When Life Expands: 5 Tips to Help a Dream Become Reality
Lately all around me life is expanding.
Friends and family members are taking on big exciting new jobs, expanding their businesses, kindling new loves, and as for me, I am doing something I've been wanting to do my whole life: writing a book!
With all of this expansion there are ups and downs, happy days and overwhelming days.
Having recently completed the West Africa Project, thankfully I have learned many lessons to help me continue expanding with a bit more ease.
The project was a huge success and it was a beautiful example in my own life of a dream that became a reality.
Many of you have followed me from the beginning of that project to its completion, but I feel we can all benefit from some of the lessons I learned along the way - myself most especially!!!
So if you have a dream that you would like to be reality, here are some tips to help:
1. Involve Someone Else
With the West Africa Project there were so many other people involved that it made it impossible for me to just set it aside and forget about it. Now that I am writing a book, I am already involving other people as support and let me tell you, it makes a huge difference in how motivated I am to work!
2. Say Yes & Take Action
First you have to be open and willing to say yes, but anyone can say yes - taking action leads to success. If you pause and over think it, you may not step forward. You might even back out of saying yes if it feels too big or scary. If you need help, write down small doable actions. Like, call this person, email this person, google this term. Make it as small and easy as possible, but still moving towards your goal. I learned this from Marie Forleo and it has been a huge help in transforming overwhelm to action.
3. Research
Know what you're getting yourself into and reference other examples of success. For the West Africa Project, researching other successful Indiegogo campaigns made the difference in our own ability to surpass our fundraising goal.
4. Be Patient But Steady
Some of you may remember me writing about how every part of the West Africa Project took so much longer than I anticipated. I mean every single part! On top of my mis-estimate of how long things would take I also forgot that life happens, which meant pushing deadlines and changing plans. Don't let all of this derail you, just keep slowly and surely heading the direction you wish to go. You will get there eventually.
5. Let Go
The final kicker - letting go. Something I continuously have to practice, but is a huge component to success. You have to release your grip, let things go out into the world, trust that the success or failure of the project isn't just up to you and that's okay. You did it and you will have learned an incredible amount along the way, and that's enough.
I would love to hear what you're working on in the comments below!
Know someone else who is working to bring a dream into reality? Share the love. And if you didn't receive this in your email inbox, click here to sign up for free practices and updates.
Much love,
Kelsey