A big dream come true

CHAPTER 5

Linda McCall

Linda McCall

? Cofounder & CMO Nomad Stays ? Adventure Lifestyle Consultant & Coach ? Business in Bare Feet Mentor ? Award-Winning Service & Customer Success Specialist ?

Published Jan 3, 2018

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It's that time of year where we assess that year that has gone and reassesses how to make our dreams come true. More importantly, set some big bad goals to make it all come true. The one thing comes naturally to me is a great adventure. They stem from a deep curiosity of 'what if I could?'

With this seeking nature, we are able to allow possibilities to flow and dreams to come true. But, it is not without some effort and action toward that a dream can successfully become a reality. So, I would like to share some ideas of ways you can make your dreams come true. Why? Because you can have what you want if you focus on the desired outcome.

In saying this, I am sure you are good at making your dreams come true or perhaps the word dreams is not your word. But, I would like to suggest, you allow it and just play along for a moment. Perhaps you rather the word goals. But goals are different to dreams. Goals are designed to be specific, truthful (measurable) attainable, realistic, and time-based. Dreams are the overall vision of what you want to create. And yes, goals are a more tangible.

Without dreaming something up and having the vision we don't allow the full excitement of possibility to be born.

It is important to have dreams, to gather the enthusiasm to make our dreams to come true.

My enthusiasm has taken me far and wide and I am always up for a grand adventure. I have also found I need to be careful what I for because I just might get it.

Have you ever said something thought about it so much that it happened?

Sometimes we just need to give yourself permission to dream up something ridiculous and far-fetched. I am giving you that permission, I hope you allow yourself the brain space to let it fly. That is why I am sharing these six ways to make your dreams come true. What I mean is that, if you putting your effort into achieving the positive outcome you desire, then you will get a positive uplifting successful outcome.

And so to does it affect the opposite. If you are always putting your focus on the negative outcome you will achieve that and propagate more fear by feeding it.

Mind Your Mind

Make sure you are focusing on what you want. I say this because it is so easy to be focused on the negative, and harder to focus on the positive. It is a constant conscious effort. It is minding your mind and managing the internal self-talk and language you use out loud that will drive your dreams toward the positive outcome.

It might sound a bit squishy but without dreams your not exercising the one truly natural powerful gift we have; visualisation. If you are one of those people who believe they can't visualise then you must start practicing and using the muscle. Read on and I will show you how.

Let’s jump right into it so that you don’t have to scroll down the page like I do when I see an article like this. So here it is with Pro Practices to help with each step. Let's go!

1.Visualise your outcomes

Knowing your outcome. It is simply visualisation. Visualise what it is you want and know your outcome. What is the overall feeling you will feel when you have that dream come true?

We all have dreams to do something that is meaningful, so knowing your outcomes and taping into that success feeling, is something we do often without even knowing it. When we gather with old friends over a beer, you think and talk about the times when you shared an experience or adventure together and laugh about it, remembering the time. Roars of laughter come next! you tap into the emotions of the overall event, you bring that memory close to you so you can see it.

We use our visualisation muscle often we just don't realise it. You can instantly remember a specific time in the past and bring the emotions flooding back, with smiles, sadness, fear, exhilaration the more you focus on it the stronger the emotions. it's as easy as that.

Pro Practice: Remember a time in the past when you felt truly successful, powerful, valuable or achieved a dream and remember that specific time now. You can close your eyes to intensify the feeling. What did you see? Were there any specific sounds, tastes, and smells? Now make it stronger get closer to it, can you start to feel your heart beat faster? Try it! Warning: only try it with positive events that are related to what you visualise the outcome you want in the future.

“Visualisation something organizes ones ability to accomplish it.”- Stephen R. Covey

2.Tell Stories

Tell stories to activate the feeling you want to feel when you get your dream and make it come true. If you want to create a new adventure that is something to strive for then read stories and tell those stories with passion. Imagine the exhilaration of achieving that for yourself.

If you want to train for Basecamp for instance, then read about others who have achieved it and tell stories to others about what you read and how they achieved it and every time you talk about it make the positive emotions of achieving that dream stronger and stronger and tell it with more and more enthusiasm.

