From dreaming to execution

As we wind down the celebrations for Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday, the one thought on my mind is his "I Have a Dream" speech.  These words have inspired many to dare to dream big.  I must confess I am a serial dreamer.  Where I encounter challenges at times is making a dream a reality.  Here is how I have made it work.  Ask yourself these questions:

• How does this dream fit with my goals? There was a time when my dream was to have a Caipirinha with New England Patriots Tom Brady and his wife supermodel Gisele Bündchen.  As fun as this dream was it really did not fit in with my goal of being an inspiring author and a leadership expert.  I guess I could have used the anecdote of meeting them in my talks, or use them as examples of leadership and empowerment, but meeting them did not add any value to my main goal other than give me personal satisfaction.  
• What does this dream mean?  In the Tom and Gisele example, I could speculate endlessly and arrive at many answers.  The one that resonated with me the most was the desire to have fun things happen in my life.  If I were to combine my dream of being an author and expert with the Tom and Gisele dream, I would come up with being an inspiring author while having fun at it.
• How does the end result look like? Once you have figured out that your dream makes sense and is in alignment with your goals, then start visualizing how it will look like when you get to the finish line.  Yes, we have discussed this technique before.  It works.  So, start backtracking every step from the end result (the realization of your dream!) to where you are now.  What are the steps necessary? Who do I need in my corner? What resources will I need? What is a realistic timeline?

Going from dreaming to execution requires a lot of thinking.  But at the end what will make your dreams become a reality are the steps that you take to get you there.

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