“All people are alike in their dreams, and all people are alike in the promises they make. The difference is what they do.” (Moliere, 15th Century French Playwright)

“A goal is created three times. First as a mental picture. Second, when written down to add clarity and dimension. And third, when you take action towards its achievement.” (Gary Blair)

“If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.” (Buddhist Proverb)

“Where many people go wrong in trying to reach their goals is in constantly looking for the big hit, the home run, the magic answer that suddenly transforms their dreams into reality. The problem is that the big hit never comes without a great deal of little hits first. Success in most things comes not from some gigantic stroke of fate, but from simple, incremental progress.” (Andrew Wood)

Think back to all the things that you ever wanted to accomplish or wanted to have and then consider why they are not yet in your life. Why are they not things on which you can look back and be proud of, today.

What can you distinguish as common to each of these?

All things we create begin with a thought that we have. The thought may have been triggered by an experience, a change in what you see as possible, being inspired by something that someone else had done or said.

When you create a new idea for something you’d like to have or accomplish, how the idea originated could be a clue as to whether it is truly a personal desire of yours.

When something remains a thought or an unfulfilled desire then it holds the potential of making a “liar” of you. Over numerous years of that happening it can

When it’s suggested that we should follow our dreams and aspirations, where does your mind immediately go?

If you think that dreams are all ‘mush’ and ‘all very nice, but….’ Then it is possible that you have trained yourself over many, many years to squash your dreams and ‘nice ideas’, you’ve done that by having the thoughts yet never taking a physical action to actually ‘turn it out’ as a result.

When you next have a first thought of something that you would like to have or do, think immediately of the smallest possible action you that you could take in the next few hours, to begin the process of turning an idea into a result.

This may be a phone call, a search on your web browser, a visit to a venue, writing a plan of action.

It may be that you take the action today or record the action at definite time in your diary.

If you cannot come up with a smallest possible action and then take even the smallest possible first step then it is likely that you have no intention of ever following through with that ‘nice idea’. Scrap it!

Learn to say "no" to things that are not part of your priorities - exercise your power to choose.

Useful, interesting and related websites:

1) http://www.personalstrategicplan.com/
2) http://www.innovationtools.com/Articles/SuccessHeadlines.asp
3) http://www.success.org/download/AP.pdf

2005 © Thea Westra is an international life coach who resides in Perth, Australia. She is editor and publisher of a free, monthly newsletter which you can receive by going to her website http://www.forwardsteps.com.au She also publishes a blog called Triggers http://forwardsteps.blogspot.com

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