When we think
about the dreams we have, and the dent we want to leave in the universe, it is
striking to see how big of an overlap there is between the dreams that we have
and projects that never happen.
So I'm here to
talk to you today about five ways how not to follow your dreams.
One: Believe in overnight success.
The tech guy
built a mobile app and sold it very fast for a lot of money. You know, the
story may seem real, but I bet it's incomplete. If you go investigate further,
the guy has done 30 apps before and he has done a master's on the topic, a Ph.D
He has been working on the topic for 20 years. Your overnight success story is
always a result of everything you've done in your life through that moment.
Two: Believe someone else has the answers for you.
Constantly,
people want to help out, right? All sorts of people: your family, your friends,
your business partners, they all have opinions on which path you should take:
"And let me tell you, go through this pipe." But whenever you go
inside, there are other ways you have to pick as well. And you need to make
those decisions yourself. No one else has the perfect answers for your life.
And you need to keep picking those decisions, right?
Three, and it's very subtle but very important: Decide to settle when growth is
guaranteed.
So when your
life is going great, you have put together a great team, and you have growing
revenue, and everything is set - time to settle. But okay is never okay. When
you're growing towards a peak, you need to work harder than ever and find
yourself another peak. You can see a higher peak. There's no time to settle
down.
Fourth tip, and that's really important: Believe the
fault is someone else's.
I constantly see
people saying, "Yes, I had this great idea, but no investor had the vision
to invest." "Oh, I created this great product, but the market is so
bad, the sales didn't go well." Or, "I can't find good talent; my
team is so below expectations." If you have dreams, it's your
responsibility to make them happen. Yes, it may be hard to find talent. Yes,
the market may be bad. But if no one invested in your idea, if no one bought
your product, for sure, there is something there that is your fault. No one
achieved their goals alone. But if you didn't make them happen, it's your fault
and no one else's.
And one last tip, and this one is really important as well:
Believe that the only things that matter are the dreams themselves.
Once I saw an
ad, and it was a lot of friends, they were going up a mountain, it was a very
high mountain, and it was a lot of work. You could see that they were sweating
and this was tough. And they were going up, and they finally made it to the
peak. Of course, they decided to celebrate, right? "Yes! We made it, we're at the top!" Two
seconds later, one looks at the other and says, "Okay, let's go
down." Life is never about the goals themselves. Life is about the
journey. Yes, you should enjoy the goals themselves, but people think that you
have dreams, and whenever you get to reaching one of those dreams, it's a
magical place where happiness will be all around. But achieving a dream is a
momentary sensation, and your life is not. The only way to really achieve all
of your dreams is to fully enjoy every step of your journey. That's the best
way. And your journey is simple -- it's made of steps. Some steps will be right
on. Sometimes you will trip. If it's right on, celebrate, because some people
wait a lot to celebrate. And if you tripped, turn that into something to learn.
If every step becomes something to learn or something to celebrate, you will
for sure enjoy the journey
So, five tips:.
Believe in overnight success, believe someone else has the answers for you,
believe that when growth is guaranteed, you should settle down, believe the
fault is someone else's, and believe that only the goals themselves matter.
Believe me, if you do that, you will destroy your dreams.
