Staying Focused on Your Dreams

All of you have some corner of your house where kitchen magnets have migrated with single poignant one-liners and their endless stream of lessons about life. Well, there’s so much wisdom out there, and along with the magnets come those little pocket books we all collect.

Here’s one from “Life’s Little Instruction Book, Volume II” by H. Jackson Brown Jr. It’s a great one liner:

“Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it!”

That one simple statement got me thinking about so many of you, who have worked so hard on your education, running your business and building your brand. All of you have given up a lot. Yet, when it’s passion for some aspect of your life, you don’t see it as giving up anything, except energy to chase your dreams.

But there’s another related quote in a slightly different direction by an anonymous author: 

“Before you give up, think about why you held on so long!”

There are decisive moments in all of our careers where the frustration of not achieving some goal becomes so dominant in our thought process we start to think about giving up. It happens to everybody at some point, but the trick is learning from that frustration.

Getting through an “I-give-up” crisis is all about your passion for whatever it is you’re chasing. The mistake so many people make is thinking they’re unique and going through the challenge alone. This is where that inner circle of your network plays such a significant role.

So, the next time you’re feeling the frustration starting to get the best of you – step back and take a little time to figure out why. Confide in a family member, close friend or trusted associate. You don’t have to travel solo!

Maybe changing the path you’ve chosen is a good idea, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up on a dream – just a change in the route you chose to get there.

Which takes me to the closing line of every email or post my good buddy Matthew Jordan Smith writes:

“Always dream big!”