Dream Catcher

Note from Art. Every once in awhile it’s nice to break from pure management and leadership writing and focus on our human condition. This is one of those posts…with some great help from a few friends.

Whether professional or personal, it seems that most of us carry around ideas and dreams that inspire us and give us hope for our future.

It’s fun to listen and watch as  people talk about their ideas. Their faces light up, their voices grow in enthusiasm, and for a moment in time, nothing else matters but the thought of the dream.

And then reality sets in, the glow fades, the energy level drops and the idea or dream is placed back in the closet and the door firmly shut, not to be opened until some undetermined time in the future.

Frequently Encountered Dreams Locked In Our Mental Closets and Cellars:

  • There are the unwritten books that many claim to have in them…waiting for the proverbial pen to paper or keys to keyboard.
  • There’s the career switch to a field that helps those we care dearly about or that leverages what we know in our heart of hearts is what we were meant to do.
  • I’ve lost count of the number of people who want to be in business on their own. Oddly, a fair number of those profess to wanting to own and operate Hot Dog stands. I suspect the simplicity of the business and the pleasurable (not necessarily healthful) thoughts that hot dogs evoke, are drivers on this latter one. The stand may just be a metaphor for something simple and fun.
  • It’s the degree…long postponed that is so critical to gaining admission to whatever professional game we are trying to enter.
  • It’s working on the skills…public speaking or writing, that are limiting factors in our progression.

Granted, some dreams…like certain wines have to age a bit before they can be opened and acted upon appropriately. There’s a time when conditions are just right. Mostly however, dreams…ideas we believe in or projects we want to pursue, must be seized, prosecuted and pursued with vigor…even if it’s at the pace of 15 minutes per day.

Dreams, like certain wines, go sour with too much time in the bottle.

I talk to people with big professional ideas…with dreams every single day. Most people have dreams they are interested in pursuing, but haven’t found the time to get going. Some are in pursuit, and while stressed and time challenged and slightly sleep deprived, they are happy and excited. Others are chronic achievers…they’ve cracked the code on getting going and on finishing (two very different challenges).

Instead of trotting out some motivational clichés, I polled those people who are in progress on achieving a major professional or life goal…and those who have cracked the code and have become serial achievers. Here are 6 ideas they served up to help all of us get it in gear and get going in pursuit of our dreams.

6 Ideas To Kick You in the Rear and Get You Moving:

1. Read the obituaries. I read the obituary page every morning and focus on the ages of those who have passed. I then wonder what there unrealized dreams were. Frankly, it scares the hell out of me…it scares me straight into action.

2. Kill the Cable. I cancelled the cable subscription. I was a chronic reality show watcher, and I realized that while I was watching these dumb but addicting shows, my own reality was slipping away.

3. Socialize Less to Manufacture Time. Like everyone else, there’s never enough time in my life. At first, all I could do was get up 15 minutes earlier every day, but eventually,  I worked on cutting out the useless stuff that sucked the time out of my days.  Now, don’t ask me to go to lunch…don’t ask me out for coffee, because I’ll say no. I don’t even feel guilty saying “no” anymore. I’m on a mission and that’s mission time.

4. Color Your World in Sticky Notes. I’m a Project Manager by background, so I use my own tools to plan my work. Simple and visual work for me. My office wall is covered in yellow sticky notes. When I achieve something, I draw a big red X through the item on the note, but leave it up. It reinforces progress or my need to make more progress.

5. It Starts with a Note or a Call. I’ve learned that there are always people on my path towards a goal…and instead of wondering what they think, I reach out and call them.  I’ve been thinking about getting my Ph.D. for the last decade, and I’m no closer today. I reached out to a Dean of a program I’m interested in and delicately broached the issue of my advancing age. He laughed and offered tongue in cheek that I was a little young (at 51) compared to the oldest in the program, but that my youth could be overlooked.

6. Hire Someone Who Doesn’t Care About Your Feelings or Excuses. Another offered: I hire a coach who doesn’t care about my excuses…but who delicately (like a sledge hammer on a railroad spike) reminds me of what it is I wanted to do and why I’m not getting there.

The Bottom-Line for Now:

A body at rest tends to stay at rest. Action begets action. Chances are, the idea has fermented in your mind long enough. Get it in gear and get moving before someone uses you as an example of how not to achieve.

If you’ve cracked the code on moving ideas and dreams into actions and achievements, consider sharing your ideas and helping move all of us along on our journeys.

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Art Petty is a Chicago-based management consultant focusing on strategy and leadership development. Art regularly speaks on innovation in management and leadership, and his work is reflected in two books, including the recent, Leadership Caffeine-Ideas to Energize Your Professional Development. (download a free excerpt at Art’s facebook page.)

Art publishes regularly at The Management Excellence blog at https://artpetty.com/blog/

Prior to his solo career, Art spent 20+ years leading marketing sales and business units in systems and software organizations around the globe. You can follow Art on twitter: @artpetty and he can be reached via e-mail at [email protected]