief of Vogue Magazine!

Steven King: Acclaimed author Steven King wasn't an instant success. His first book Carrie was rejected 30 times and he threw it in the trash. His wife took it out of the trash and encouraged him to resubmit it. The rest is history. He has sold more than 350 million copies of his book!

People can be cruel. But not everyone has your dream. Not everyone can see your vision. Maybe only you can see it. But if you believe in it, take the steps make it happen! I'm just beginning my journey and already, it isn't an easy road. Someone once told me to stop taking pictures, that they were terrible. I really took that and used it as fuel. I don't like people telling me I CANT. I can do anything I set my mind to. In the months since, I've photographed my second wedding and numerous models and I will only continue to learn and strive to do better. Everyone has to start from somewhere.

I just want to encourage you to do what makes you happy. This life is short and sweet and you can make it anything you you want. No matter how old, young, or whatever limitations you feel you have, you don't. There are no limits. Nick Vujicic (pictured on the left), was born with no arms or legs, but has taught himself to play football, swim and even surf. ANYTHING is possible if you put your mind to it.