Is "Earning a Living" Stopping You?

By Stacey Mayo, MCC

Every year, people resolve that this year will be different: "This will be the year that I write that book, start that new venture, double my income, take more time off to spend with my family," and the list goes on and on. However, when people think about pursuing their dreams, they often squash the idea because it doesn't seem practical.

Does this sound familiar? You have a dream, but are afraid that if you pursue it, you would risk giving up what you already have. It is easy to put it off to a later date - a time when there will be more money, more time and/or when the kids have graduated from college.

However, there is never a time when everything in your life is perfect for carrying out your goals. Don't wait for everything to be lined up. Once you actually commit to your dream, things will begin to fall into place. Know that it is possible to live out your fondest dreams AND make a great living!

After supporting thousands of people across the globe in making their personal and professional dreams a reality, I have found the following strategies to be most effective:

• First, design your life around your priorities. Many people try to fit their dreams into their life and complain there are not enough hours in the day to make it happen. If you want your dream to become a reality, make it a priority.

For example, Stacy Allison, the first American woman to climb Mt. Everest chose to live just outside of Zion National Park so she could climb rock cliffs in her own backyard. Climbing was her priority for many years and she made choices in alignment with that.

• Second, handle the basics (food, clothing and shelter) then reach for fulfillment and self-actualization. If you can't stand your job any longer or have been forced out and you need a source of income, get a low-stress interim job to pay the bills while your pursue your dream.

• Visualize every step of your dream and watch the magic unfold. For example, an experiment conducted by Australian Psychologist Alan Richardson found a 23 percent performance improvement among subjects who visualized every day for 20 days.

Mary Youngblood went from welfare mom to Grammy award winner. Mary visualized herself out of welfare. She did this by writing a short story about a young welfare mother. It was her story, basically, and how she was discovered having great talent and was able to get herself up and out of welfare. She pictured it happening in her head and then took action in alignment with that picture.

• Laser in on one idea, business or income stream at a time. One of the mistakes people make is diversifying too quickly. This is true whether you are trying to build multiple streams of income or are just working on several different ideas at one time. The key is getting the first stream or idea up and running and having systems in place so it will keep running without you before going on to the next unrelated stream.

This is one of my biggest lessons as it is for many entrepreneurs and creative people. When I was writing, "I Can't Believe I Get Paid To Do This!" I was also looking for real estate investments which was a new venture for me. I wasn't making much progress on either count. When I put the real estate to the side and committed to finishing the book, it happened quite easily.

And last but not least, develop your resilience muscle by bouncing back from setbacks. You will very likely have setbacks along the way. Don't get stopped by these bumps in the road; learn from them.

These spiritual and practical principles were excerpted from the book, "I Can't Believe I Get Paid To Do This!" Remarkable People Reveal 26 Proven Strategies for Making Your Dreams a Reality by Stacey Mayo. Stacey is the director of The Center for Balanced Living. She can be reached at 770-643-0886.