How To Bridge the Gap Between You and Your Dreams (Part 2)

By Eric Johnson

Las Vegas Informer

Dreams are a gift you give to yourself.  While the finish line is electric and thrilling, the road getting there is often long and tedious. Your dreams have a price tag.  If you’re willing to pay, read on.

Here are three of my personally hand-picked strategies to empower you to achieve your dreams.

Action Steps To Bridge the Rest of the Gap:

1. Schedule hard work six days a week. 

If you work five days a week, the sixth day could be a project or multiple projects you’re working toward.  Maybe it’s building an online business to work yourself out of your 9 to 5 job, writing the book you’ve always had inside of you, renovating a house, pursuing a new hobby or working toward a degree. It’s your dream amigo!

Schedule your work at specific times that work well for you. This does not mean it will be easy or convenient, it means you have the opportunity to do it.

If a project is large, intimidating or you’re not getting started, then allocate 3 to 5 twenty five minute blocks of time to that project for next week. Doing this will give you a foothold, and from there you will gain momentum.

To bridge the gap, the action steps have to be scheduled on your calendar.  If you use Google calendar or something similar, set up notifications on your smartphone as well.  Keep it in front of you.

2.  Decide to stop looking for shortcuts. Then, CUT OUT your shortcuts. 

Cut off anything or anyone in your life that is a shortcut, resembles a shortcut or tempts you to take shortcuts.

This may include:

• subscribing to certain people’s email lists
• reading certain magazines and books
• watching certain TV shows
• buying the latest diet products
• listening and spending time with your friends and co-workers who are focused on “get rich quick” schemes

What we call “shortcuts” are many times simply things we allow to “short-circuit” our dreams.  

The price tag attached to your dreams does not have any coupons.

3.  Schedule one full day of rest a week.

Have it be a day for connecting with yourself, loved ones and activities that restore you.

You may be thinking “It’s not reasonable to have one full day of rest a week!”  I understand. However, it’s even less reasonable to think you can function well for weeks on end without restoration, re-creation and quality rest.

You perform maintenance on so many things you own. You change the oil in your car. You replace batteries in remote controls.  You charge your cell phone and bluetooth.  What about you?  What about maintaining yourself?  You deserve and need to break as well.  Self-care is not selfish. A day where you are unplugged renews you and charges you up, so you in turn have more energy to give. It resets you and allows you to enter the next six days with more energy, passion and focus.

Set up guidelines for your unplugged day of rest.  Ideas include:

• No technology or minimal technology
• No checking email
• No texting
• Spending more time with loved ones and close friends
• Fun, simple outings
• Two hours maximum of movies and videogames

Remember to prepare for your unplugged day a day or two beforehand.  Buy groceries you need, order tickets or whatever it is.  For six days, you are being productive, meeting deadlines and achieving… but on your unplugged seventh day, simply be.

If you do these three strategies for the next four weeks, you will see powerful results.

Results that will start bridging the gap between you and your dreams. 

Highlights from Part 1 of this series include:

The only “proven formula” is not a secret. It’s action.

ACTION is how you bridge the gap between you and your dreams.

Our brains THINK things out, but our emotions WALK things out.

The article ended with key action steps to build emotional resilience.

Read the full article here:  goo.gl/O54fU

Eric Johnson

Eric Johnson MBA is the founder of Finish Your Project Consulting.  www.finishyourproject.com.  His business is affiliated with Online Biz Boss, which focuses on simplifying online profits for small business owners.  To kick off your own online explosion this year, take the Online Biz Personality Test at http://www.onlinebizboss.com.