Are You Putting Off Your Dreams?

How are you doing with your transformation? Are you moving forward at a rewarding rate? Or have things slowed down recently? Is your life visibly changing the way you want it to? Or are you still stuck with the same problems?

I woke up this morning thinking about three people I’m mentoring — two relatives and a colleague. It’s been more than a year since I’ve been coaching them — and although they all made good progress in the beginning, they are now all stalled.

It’s very frustrating for me, because I got myself caught up in their hopes. I have imagined how their lives will be when they’ve completed their transitions. I can see the benefits: a much larger income, money in the bank, a much more satisfying workday, and the pride of knowing that they are doing exactly what they always wanted to do — and earning a great living from it.

It’s frustrating for another reason. Because though I can see the finish line, they are standing still. They have each put in hundreds of hours to develop new skills and change their financial habits. They have followed my advice about organizing a side business. They have studied the AWAI and ETR programs that are relevant to their success, and they’ve done very well with them.

So why have they stopped?

I can’t say I know the answer for each of them. I’m sure there are many reasons. But I suspect one cause in every case. It’s something I talked about very recently. They have done everything they could do comfortably and have arrived at a place where they’ve never been before. Any new step forward now is a step out of their comfort zone.

If you want to change your life for the better, you have to accept the fact that you can no longer do the same old things the same old way. Making a commitment to change is a big step. It usually occurs when something has happened to make you realize that you are unhappy with some aspect of your life and an inspirational leader fires you up. And the charge that you get from deciding to change may keep you going through the early stages of your transformation. It can energize you to read a book, take a course, and even go through all the details of setting up a business.

All those preparatory activities are necessary and good — but they amount to nothing unless you are able to get your dream started.

And getting your dream started — actually kicking your dream career into action — is new territory. New means strange. And strange means uncomfortable. Having been involved with any number of home-study courses in the past several years, I’ve been disappointed by how many bright and ambitious students fail to finish their programs. And of those who finish, probably much less than half turn their hard-won new skills into anything. They take their diplomas, such as they are, put them up on a wall, and forget about them. Perhaps they look at them every once in a while and wonder, as I’m doing about my three proteges now: “What happened?”

If you feel that you’ve made pretty good progress but are currently stalled, you need to admit to yourself that you have probably slipped into a comfort zone — a way of seeming to be making progress without really getting anywhere — and do something to get yourself out of it.

What you need to do is take action. Nothing you can tell yourself, nothing you can say to others, nothing you can think or feel or imagine is going to get you out of the mental bog you’re mired in. The only thing that can rescue you is action. Physical, get-up-and-do-something action.

Maybe you know what that is. Maybe it’s a difficult meeting that you’ve been putting off. Maybe it’s a hundred phone calls that you need to make to potential clients. Maybe it’s a direct-mail package that you’ve been meaning to write and send out. Or a self-promotional piece that you’ve got to post on the Internet.

If you know exactly what it is, do it. If you don’t know, or aren’t sure, I’ve got the next best thing: Sign up for one or both of the overlapping Bootcamps that ETR and AWAI are giving in October right here in Delray Beach, Florida. There are still a few spots left (although not too many, so get a move on!) — and there’s still time to book an inexpensive flight and hotel room.

Make a reservation today, and in a few short weeks we’ll help you get your goals going again. AWAI will be getting its students ready for careers in freelance design and copywriting. And ETR will be helping its readers formulate their plans to acquire financial independence. I’ll be speaking to both groups about building wealth, creating second incomes, and achieving goals. And there will be a very impressive lineup of other experts to teach you what you need to learn right now to get you going again — even if it means entering the discomfort zone.

You don’t need to attend one of these Bootcamps to succeed. But if you feel the least bit distracted, dismayed, inhibited, or unsure — you definitely should be there.

I said before that I’ve been disappointed by how many people start to change their lives and then stall. Many of these people are good at the home-study phase but lose pace when it comes time to make those next steps, transitioning from knowledge to action.  I’m thinking now about many people who have succeeded . . . about the dozens and dozens of unsolicited letters we’ve received from ETR readers and former AWAI students who are now living the lives they dreamed about. Of those success stories, the great majority attended at least one of our Bootcamps.

Like you, perhaps, they had made progress and then slowed down. Happily, they realized that they needed something to stimulate them into action . . . and that thing turned out to be our yearly Bootcamp.

What is your dream? To become a freelance artist/ writer/ consultant? To own your own business? To become financially independent . . . perhaps even wealthy?

Don’t put off the success you’ve been working for. Sign up for one of this year’s overlapping Bootcamps today and give yourself the jolt you need to make that final change.