5 Ways to feed your dreams

How do you feed your dreams to keep them alive and well?

Sitting on my porch, I hear birds chirping and squirrels playing games.

They are living the life they were designed to live.

I know that there is more for me.

My dreams are large and, when fulfilled, will change the world for generations to come.

But how do I keep them alive?

How do I prevent them from starving to death while I wait for them to be fulfilled?

Here are five ways that you can feed your dreams.

Pick which ones work for you, depending on whether you are:

• artistic
• driven
• a people person
• emotional
• easily distracted

5 Ways to feed your dreams

Artistic

Feed your dreams by creating a picture of what you want the result to be.

This picture might be 30 years from now, but it is what you want and desire.

If you can create a vivid picture of what you want your life to be like.

Use the full capacity of your imagination.

See yourself with the man or woman of your dreams, wearing an incredible outfit and able to do the tasks that you long to develop.

Create the story of your future in your mind first.

Play it over and over.

Recognize that if you give in to your temptations to only live in the moment, that dream will either take longer or will not materialize.

The key here is to make it so real and so desirable that nothing will derail you from your dreams.

Add color and life to your dream at every opportunity.

Dreams were never meant to be stagnant.

When you visit with great artists, they often complain that they wish they would have done something just a little different or used a different color.

To them, the greatest pieces of art are never really done.

Treat your dream the same way, and you will keep it well-fed.

Driven

Feed your dream by creating success.

Typically temptation to give up only lasts a moment.

If you pass on the donut in one meeting and then walk away, that is a victory.

Set small achievable goals to accomplish daily.

While you might set several, set one “Must Achieve Goal.”

Only one!

The rest can serve as a bonus but setting one “Must Achieve” goal every day will give you a taste of victory.

That one taste can make you a success addict.

Just make sure that you make your success holistic and not stalled out in one area of your life.

Don’t forsake your family for business success or surrender personal health goals by overworking and punishing your body and mind.

Once you have this little taste of success, then celebrate it.

Share that success with someone that you trust.

People Person

Feed your dreams by surrounding yourself with successful people.

We all have our own definition of success.

If you are a people person, find the people that are somewhere close to your definition of success.

Reach out to them.

Yes, they are busy, but you can charm them if you let them know you honor and respect them.

(Of course, don’t be a creepy stalker.)

But visit with them and learn what it took for them to accomplish their dreams.

When you go to visit them, prepare yourself.

Ask good questions that will lead to further, deeper questions.

Listen to what they say, and don’t argue.

This can be effective for everything from finding your dream home to your dream job.

I enjoy visiting with men and women that have been married for several decades.

One of my dreams is to celebrate my 50^th wedding anniversary with my wife.

These folks have it figured out, so why should I endure the pain of trying to learn the hard way?

What a great life hack!

Emotional

Feed your dreams by guarding your thought life.

When I was a young man, they took me to visit my great-grandfather in the hospital.

My cousin, who was a doctor, had just come from his room.

She told us he did not have long to live.

My grandmother dismissed that thought and said, “You must be optimistic.”

General Colin Powell called optimism a force multiplier.

If emotion rules you, you better guard your thoughts.

My sons were shooting baskets the other day, and my youngest said that he was going to miss before he even took the shot.

He was right.

If we allow negative thoughts to rule us, we are doomed.

The most successful people can use their emotions effectively.

They can focus on anger or tenderness, depending on the situation.

It all starts with guarding out those negative thoughts.

Any dream worth having will not come easy.

It is going to get tough.

Recognize that if you endure just a little longer, your dreams will make it, but only if you feed them.

Distracted

I remember visiting with a woman once who was easily distracted.

She would chase every thought and emotion where ever it would go.

During the visit, the conversation would change directions rapidly.

So quickly, in fact, I believed I had fallen asleep and thought that I should apologize.

However, as I focused more and more, I knew she was just living distracted.

I often live this way as well.

I do something, and then before I know it, I am at the end of my day, and I was able to get many things done but nothing that I set out to do.

If you are easily distracted, you must determine that one thing you must get done and not allow yourself to do anything else until it is done.

Write it down.

Then get to work on it.

What will you feed your dreams?

Your dreams will never come true if you are busy chasing every rainbow and opportunity that comes down the pike.

Ask yourself these questions before chasing anything: Does this get me closer or further from my dreams?

Is this a shortcut if so, what do I lose out on?

Does this opportunity hurt anyone?

Who can I talk to that can give me direction?

Your dreams are a living and breathing organism.

Feed them and care for them and watch what happens.

Your dreams were meant to have life.

You were meant to be more and experience more.

Reach out and give them nourishment.

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