I ran into an old financial mentor about a year ago, and we sat down to catch up. He asked me what I was doing and how many of my goals had been achieved. After reviewing with him everything I had accomplished and was still working on since collaborating with him 5 years prior, he sat in silence looking at me. The silence seemed like it lasted for days and was very uncomfortable, but that was nothing compared to what he did next!
A look of astonishment came over his face. His shoulders slumped, and he exhaled a deep sigh while he replied, “Wow…that’s all? I thought by now you would have already accomplished your goals.” I felt like someone had knocked all the wind out of me! My mentor was not trying to hurt me, but he could not hide his surprised disappointment at how little of the goals I talked about with him had actually been started.
As soon as I got home that day, I launched into the goal that was causing me the most fear. Within a week, I accomplished more than I had the last five years combined! I can still feel the sinking feeling of having let myself down, the feeling I saw mirrored on my mentor’s face that day. One year later, that look has become my fuel, to face the things that scare me every day, to make sure I continue to take baby steps towards my goals!
What have you been putting off? What goals and dreams have you talked about, written down and even researched but continue to put off? Are you getting tired of making excuses, coming up with reasons and rationalizations about why you’re still doing what you’ve always done? How much longer will you live in Manana?
The best cure to get free from this self-made prison is…Baby Steps. Stop looking at the big, huge, scary goal that seems like it’s too far away, too big to handle or too far beyond your abilities! If I decided today to run a marathon, I would not try to run all 26 miles today. The best way for me to start would be to run to my mail box! Every day I would run a little farther – Baby Steps.
The big goals scare us, but baby steps motivate us. Running to the mail box does not scare us, so we focus on that and one day we wake up and we’re running a full marathon! Break down your goals, dreams & desires into baby steps and start NOW!
Find your Passion and you will find your life!