By Marcia Wieder
Most people think of dreams either as unattainable fantasies, or as things they do in their sleep. Neither of those definitions are what I mean when I speak of dreams. The dictionary defines dreams as your "fond hopes and desires," and goes on to say "to devise or to plan." So making your dreams come true is really nothing more than planning how to get what you want.
My techniques for making your dreams come true have several advantages over other approaches. One of the benefits is that you don't have to choose having a dream in one area of your life at the expense of giving one up in another. I often hear people lament that they could have what they want if they just gave up other things, or that they must work endless, tedious hours to earn the kind of money that they need. I don't believe it's necessary to make sacrifices like these to have your dream. That is, it's not necessary to forfeit anything you want, provided you are clear about your dreams.
Let Passion Permeate All That You Do
Passion is the access to power. When you are passionate, you are focused, intentional and determined. Your body, mind and heart are all moving toward the same goal in unison. Passionate thinking is a driving ambition. It comes from a place within you that provides emotional reinforcement. This is the type of energy you want to harness in order to propel your dreams into reality. To help you get there, I've designed the Passion Pyramid(TM), a simple yet effective hierarchical structure that conveys the credo that I myself strive to live by.
The Passion Pyramid is a tool. When used as intended, it can help you design a blueprint for getting from where you are to where you want to be, while keeping you balanced in all areas of your life.
Use the Pyramid to align the "four Ps" that can ignite your dreams. From the bottom of the Pyramid on up, the four P's are: Purpose, Passion, Possibilities and Power. Like any stable structure, the Pyramid is intended to be used from the bottom up. So, as you venture forth to make your dreams come true, the enthusiasm you put into your Purpose will become the foundation on which everything else rests.
Most of us live our lives from the top down. Something unexpected happens -- a "fire" that needs to be put out, or something to which you must attend. You look at your calendar (see "Scheduling") to find a window of time to squeeze it in. Multitasking has thus been elevated to an art form. Sometimes, if you're lucky, the activity may be related to a project that you're working on or one you intend to start.
However, when you start working from the top down, whatever you're doing does not come from your Purpose. And to live a life you love that's filled with Passion, you need to start with Purpose and build up from the base. Let's look at how the sections of the Pyramid work, moving up the Pyramid from Purpose all the way to the area of Scheduling.
Purpose
Your Purpose serves as the foundation; it answers the question, "Who Am I?" Some people think they've known the answer to that question for years. Busy earlier in life with families, careers and other responsibilities, many people find themselves facing midlife with the age-old question of finding meaning for the remainder of their lives. At this time they're surprised to discover a "different" truth about themselves, either because they never wanted what they thought they wanted, or because what they desired changed over time. It's never too late to re-think and re-design your Purpose.
Dreams
Once you have established your foundation and you know who you are, you can start to look at how you want your life to be. For example, if your Purpose is to live life with more adventure, your Dreams might include bringing a level of excitement into everything you do. To keep things more manageable, you might consider making incremental changes in a specific aspect of your life like your business or your marriage. If your Purpose is to live life a life based on partnerships, your Dreams may include striving for an extraordinarily close marriage, or fostering powerful alliances that generate profit and prestige. Whatever Purpose you affirm for your life, your Dream will benefit, developing a deeper meaning.
Projects
Considering your Purpose, you will be able to develop Projects that will take your Dreams out of your imagination and make them part of your reality. Not only will your Projects be "real," but they will further the journey toward your dream by having built-in, specific and measurable results. Your Projects will help you to project yourself into your future.
Scheduling
Scheduling, at the top of the Pyramid, actually puts your projects onto the calendar, giving you dates by which to meet your objectives and make your Dreams come true. Writing down a specific date solidifies the expectation that you will complete this goal. After all, your satisfaction is tied to your expectation, so set a reasonable timeframe in which you can succeed. The good news is that most of your time will be spent doing the things that you love, not just more "tire-spinning." Plus, don't confuse needing and insisting on "me" time with being selfish. Be sure to set aside some critical time just for yourself. When you return to life's "regularly scheduled programming" you'll find yourself refreshed and ready for action.
