Success Habits of CEOs and High Achievers
Dreams come from an open mind where you can see the possibilities for yourself and your future.
On his podcast, leadership guru John Maxwell shared that if you ask a room full of people to raise their hands if they had dreams when they were growing up, 100% of hands would go up.
John’s next question for the room: “How many of you are living your dream right now?” A few hands go up.
John’s final question: “How many of you have achieved your dreams?” Even fewer hands are raised.
What is the difference between people who achieve their dreams and those who don’t?
A dreamer dreams while stagnating in the intoxication of wishful, hopeful thinking.
Doers intentionally work to get clear on their dreams and take action to make them a reality. They move their goals out of their head, commit them to paper, begin making commitments, and take steps towards achieving them. Doers have a plan.
Far too many people do not plan for their future. They continue to dream and hope those dreams will miraculously materialize. Some wait for someone to tell them what their plan should be. Some plan in their head, and only in their head, and guess what, just like their dreams, their plans don’t get executed.
People spend more time planning their vacations than they do making a plan for their extraordinary life. Think about that.
Sometimes we think we’ve made a plan. “I am going to lose the weight this time. I will go to the gym. I will eat less.” We declare New Year’s resolutions, yet after a few weeks of going to the gym— and a few more salads— February arrives, and the scale has not budged, or worse, it has gone in the other direction.
A lack of a concrete plan leads to a lack of tangible results.
Unmet plans have a double whammy. You don’t reach your goal, and your disappointment triggers negative self-talk— a plunge into a shame spiral and feelings of defeat.
Doers make promises to themselves that they do not break.
Doers write down their plans in detail. They make them measurable and build accountability.
Doers share their dream and their plan with someone they know who has their interests at heart and wants them to be happy.
Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at the Dominican University in California, recently studied the art and science of goal setting. She found that you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals and dreams simply by writing them down on a regular basis.
Those are the kind of odds you want.
Get out of your comfort zone and away from that fear and talk of the irrational inner critic, and, instead, share your big plans.
Doers don’t get distracted by the irrational inner critic and negative self-talk. “I don’t know how,” and “I might fail” are examples of the irrational inner critic talking. The mindless and irrational inner critic thinks it is protecting you from failure. Previous disappointments and self-imposed limiting beliefs feed the negative talk.
When you change your perspective, you’ll change your life from one full of dreams to one full of possibility and action.
Anything is possible when you commit to yourself, commit it to paper and commit it to someone else. Your dreams get closer with planning, sharing, and executing.
Big dreams come true as a result of consistent small decisions and small steps, which compound, like interest, into big things.
Do you have a dream to one day write a book? What is stopping you from opening the computer or taking pen to paper today?
Writing 100 words daily, over 333 days (less than a year), is enough to publish a book. That’s only 20 minutes a day. Stop scrolling Instagram and start using your time. Turn your dreams into your next great accomplishment. Don’t have the time? Wake up 20 minutes earlier or write for 20 minutes before bed. Write on the train commute to work. You can find 20 minutes.
Plans are not just a vision board. Vision boards get you psyched up, but without a plan of action, they are merely dreams on a board. My vision statements have given me the encouragement and confidence to live my extraordinary life.
Doers— those who achieve their dreams— plan with intention. That means:
Plans are outlined with small steps and small decisions.
Those small steps are measurable, achievable, and repeatable.
Those small decisions are not put off by worry due to size or expectations but are made after carefully considering the pros and cons in pursuit of continually moving forward.
Momentum begins outside of the comfort zone. Small steps and small decisions are small, but that does not mean they should keep you in your comfort zone. To achieve any dream requires pushing out of your comfort zone. Each time you do, you gain more experience to help you build confidence.
Plans need to have intention, action, and— most of all— discipline. Discipline produces new habits. Positive habits are like gifts to ourselves, an unconscious fuel, giving you time back.
Get out of your head and into the life where your dreams become your extraordinary reality.
Dreams come from an open mind where you can see the possibilities for yourself and your future.
Get out of your head and into the life where your dreams become your extraordinary reality.
If you are considering working with a Coach or want to know more about the components of a Coaching engagement, let’s get on a call with this link.
The question I get most frequently on these calls, ‘what results can I achieve?’ Here’s what one client shared:
"Coaching is by far the most ROI-positive investment you can make in yourself. Do it! Even if you go in with a specific issue, or question in mind, you will be amazed by how the process can change your thinking about who you are, the skills you have, and where you want to go."
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