Keith JonesMarch 23, 2016

Dare to dream big and act on your dreams. Don’t allow anyone to talk you out of them; including you. Tell yourself every day that you’re talented, brilliant and amazing. Then take at least one action each day that steadily converts your best ideas into reality. Before you know it, you’ve created something great.

Our society tells us at an early age what we can’t do and what we shouldn’t do. Well meaning people in our lives tell us to be responsible and play it safe. Oftentimes they project their fears onto us. They say, “don’t you dare waste your time going out for the basketball team. You aren’t tall enough and you’re too slow. Don’t you dare try out for the musical. You can’t sing or dance. Don’t wear those clothes. You don’t have the body for it and you have no fashion sense. Don’t trust those people. They will hurt you.” So we grow up to be adults who live life afraid. We spend more time thinking about why we can’t or shouldn’t do something rather than why we should. But what if we changed the conversation to one that is full of possibilities? What if we replaced all of the reasons that limit our potential with declarations that we will act on our goals as if success was the only possible outcome? You would change the world if this was your default mindset.

One thing all human beings experience is failure. We don’t always get the result we initially set out for. And sometimes we let people down along the way. Don’t let this stop you from getting up off the mat or reinventing yourself. Use the event as a learning experience to pivot, revise your plan and grow. In my mission to change the world by helping people reach their goals, I’ve made mistakes. To some people my failings were unforgivable. I didn’t let this stop me. Instead, I chose to grow from the situation, work even harder and double down on my dream.

Here are three steps that will transform your big dreams into reality.
1. Shut out all critics. If someone doesn’t support your dream or goal, they get no say in what you do. And if the negativity is coming from you, silence it by saying, “thank you for sharing, but I am choosing to moving forward with this.”
2. Get informed and take action. Seek evidence and information that shows what you want to do has been done before. If that’s not available, no worries. You get the distinct privilege of being the first. And if you need motivation along your journey, read up on people who did the impossible. Ghandi, Thomas Edison, Neil Armstong, Amelia Earhart, Jesse Owens, Richard Bannister, Billie Jean King, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mother Teresa, Ray Charles and Steve Jobs are just a few who did what people said they couldn’t.
3. Commit fully. Will Smith said he doesn’t have a plan B because it distracts from plan A. Make working on your dream non-negotiable. Act on it each day no matter what. There’s only one option. Realize it.

No matter what you’ve been told or what you’ve said to yourself, today is a new day. Make a choice this very moment to play big and pursue your goals. It doesn’t matter what happened before. The only thing that does is that your dream doesn’t die inside of you. Dare to dream big and act upon those dreams.

Keith