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Turning your dreams into reality requires a major shift in mindset

It happens to all of us: we wake up and have our first cup of coffee and a shower, and suddenly, we have an epiphany. We think it’s a real game-changer — that it will lift us out of our drab or uninspired lull and into a world of opportunity. We think we should tell everyone we know about how we intend to overhaul the personal counseling industry, write a New York Times bestseller or relocate our life and start an urban farming collective in New Mexico. And in our head, we can’t fail.

Years ago, I made the jump from working for someone to becoming a business owner. It’s been the best thing I’ve done in my life. However, before you start changing your LinkedIn job title, quit your job and holding celebrations, take a step back and breathe.

Write the idea down somewhere and put it away. Sleep on it, and continue your life as it always was. After some time passes, re-read your idea again and see if you still want to go through with it.

Make sure you love what fulfilling this goal involves

If you have a big goal or dream that will add some impact to a certain industry (eg. writing a book, selling your fashion designs on Etsy, starting a new tech company), it’s safe to assume that you have some experience or passion invested in the activity itself. If the ultimate goal is to do what you love, you should really, really love what you’re about to do enough to take it to the next level.

Also Read: The right way to listen in business

In the beginning of embarking on this new venture, you should keep asking yourself if you’re willing to love it this much — if you love it enough to start learning other unrelated skills (like light programming, juggling finances, editing, social media). People are more motivated and accomplish more when they love what they’re doing, so make sure this is worth it for you.

Visualise your end goal with as much detail as you can

Do you know what realising your dream looks like? Can you see yourself on that podium, collecting your trophy? Do you know what your acceptance speech would sound like? Can you taste the celebration dinner when you finally go public with this company that you are willing into existence?

Take a moment and indulge yourself in fantasy, and visualise your end goal in rich detail. The clearer you can see what success looks like for you, the more attainable your goals are.

Our minds are often swimming in negative thoughts of, “I have no place trying to pull this off. I’m too small and the idea is too big,” of constant comparisons to other people, of long days and struggle. In these moments, I have to remind myself of the victories I can taste and fill my heart with the positivity I was full of when I started.

Research, plot a strategy and break it down into actionable steps

They can be:

1. Knit a small collection of sweaters.
2. Hold a photo shoot.
3. Set up an Etsy shop.
4. Make a blog.

or:

1. Map out a story outline with a list of characters.
2. Write character backgrounds.
3. Write for three hours a day.

or:

1. Do a market study of the product you’re thinking of launching.
2. Work a ton of overtime to save capital.
3. Look into grants.

Reorganise your routine or start a daily routine

The most important part of realising your dream is to do the work. There is no successful person out there who hasn’t done the work in some way or another. If you’re serious about your goal and you have a strategy to tackle it, you have to work at it every day.

Also Read: 5 business hacks for the newbie entrepreneur

Whether it means getting up a few hours earlier to get a few chapters in or dedicating time after work (or after putting your children to sleep) to dive into your goals, it’s important to stop framing them as a ‘dream project’ or ‘an idea.’ Once you have decided to go through with your dream, it stops becoming a dream and starts to become work or a real responsibility that you owe to yourself.

Get into a growth mindset

If you believe that your big idea is an opportunity to learn more and improve your skills, you will be more motivated to continue reaching above and beyond what you had set out to do. People who believe that intelligence and skill level is a fixed quantity tend to give up and use their lack of aptitude or intelligence as an excuse not to continue.

However, those who adopt a growth mindset are more likely to keep travelling down the path to success. They believe that every goal, every challenge, every obstacle is an opportunity to learn and improve personal growth.

It is dangerous to say, “I’m not an organised person,” because it assumes you are incapable of getting your life in order. Or to say, “I’ve always been an introvert,” as it implies that introverts can’t, or shouldn’t, try to challenge themselves socially.

Realise your challenges and setbacks now and know that there will always be challenges and setbacks — but that you can handle these problems. Then you can say to yourself, “I can overcome this and learn from it,” and you’ll have a much greater potential for growth and success with your next big idea.

Also Read: Dale Carnegie’s 5 tips to create value for your business

John Rampton is the founder of Palo Alto, California-based Due, a free online invoicing company specializing in helping businesses bill their client easily online. You can connect with him @johnrampton.

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organisation comprising the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship programme that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

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