When I was 10, I wanted to be an archaeologist. Something about the King Tutankhamen treasures touring the country inspired me, and I desperately wanted to find dinosaur bones. Then at some point, I found out that archaeology involved a lot of fruitless sweating, kneeling in the dirt, and being bitten by insects. I moved on to dream of becoming a childrenÂs book writer, which involved none of those things.
Are you working toward a specific lifeÂs goal, either personally or professionally?
Have you stopped to analyze the reality of achieving your goals?
For example, if one of your career goals is to become a famous speaker, giving keynotes all over the world for big-time fees, have you considered the travel involved? Time away from your family, hotel rooms, TSA inspections? Yep, thatÂs glamorous.
If your corporate goal is to bring in 10 Fortune 500 clients, have you thought through the realities of servicing an enterprise customer? Massive bureaucracy, expectations, slow decision-making…and reliance on a few large customers can be risky as well.
Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.
The homework today is to review your goals, both written and unwritten. Take a half hour to visualize what your life would be like if you achieved them. Is it the life you want?
If not, you need new goals.
Image via Flickr CC: Mediocre2010
Perhaps not all dreams come true, but if you’re contented with what you have right now, that’s good enough.