Making Your Dreams Real
Dreams die because of these three things or lack thereof.
Success is the progressive realization of a worthy dream.
Earl Nightingale (1921-1989)
Do you recall the first 6 Secrets of Success?
A Desire or a goal that you envision to be real. A dream you deeply desire.
Faith in the attainment of that desire beyond all doubt.
Your subconscious mind does not know imaginary from reality, nor right from wrong (the realm of your conscience), so you can use Autosuggestion to embed the faith in your desire into your subconscious deeply.
Specialized knowledge allows you to master what aligns with your purpose—the cornerstone of your impact.
Imagination allows you to build your desire in the workshop of your mind, creating a blueprint with all the details.
Organized Planning organizes this living blueprint, bringing each step closer to reality.
These following three secrets keep your dreams alive when plans fall into the valley of despair.
7. Decision
The Mastery of Procrastination
The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision.
Maimonides (1138-1204)
What is the opposite of procrastination?
Decision making. Making decisions empowers you to take swift, unwavering action.
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, after being fired from his own company in 1985, he decided to reduce 220 products into just four product lines that would become the cornerstone of Apple. A 2x2 matrix of Personal/Enterprise in Desktop/Mobile. He said "No" to the many mediocre and focused on just a handful of "Yeses" for his team of 8,000. The first was the new iMac, then the iPod, then the iPhone and iPad, paired with software. It catapulted Apple into the #1 company in the world. Steve has been gone since 2011, but Apple remains a standard of excellence for its simplicity and beautiful products. Apple is his most significant innovation, and from that comes innovative products.
Application: I had 300,000 great domains but decided to sell 95% and keep the top 5%. Now, I am focused on the Top 100 of 11,000 domains—domains like How.com, Mother.com, VC.com, Git.com, God.com, Vancouver.com, and Bots.com. I am partnering with top entrepreneurs in this world of AI.
Wisdom: Cut through doubt with wise decisions that simplify and remove complexity and clutter. Trust your vision to say no to distractions, knowing that each decision shapes your final masterpiece.
8. Persistence
Sustained Effort Despite Setbacks
Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.
Walter Elliot (1888-1958)
Persistence is the continued relentless pursuit of your desire and vision, even when obstacles appear insurmountable. It's the force that keeps the dream alive.
When Elon Musk was on the verge of collapse with both Tesla and SpaceX, trying to launch Electric vehicles in a world of gas autos and reusable rockets when he didn't quite know how, his Persistence to figure out the constraints and innovations his companies required allowed him to break through, especially when everything was on the line.
Application: My mentor Bob Proctor told me that he read the chapter on Persistence in the book "Think and Grow Rich" every day for 30 days each year for 30 years. That means he read it 900 times. Wow. His reminder that Persistence was crucial to his great goals answered his question: "What do you really want?" He had one key desire a year that extended into decades.
Wisdom: Remain steadfast and persevere in the face of setbacks and obstacles. There is always a way, sometimes many ways. Let Persistence become your superpower, as each setback becomes the FUEL for the next one.
9. The Mastermind
The Coordination of Knowledge and Effort
Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.
Henry Ford (1863-1947)
You may have heard of the term Mastermind. The mastermind principle involves surrounding yourself with people who challenge and uplift you to a high frequency (energy) level, creating a synergy that elevates everyone in the Mastermind.
I found this Mastermind principle hard to grasp but realized its power. It is how everything in the world succeeds, including families, communities, companies, and institutions. However, it starts to fail once there is no "mastermind."
Application: Disney created a mastermind in his studio, gathering artists, engineers, and visionaries who dreamed and brought ideas to life. His Mastermind fostered creativity, where the combined talents of his team far exceeded those of the most talented individuals. You can start with just two or three people, the 'Trinity' of visionary (the architect), operator (the executor) , and controller (finance and planning).
Wisdom: Seek a mastermind that complements your strengths and inspires your imagination. Build a mastermind of passionate individuals to create an unstoppable force for innovation and execution.
My Life Question:
How do you make the best decisions?
When I think of decisions, I think of another D word: Discernment. How do you discern the best decisions when you don't have all the information or the context?
When the stakes are high, this discernment is even more critical.
I often ask for time to "sleep on it" or to "pray about it" so I can have the wisdom to discern rightly.
Having a timeline for decisions is also essential. Another D word: Deadline.
I often think of Decision Trees for the worst-case scenario, the likely one, and the best scenario. I plan for the best but also mitigate for the worst.
My Life Lesson:
Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Persistence is what I call Relentless Pursuit. I believe this is a quality that separates the great from the rest. It also means focus—someone who is persistent over a long period, like the tortoise. I have engraved the Tortoise principle as my own path. I am a tortoise who plods along to my destination.
It's essential to know my destination. I have to be clear about this, even though I may not see the path or way to my destination. We travel around in circles, taking wrong paths and exits, but eventually, we can arrive at our destination if we persist. This is Odysseus's journey to his destination, which is ultimately home.
Where is your home? Your true destination, where your heart feels at home?
Next week:
The Power of Your Subconscious Mind To Connect Your Dream to Reality.
Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.
Carl Jung (1875-1961)
See you next Thursday!
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