Having assembled the Pyramid, there are three supporting elements that come into play:
Possibilities
Looking at the possibilities in your life from the vantage point of your Purpose, you will feel a new level of power and energy. You will see opportunities where you never saw them before. You will have new perspectives about what you can make happen in your life, and you will allow yourself to remain open to the magic of producing extraordinary results. Let Possibility reign in each of the four areas of the Pyramid.
Power
The Power to live your dreams every day results from your ability to be "in action" on your dreams and to measure the specific results of your projects. And having Power means wielding control; not in the fashion of a tyrant, barking orders and demeaning everyone around you, but rather, an internal sense of control governed by your own actions and efforts. You, not the outside world, are the author of your life.
How would you explain an obstacle? Do you see yourself as a victim, or are you willing to take more responsibility for a less-than-desirable outcome? If you explain a setback in terms of changes you can make, such as taking a new approach rather than blaming others or external forces, you're exhibiting the belief that you hold the Power over your life -- the Power to be optimistic, the Power of persistence, the Power to perform beyond expectations, and the Power to live the life you've carved out for yourself.
Passion
Standing figuratively and emotionally in your Purpose, you will realize that Passion permeates everything else. Your Purpose is what excites you, and kindles the Passion to make your dreams come true. You are never too old, too inexperienced, too poor or too late to find your calling in life. If you're a "late bloomer," celebrate the joy of making life-altering choices after an age where many people just settle for the status quo.
Notice how the sections of the Pyramid interconnect. For example, Passion lives in all areas of your life, but it takes on special meaning as you bring it into your Dreams; Possibilities can be seen from every vantage point on the Pyramid, but they start to show up in ways you can recognize when you move from Dreams to Projects. The process is not linear; it is holographic and multidimensional.
Marcia's Passion & Purpose
I describe my own Purpose in life as "using my creativity to make things happen." From winning my eighth-grade speech contest to recently appearing on the Oprah Winfrey show to discuss my book, most of my most passionate memories in life were of when I was using my creativity to make things happen.
I believe in putting everything I want into my Dreams and leaving out what I don't want. One Dream that symbolizes my Purpose is to travel the world in style and elegance, speaking publicly about something that will make a positive impact on people. I decided to travel on a luxurious cruise ship as a guest speaker, offering workshops about making Dreams come true. My Project, one of any number I could have created, was a clear expression of my Purpose and an obvious representation of my Dream. Because of the Passion I felt, I knew that the Project was completely consistent with my Purpose.
Once the specific, measurable results of the Project were defined, it was easy to get into action. As I gained clarity about what I wanted and created a Project to achieve it, the strategies to make this Dream a reality were obvious. As a result, I spent the Christmas holiday cruising the Hawaiian Islands, all expenses paid.
Don't sabotage yourself by trying to deal with the Pyramid from the top down. For example, most people have a negative reaction to "Scheduling," because they feel anxious about finding time to take on additional tasks. Starting at the top of the Pyramid rarely, if ever, allows you to build a life you can live on purpose.
When I first started doing this work some years ago, I used to say, "Every day I'm doing something that I love." Now I can say, "I'm always doing something that I love." My office is devoid of files, except for Project files. Since the Projects come from my dreams, which come in turn from my Purpose, I am living a life that I love, one that is filled with Passion. Whenever I have extra time, which I often do, I reach for one of my Project files. I enjoy working on them because I know that doing so puts me constantly in action on the life I very intentionally created for myself.
Getting in touch with your Passion will always get you out of whatever rut you have fallen into and onto a higher road. And when you are doing something that you are passionate about, it often gets done quickly, leaving you enthusiastic and energized. Your Passion defines your Purpose, and your Purpose defines the Dreams that you can make come true. Use it as the juice, the compelling force to move your Dreams off your "to do" list and on to your calendar.
Marcia Wieder is the author of Making Your Dreams Come True and Doing Less and Having More. A regular guest on Oprah and the Today show, she also has her own PBS special. Find our more about her programs and products by visiting www.dreamcoach.com or by calling (800) 869-9881.
