I met Lisa* for the first time nearly two years ago at a networking event.  She said she ran a small graphic design business but was looking into becoming a personal trainer.

I offered to introduce her to a friend who was a personal trainer.  She said she would let me know.

I didn’t hear back from her.

Our paths crossed again six months ago at a women’s conference when we ended up in the same breakout session.

In going around the circle, sharing our names and what we did for a living, Lisa said she ran a small graphic design business and was checking into becoming a personal trainer.

A week ago we were seated together at a luncheon. 

A table mate asked Lisa what she did, and Lisa replied that she ran a small graphic design business that kept getting smaller and is thinking about working as a personal trainer.

Her answer was identical to the one she’d given two years earlier.

Is your story similar to Lisa’s? You keep thinking about what you want to do but don’t take any steps to make it happen? Do you find yourself talking but not doing? Hoping but not acting?

Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is simply passing the time. Action with vision is making a positive difference.” ~Joel Barker

Without dreams our lives lose luster. Yet without action, our dreams always remain dreams.

3 ways to turn dreams into reality

If you see a little bit of Lisa in your situation:

1)  Understand what you want

Have a chat with yourself:  is this something I still want to do, or has talking about it become a habit, just something I do automatically? Do I know, deep down inside, that I’m never going to do anything about my dream?

2) If you mean it, act

If you’re still passionate about your dream, do something proactive today. Take that intangible dream and start making it real with action and outcomes you can see, touch, hear.

• Schedule an informational interview.
• Request a brochure.
• Make a phone call or send an email.
• Sign up for a class.
• Buy a book on the topic.
• Write your goals down and read them every day.
• Establish a reasonable time frame for making your dream a reality

Do one thing every day to move your dream closer to reality. The super important thing is to do something now.

The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do. ~Sarah Ban Breathnach

3) Examine what’s holding you back

Do a personal inventory of every barrier, reason, excuse or whatever that keeping you from making your dream come true. Do you fear failure? Are you afraid of success? Are you waiting for something to happen? Are you listening too much to your inner critic? Whatever your roadblock, find a way over, around, or through it.

4) Hold yourself accountable

Get an accountability buddy. Share your dreams and what you’ll do to make the dream come alive.  Make a pact to talk about concrete action you’ve both taken.  Give each other the “danger zone signal” if/when you slip back into talking about what you plan to do instead of doing.

The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man’s foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher. ~Thomas Henry Huxley

5) Give yourself permission to let go

Know when to give up on your dream. Holding on too long can make you bitter. And, sometimes, when you let go of what you haven’t made happen, a brand new, perfect opportunity opens up right before your very eyes.

I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning. ~J.B. Priestly

What one thing will you do today to be unstoppable in moving your dream closer to reality?

*not her real name

Image source before quote:  morgueFile.com