How to Achieve Your Wildest Dreams

“The best luck of all is the luck you make yourself” – Douglas MacArthur

Someone pointed out to me the other day how lucky I am that I have literally just walked away from one dream job in order to pursue another dream job. They’re right…partly. I have just left my cupcake business to travel round the world making posts and videos – but it’s not down to luck.

People often say things to me like ‘I wish I could be doing what you’re doing’ or ‘I’ve always wanted to start a business but I just can’t.’ While most of the time the appropriate response is to smile and nod, on the inside I am screaming at these people to get up off their backsides and do something about it.

Here’s the thing – it’s never the right time. And the difference between those who achieve their dreams and those who don’t is making the decision to do so.

There are certain aspects of our life that do just come down to luck. The fact that I was born in a first world country, the fact that I am (so far) very healthy, the fact that I can eat a million calories a day and somehow not be obese. But for the most part, what we make of our lives is down to us.

I firmly believe that anybody can do anything – if they want it badly enough. The problem isn’t that they don’t have the skills or that they haven’t had a lucky break, the problem is that they haven’t tried hard enough.

If you want to be a doctor – study.

If you want to be a dancer – practice.

If you want to be an entrepreneur – start.

The reality is that the only thing holding you back is you.

I’m aware that a lot of the people reading this will, at this stage, be rolling their eyes and reeling off reasons why I’m wrong. Stop it. What you’re doing right now is the very thing that is in your way. Everyone has reasons why it’s not a good time or why it would cause an inconvenience. But here’s the thing – it’s never the right time. And the difference between those who achieve their dreams and those who don’t is making the decision to do so.

Here’s a little secret – nobody knows what they are doing, they all just figure it out as they go along.

Luck is used as an excuse or a reason as to why people don’t reach their potential.

I can appreciate that taking that leap can be a scary thought, but it’s not supposed to be easy. So many people say to me, ‘I want to do X but I’m not that kind of person’ or ‘I’d love to do Y but I just don’t know how.’ Here’s a little secret – nobody knows what they are doing, they all just figure it out as they go along.

My process for making decisions is this:

Step 1: Decide that I AM going to do something

Step 2: Figure out how

Decide you’re going to do something first and then figure out the rest. If you let yourself run through every possible problem or hiccup first then you’ll never go for it.

Once you have decided to go for something (congratulations) then it’s time to work out how you’re going to get there. There’s no use working your ass off without some sort of structure in place. Make a plan and work back from where you want to be, cutting the process down into manageable stepping stones.

When you have made a roadmap to your dreams you will see that it’s not as out of reach as you thought.

When you have a plan in place you can get stuck right into it. Then you’ll know that every little thing you do will be a part of a bigger process. Then you need to work, work and work some more. You’ll have some great days, you’ll have some shitty days and you’ll have some days when you forget why you even wanted this in the first place – but stick with it.

It’s not about luck – it’s about determination and bloody hard work.

I hope this has given you some food for thought. To end this ramble I want to share with you my all time favourite quote. I am a big fan of quotes so the fact that this is a winner means a lot:

“The World is a magical place – choose your own adventure.” – Walt Disney

 

Photo by  Juliane Grasekamp.