Take Action to Make Your Dreams Come True

I define dreams as the aspirations, desires, goals, and hopes that you most want for yourself. To simplify the process of developing projects to make your dreams come true, ask, "What dream do I have that I can turn into an exciting project?" Then look for ways to make your project a part of your life, to get it scheduled into your calendar.

Now that you know what your project is, all you have to do is figure out how you're going to make it happen! There are multiple ways of completing any project or achieving any end result. To make your project part of your reality, you need strategies and tactics to guide you toward your dream. A strategy is the approach you take to achieve your dream. Tactics are the specific step-by-step items to accomplish the strategy. Sometimes, when an entire project is put on a "To Do" list, the project is actually composed of four or five separate tactics; if the specific tasks aren't tackled individually, the project may never happen. When you are clear about the project, you can explore the strategies and tactics you will need to accomplish it.

For example, I decided to create a project called, "Go On A Free and Fun Cruise To An Exotic Place Within The Next Three Months." Then I listed the ways I could make it happen. It's important to be clear about the language you use. In this case, I couldn't have chosen to purchase a ticket for a cruise, because my project was to go on a free cruise. To go on a fun cruise, you might need one set of strategies, while a different set is required to go on a free and fun cruise. Other strategies I could have included are finding someone to pay for my trip, or entering a contest to win a free cruise. I chose to create a bartering relationship by booking my workshop on a cruise ship in return for a free trip.

The tactics to accomplish the strategy were clear: list and describe some topics about which I could speak, prepare a biography; get the name and number of several cruise ship lines which might be interested in such an arrangement.

Because I was passionate about what I was doing, I was in action, and I was feeling powerful about accomplishing the results. In a period of three weeks, I developed promotional materials, had a photo made, sent out a package, and scheduled a date by which I wanted to set sail. Before I had a chance to make a follow-up call to see if they were interested, they called me. I was quickly booked to go on the cruise, all expenses paid for two, in exchange for presenting three twenty minute talks on how to make your dreams come true. At the end of this article is a form you can use to develop the strategies and tactics you need to create your own projects and make your dreams come true.

Being Resourceful

A crucial component of creating successful strategies and tactics is making use of the resources in all the areas of your life. Use the list at the end of this article to see who and what your resources are. Think about the people you know in the different aspects of your life. There's nothing that's not a potential resource. Your list may not be long, but it will be a way for you to leverage what you already have.

I'm an advocate of simplification and short cuts. If you can find a faster way of getting something done, do it. One of your strategies might be to accomplish something that you don't know how to do, and one of your tactics might be to learn it. Alternatively, your tactic might be to hire or partner with somebody who already has that knowledge. By getting clear about your resources, you can cross reference them with your dreams and projects, and determine how things might come together.

Be sure you understand clearly the difference between a project and a specific tactic. It's a lot easier to be in action on a tactic—one component of the whole—than it is on an entire project. You know that old joke, "How do you eat an elephant?" "A bite at a time." That's how you want to accomplish your project, one manageable bite at a time.

Strategies and Tactics: A Road Map for Getting There

Strategies: Your Approach to Achieving Your Dream

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Tactics: Your "To Do" List

DateItem

My Resources

People and Organizations Who Can Help Me:

Friends:

Friends of Friends:

Family Members:

Organizations/Associations:

Business Associates Who Will Support Me

Who Can Advise Me?

People I Don't Know Who Can Help Me:

Things I Can Read:

New Things I Can Try:

Old Things I Can Reference:

About the author:

As America's Dream Coach®, Marcia Wieder is a Rome, Italy-based motivational speaker, specializing in goal setting, visionary thinking and team building.

Written by Marcia Wieder, Adapted by Bev Ehrlich, Certified Dream Coach®.

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