“We tell ourselves stories in order to live” – Joan Didion

Pro Practice: Recently I met a bloke, and I said " G’day how you going?" and the reply was, “livin the dream” with full joy and happiness, it was contagious and I smiled with a giggle, he made my day. He really made me laugh and he went on to suggest that I try it some time. The next time someone asks how you're going, respond with enthusiasm and say “living the dream” and even if it is not totally true for you at the time pretend that it is and give yourself a shot of happy endorphins. Remember it's not about you, it is about how you can positively affect the world around you. Tell the story of how you someone you admire is 'living the dream' giving a vision of the future.

3. Proof Point

When we have a dream we want to achieve, we have to have proof points to affirm to yourself that it’s possible. Have you ever achieved something and thought wow, that's cool! And it brought the biggest smile to your face... “If I can do this than I can definitely do that” these are proof points.

What are the things you need to have happened before you know you have it?

Imagine your dream is to go on a diving holiday. For some people, booking the ticket is enough to believe that have the dream holiday. Others might need more convincing like they have to be on the plane with the doors closed and the plane pushing back with champagne in hand, feeling relaxed as they fly to their destination, and someone else might have to be on the beach or boat at their destination completing their first dive to be convinced that have their dream holiday and have achieved it.

With that in mind, we all have our proof points and standards and need more steps to get to where they want to be.

“Proof points are like goal posts, once you reach them you know you can do it again and your goal posts move like you have broken a boundary to go further” – Linda McCall

My proof point was if I could trust myself to take off and land my own airplane than I could do anything. I knew that when I flew solo, that was the moving of the goal post of what was possible for me. Then, and only after I passed my full license, was allowed to wear aviator sunglasses, because I earnt them!! These are the funny little ideas we have in our heads as proof points. That still makes me giggle!

If you work backward to getting your dream, set some goals and break it down into actions steps. And then decide on what your proof point is achieved before you know you have it? How do you know when you have got it? What will you feel, see, hear, taste and smell when you have it.

Pro Practice: Write down your biggest dream for the year and then work the steps back from the known outcome. What is the last thing that needs to happen when you know you have achieved your dreams? Then work back from that proof point.

4. Flexibility

There is always more than one way to get the desired outcome. And if you can see a few different perspectives it gives you more information to get your outcome.Then listen, look and learn what others have to share with you and you may learn from their mistakes.

In most situations, it’s about building rapport and demonstrating behavioral flexibility and collaboration. Easier said than done!

People like people who are like them. So using the words, tones and body language and language of all your interactions you will find you have fewer stops and more goes to allow you to achieve your dreams without having to be overly creative or inventive.

But it helps to have the backup plan of approaching things from a disruptive and curious manner to see if you can plough a new path if you must. Just keep moving.

" flexibility has become a modern-day value that everyone wants. But flexibility comes at a cost" - Maynard Webb

Pro Practice: Be bendy! Listen more, speak less. This one is the hardest one. And by no means should you assume that because I am writing about it that I have mastered it, it is a constant conscious effort for me. Observe more and be curious enough to ask and offer to volunteer your time, you will always learn something about yourself and how you interact with others. Be flexible in allowing to see another point of view.

5. Excellence according to you

How can I serve you to the best of my ability? Operate without expectation of getting just giving. This is giving your best to help others and you will naturally receive a gift. It’s a much-needed mindset that has to come first. Rather than 'what can this person do for me?' However this can be an unconscious program, so don't beat your self up just notice it. It is often fun to observe how you interact with those as a party or event.

If you can be open and listen as to how you can help others you are way ahead of the game, it means you listened first. Which is just operating from a psychology and physiology of excellence. What are the qualities that makeup excellence according to you and your standard of 'what is excellence?'

Pro Practice: Find an opportunity to help others. Be open to asking for help and receiving gracefully, that one is the hardest for us all. It is the ability to receive. Notice your how you currently serve others and is it with expectation.

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Dream Big Quotes to Help You Find Happiness

Be joyful in the pursuit of your dreams. Even when they don't pan out exactly how you want them to, having something to work for, or having a big dream waiting at the finish line makes a person mindful, motivated, and happy.