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“Write down your goals.” The age old advice you’ll hear on every self-development blog. As if you just write them down, everything else will take care of itself.

Poof!

Life is complete and you can rest in peace.

Not quite.

I don’t really have a lot of goals. In fact, I make it a point to not have them because they make me miserable. That doesn’t mean I don’t aim and aspire to do awesome things. I do. Life wouldn’t be worth living without that. It’s just that I don’t have a goal sheet. I don’t have a list of achievements I want to make in the next 3 months, 6 months, or 5 years.

Why?

Because goals have hurt me more than they’ve helped.

If you’re anything like me, you want to do a lot. You don’t dream tiny. You dream big. Really big.

You-want-it-all. Read more

Most supposed productivity gurus say “do one thing.” Focus on just one thing and you’ll excel. I’ve certainly written about this before. Among some people “do one thing” is practically a religion. While focusing on one thing is great and can help you make leaps and bounds in productivity and getting things done, it can dramatically stunt your creativity. And if you don’t care about creativity, fine. But it can also make you stupid.

That’s because often the most creative ideas come from the most unexpected sources. I’ve come up with some of my best ideas in for articles on this blog, from reading books completely unrelated to personal development. Some of the best ideas I’ve had for posts have been through reading books on travel, writing and personal biographies.

Creative ADD, and my thirst to pursue writing, music, drawing, graphic design and photography has led me to have a better and more holistic eye in all areas of art. Designing has helped me realize how to use pictures to have a better impact in blog posts. Studying lyrics and the structure of songs has helped me become better at understanding the flow of writing stories. Drawing helped me realize the patience and attention to detail necessary when crafting a melodic rhythm. All these different creative endeavors has led me not to be spread more thin between them, but has enhanced my ability throughout all of them. Read more

I thought I’d change things up a little here. I’m working on this really exciting ebook right now that’s a step by step guide for making your dreams a reality. It’s going to be really awesome, but I need your help.

So I want to ask you:

What’s the biggest obstacle for you, in making your dreams a reality?

Post your answer in the comments. And if you’d like, I’ll try to give you some advice on how to help you remove those roadblocks. If you want a response from me, just say so in your comment. I may not be able to respond to everyone, but I’ll do my best.

I know I’m not the only one who has trouble staying focused. It seems the more technology advances, the more our attention is pulled in a zillion different directions.

We all have dreams, goals, and desires. We know that in order to make them a reality, we have to take consistent action toward them. Knowing what you want isn’t enough.

Not knowing ceases to matter when you’re able to move in the direction of your dreams, even when you don’t really know what your doing. It’s the movement in that direction that matters the most. Read more

[Note: This is the 4th and final article in the series How to Make Your Dreams a Reality.]

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them. — Henry David Thoreau

So, now that you’ve created a dream sanctuary, stopped doing what works, and found your purpose, it’s time to start laying the foundation for your dreams. The reason I wanted to go through those articles first before getting to this part is because of an important distinction between people that accomplish their dreams and those that don’t.

The people that accomplish their dreams realize the obstacles between them are not physical limitations, but psychic ones. They’ve overcome the social conditioning that’s told them their dreams are impossible or frivolous. They’ve discovered their true purpose and their passion. And they’ve found a place to keep their dreams safe, while they strive toward making them a reality. Read more