A Personal Success Blueprint

To get from where we are now to where we want to be is possible with careful and considered planning, focused commitment and sufficient action. Once up and running, we may need to jump back two or three steps and move in a slightly different direction, in order to eventually get back on course. Yet that's OK: testing, probing and making course corrections and adjustments are part of our plan - even when we're not yet aware of their presence. Consider the following guidelines as a basis for forming your own "Achievement Plan":

• Start with a big dream (yes, be unreasonable,outrageous even). Define it - EXACTLY; be really precise; taste it; feel it. get to know it. What's your "big dream"? If you knew you couldn't fail, your big dream is what you would do with your life.
• Write about your dream - not just a few lines: fill up an entire page or more; expand into the details. Writing about your dream is important. Why? There's something about documenting a desire that starts to make it all real, gets your attention and lets you know to yourself that you're serious. Writing can also help highlight new possibilities at the same time. What's more, when your write what is in your heart; what is most important to you, you give it life; permanence; your dream is born and a new chapter begins. Above all, as a writer, speaker or web communicator, appreciate the power that words can have in your life.
• Spend time, effort and money on your big dream. Get to know the benefits and the features. Having a lot of money is a feature. Being able to enjoy the freedom to decide how you spend your day (perhaps through having sufficient money resources), is a benefit. Appreciate the difference.
• Create an outline plan. How? Document the 5 or 6 big steps that get you to your dream.
• Learn about making business plans - then make yours. If you're planning on becoming a full-time writer, speaker, presenter or website provider, don't forget you're going into business.
• Next, break down your outline plan into believable action steps with bit-sized goals that have firm deadlines. Work back from the end result you want to where you are now. Understand what you need to do to complete each big step?
• Start to implement your plan. Set reasonable deadlines for each day and keep to them.Genuinely celebrate your gains. Don't beat yourself up about your misses - just be aware of them; watch how you feel when you miss the mark. Sense the feeling and resolve to avoid that feeling next time.
• Truly understand that you can have anything that you put your mind to but you can't have everything. Each of us has a container that we hope gets emptied every 24 hours, ready to fill again with whatever we choose. In order to start to build your dream, you'll need to lose something. For example, you might decide to spend less time watching television or supporting other hobbies. Whatever you do, you need to commit to implementing your action steps and appreciate that something else has to go to ensure you can meet your new goals.
• Connect with other people who can help you. Contact those who specialize in the skills and activities that may be essential to your plan, but which you don't really enjoy. Don't try to do everything. Concentrate on your core interests.
• Look at your plan weekly to evaluate how you're doing. Tick off your gains and keep going.
• Keep your goals and dreams in sight - daily! Visualize yourself achieving your desires step by step.
• Evaluate your progress monthly, six-monthly and yearly (but don't evaluate at the year end - slide into a month before or after. Why? The end of the calendar year can be stressful).
• Communicate with your peers; you're not an island and you don't need to be alone. Connecting with other like-minded people is good for your soul. Getting feedback on your plans is essential.
• Each time you complete 10 smaller steps, give yourself a small reward. Why? Why not - you've opted for the path of courage and that makes you worth more both to yourself and to others who will also benefit from your brave choice in the future.
• Understand that relaxation is actually a key part of working your plan. If you don't get sufficient rest and adequate contrast to your normal work activities, how can you expect to provide your best?
• Don't underestimate or undervalue your own achievements. We humans have a tendency to play down the great things we do, while at the same time over emphasizing our faults or failures. Don't do that. Above all, you need to be truthful to yourself.
• Never ever give up. Like a yacht sailing the ocean, by all means making adjustments to help keep your course steady, so long as you stay on your path The astonishing powers of patience, persistence and perseverance are yours to use.
• Enjoy the journey and have a lot of fun. Remember, you're not in a race; life is already too serious for many folks; playfulness and laughter are essential to your well-being.

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