How to Rescue Your Dream

Dreams are your most desirable visions for the future. Dreams are anticipated future realities. They are what you most want. But, they only have the power to motivate you if you believe they are possible.

For a dream to stay alive, it must be fed a healthy diet of thought, planning, and, most importantly, action. Dreams are vital things, yet vulnerable. If you ignore a dream by a lack of consistent thought, planning, and action it goes into hiding and can eventually die.

Dreams are your prime motivators. They give you the zest for life that transforms your daily grind into a workshop for achievement. They are your guiding stars.

Start tapping into these prime motivators with a series of questions designed to extract what you most want from life. The answers you provide are for your eyes only. No one but you needs to read your responses. Don’t be afraid to answer honestly. No one’s looking! WRITE IT DOWN!

“Nothing happens unless first a dream.” — Carl Sandburg

1. What was my childhood dream or dreams?

It’s possible that you’ve always had the same dream or dreams. If so, write them down. But, many of us had a childhood or young adult vision of what we wanted to do with our life. Whatever your dream once was — assuming you had one — write it down.

2. What are my dreams today?

The range of dreams is limitless. Here are some examples: travel around the world; buy a new home; graduate from college; get your PhD; become a successful writer; buy the boat you always dreamed of; open your own store; teach others what you have learned in life.

What are your dreams? Remember, no one else will see this but you. Be honest with yourself.

3. Are my dreams still possible? If not, why not?

This is something that you have to decide, because if you don’t think a dream is possible you won’t pursue it. So think very carefully about this.

4. If not still possible, what could be a satisfying alternative dream?

For example: Some dreams that require the physical strength and stamina of a 20-year-old may be out of reach for a 63 year old. But, there are always alternative dreams that fit the new reality of where you are right now, both physically and mentally. For instance, if your dream was to be an Olympic high jumper, and you are now 63 years old with bad knees, that particular dream is probably out of reach. But, if you have the knowledge and skill, you could coach young athletes to be Olympic high jumpers (if that would be a satisfying alternate dream).

5. What dreams do I most want to achieve?

Some dreams may be more important than others. You are beginning a process that will help you to identify which dreams have the most power to motivate you. Getting those distant visions in focus is important because you want to make sure you’re aiming for the specific dream you desire.

You also need to be careful of what you wish for because you may eventually get it. If you’re not specific enough, you could achieve the wrong dream. So begin now to examine what you really want. Since this is a workbook for your eyes only, give yourself the freedom to write whatever occurs to you.

6. What one dream is most important to me?

Which dream do you want the most? Or, asking it differently, which dream is your front burner dream, the one you want to achieve first?

7. What would a picture of my dream look like?

Sometimes words are not enough. Try drawing a picture or diagram of your dream. You don’t need to be an artist to do this. You can use stick figures, or symbols that have meaning to you. Or, cut out a picture from a magazine and place a picture of yourself on it. If your dream is to live the rest of your life in Hawaii, paste a picture of yourself on a postcard of Maui. You can start drawing right below these words.

8. What is the price I may have to pay to achieve my dream? Am I willing to pay it?

There’s always a price to pay. It’s the nature of reality. It takes time, energy, effort, determination, persistence, and resources to accomplish dreams. You may also need to give up certain things. Are you willing to pay the price? First, of course, you need to determine the price.

9. What am I the most afraid will happen if I pursue this dream?

Fear can stop you, or make you so hesitant about pursuing your dream that you could give up. It’s better to face what you are afraid of. It could be fear of what your loved one(s) will think of your dream. Or something else. Face your fear now. What is it?

10. What, if anything, is preventing me from achieving my dream?

(And, a follow-up question…)

11. If there’s anything preventing me from achieving my dream, what can I do about it?

There are always things you can do to get closer to your dream. The place to begin considering possibilities is right here, right now. Don’t censor your answers. You’re simply thinking on paper. Do it.

The following question is based on a question from the classic self-help book, Wake Up and Live by Dorothea Brande.

12. What dream would I pursue if I knew it was impossible to fail?

Many times we censor dreams because we’re not sure we can accomplish them… and we don’t want to fail and be disappointed. What if you couldn’t fail? Give this question a try and see what you come up with. It may summon up a dream that you’ve buried and forgotten. For the sake of this question, focus on ONE dream. On these pages you can take a risk and write down whatever you think and feel. Try it.

13. How would I describe my dream to an intelligent seven-year old?

All of the dream questions have been designed to extract the essence of what you desire for the future. This may help focus it even further. Make it simple enough for a six-year-old to under- stand.

14. What can I do in the next 20 minutes to get closer to my dream?

Yes, that’s right… twenty minutes. I have a theory that I’ve been testing out for quite some time in my own life: that to get anything done, you do it in twenty minute increments. Twenty minutes goes fast. No matter how tired you are, you usually can summon up 20 minutes to do whatever needs doing. These twenty-minute jobs are tasks.

Try it. List the kinds of things that you could do in twenty minutes or less that could begin the journey to your dream, and the individual goals that feed the dream.

Here’s a suggestion: Do one of your 20-minute tasks right now. Go ahead.

Your life span is your one chance to live life to its fullest, to experience, to create, to become the person you desire to be, and to achieve your dreams. This is the time that you have available. It is a tiny segment in the history of the world — but it is all the time you have.

Start and end each day by asking yourself this question: What do I want — and what am I going to do to get it? Be bold! Get on with your life and your dreams.

“Life is the purpose of life.” — Ayn Rand

[The above is a excerpt from my goal achievement workbook, Get What You Want, used by permission from the publisher.]

Ken West is the Program Manager for The Fusion Group, an international training and management consulting company.