I’m talking about the dreams you have with regard to achievement, success, happiness, security, positive life choices and all the rest. Years ago, when I lived in a harsh, cold climate my private dream was to live in a lush, green, warm and attractive place. My wife, Nancy, and I found that place right here in the Triad. And you can reach your dreams, too. But you need to know how to do it. And it’s easier than you might think.

First, let’s talk about what not to do. You will never achieve your dreams by being the classic dreamer who can’t put legs under his wishes. You can’t do it simply by wishing it to be true. You also don’t do it simply by working hard. Working hard only guarantees that you will get tired. Remember, life is a game to be enjoyed - not a battleground!

The first step is to identify precisely what it is that you want to achieve. Fuzzy targets mean fuzzy results. What do you want to achieve relative to financial… family… professional and…personal goals? And how deeply do you really want to achieve them?

Once you identify, qualify and emotionally capture your target you now need to implement the real secrets. An here they are – you need to learn how to visualize your success, expand your belief system to emotionally believe you can reach them (and deserve to do so) and then get down to the business of planning, scheduling and implementing the precise strategics to make your success happen.

How does this relate to sales? It’s really pretty simple. If you know why you are doing something it becomes relatively easy to learn how to do it. Without a true, heartfelt commitment to the end result you’re working for, the hard work required to implement success will never be made. Some examples? Why would you be willing to face the agony of rejection, the perils of travel, the endless hours of paperwork, the tedium of report writing or the anguish of awaiting a purchase decision? The truth is that sales is not easy work. And it is especially tough work if you really don’t know why you’re doing it in the first place!

What all of this really boils down to is the simple truth that says: "No rules of success will work unless you do. But if you don’t know what success is to you, Even if you work hard, You’ll still get nowhere."

Sounds like a classic "Catch 22" doesn’t it? Well, it doesn’t have to be that way if you become more global and strategic in your

thinking. There’s an old time management principle that goes like this "If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll probably wind up somewhere else."

Again – "why to" always precedes "how to." Master an understanding of why you’re doing what you’re doing and the how to of achieving it become easy. Without that, you will continue tostruggle daily. And you will end up with a life and career filled with frustration and disappointment.

I don’t know about you – but I truly believe that without a clear cut vision of where I want to be in life, it’s especially difficult to visualize it emotionally make the commitment to it, have the belief you can achieve it, be willing to stay the course to accomplish it and pay the price required to earn it.

And here’s the payoff. Savor the joys of the journey. The small successes along the way that say, "Hey, you’re making progress. Keep working. You’re one step closer to your dreams." Yes, dreams are the stuff of which life – and hope – are made. Dreams are the fuel of life. Stop dreaming and you will stop living. And I mean living in the truest sense of the word. 

You will cease being fueled with enthusiasm, energy, positive energy, excitement, child-like wonderment and positive expectation. Without dreams you become a robot who simply goes through life without a firm belief in anything other than the tedium of day-to-day life.

You deserve better than that. But remember, you are the only one who can fuel your life with dreams. You are also the only one who can put those legs under your dreams. Life is all too short for all of us. Don’t shortchange yourself. You deserve the best. Go for it!

Define your life by aiming toward where you want to be. Not where you are. Define your future in terms of thinking big and sincerely believing you deserve it. Live you life through actions that take you closer to where you want to be. Every day…every minute. Make it all count. Master your time and you will master your life.

Master the skills that take you closer to your dreams. Learn to prioritize, learn to say no when you have to, learn how to delegate, master the art of effectiveness. Define effectiveness by only working on those things that take you to your dreams.

Sound harsh? Not really – not if you really become totally 100% focused on results rather than activities. Measure your success by those results – not by being busy or aimlessly undertaking tasks. Try it, you’ll like it. Your future deserves it. So do your loved ones.