Goals & Dreams

Do you have a thing you love to do – something you are passionate about? Time seems to fly when you spend time on these activities (for example a hobby) and you feel happy and content with yourself.

However, sometimes a certain passion (or a goal related to the passion) can prevent you from achieving even bigger goals; the ones that could change your life forever.

You may be thinking, “Well … shouldn’t I be doing what I’m passionate about?” and my answer is “yes”. But, at the same time you have to stop for a minute and take a good look at your passion – is it helping you to get closer or farther from your bigger goals?

For those of you that haven’t seen Woody Allen’s Midnight In Parisyet, here’s one big reason to see it: this movie isn’t really about Paris, although that’s the setting for the story. It’s really about one person’s search for his true passion.

The lead character, Gil Pender (Owen Wilson), and his girlfriend Ines (Rachel McAdam), find themselves in the City of Light as they tag along with the latter’s parents who are in Paris for business. Currently, Gil works as a very successful Hollywood screenwriter. However, he is not completely happy with this. His visit to Paris awakens a deep-seated yearning and he begins to seriously consider going back to his roots as a writer of serious prose.

What does it take to get what you want out of life? Is it good looks? Talent? Charm? Start-up capital? Luck?

In my case, I had two gifts that were potentially worth something: a good eye and a knack for writing. Unfortunately, it took me a long time to figure out how to capitalize on them. I graduated with an Economics degree but didn’t know what to do with it. Fortunately, I got involved in an education business that gave me some valuable business insights and experience. It also during this phase of my existence that I discovered one of my biggest passions:

One of things we have really backwards in personal development is the way in which goals, dreams and desires are approached. As a result people make far less progress than they are capable of and eventually get frustrated and stop trying.

Today I want to talk about a simple shift in approach that will dramatically increase the likelihood you accomplish your goals and and realize your dreams.

I grew up watching a lot of movies, and some of my favorites were ones with Indiana Jones, the famed archaeologist and adventurer. Indiana spent his days fighting enemies and trekking through wild and uncharted territories in pursuit of precious artifacts (or to keep them out of the wrong hands). He gave everything to his mission.

By the end of the story, Indiana is the hero. His name is synonymous with a hero overcoming (seemingly) impossible obstacles and accomplishing his goal. Think overcoming tough challenges only happens in movies? Indiana Jones’ story follows a series of steps that can help you achieve your goals if you’re willing to try. And they don’t require whips, snakes, or iconic hats, either. Just a shift in mindset and the willingness to challenge yourself to give it your all.

Several months back I interviewed a blogger named Jenny Blake who runs a successful blog called Life After College, and has actually just signed her first book deal. As I was going back through my chat with her about the process of writing a book, she said one thing that really stood out to me. She said that far too many people are victims of all or nothing thinking when it comes to the seemingly daunting task of writing a book. Most people don’t even start because they think that it has to be all or nothing: write the entire book or don’t write it all. When you think about goals in general that’s not at all how they are accomplished.

Let’s take a look at how we can overcome all or nothing thinking and actually accomplish our goals.