Beginnings, middles, and finales…Steps to realizing your dreams!

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY! My book, Pivot Leadership: Small Steps…Big Change will be released in bookstores everywhere!

But how did I do it? This is the question people often ask me when they find out I am a wife, a mom, a working professional, a coach, and a master’s student at the time I wrote the book.

Here are a list of the steps I believe, will lead you to realize your dreams:

Just Do It – Tips to getting started:

1. Have a specific goal. For example: My specific goal was to write a 8-10 chapter book on leadership, incorporating everything I have learned in organizational leadership through business, school, and life that any person could apply to their life.
2. Create a deadline. A goal is useless without a deadline.Tweet this Don’t allow fear of failure to stop you from setting a deadline. If you get to your original deadline and need more time, it is OKAY! Adjust, reengage, and commit to the project. For the writing of Pivot Leadership, I committed 16 weeks, with the goal of writing one chapter a week, leaving 5 weeks for editing, formatting, and setbacks. There were weeks, where the chapter was so research intensive, it took 2 weeks to write, and other weeks I had huge deadlines at work that made it impossible to write. Nonetheless, having the deadline kept me on track and moving forward.
3. Recruit accountability. If no one knows you have a goal, it will be easier to quit. Find likeminded people that will support your dream. For the writing of Pivot Leadership, I asked people on my leadership team if they would hold me accountable to send them a chapter a week to review and edit for me. I also asked my master class I was taking at the time if they would review and give feedback each week. To this day, these friends have been my greatest support and cheerleaders when it would have been easy to give up. I can also credit one of my classmates for introducing me to my publisher! If you have a specific goal in mind, please share it with us in the comments below and allow us to encourage you in the pursuit of your dreams!

The Messy Middle – What to do when boredom sets in:

1. Put your battle armor on. You will know you are in the “messy middle” when you wake up, and think to yourself: What was I thinking? This is too hard. My ideas are too risky. Why did I commit to something so crazy? The battle of the mind begins. You are pressed into the tension and reality of what it will really take to achieve your goals. The fireworks of newness are over. All that seems to lie ahead are the sacrifices you will have to make – like giving up your favorite week night television show or that weekend with friends at the beach. Somewhere, in the not so far distance, you hear a voice say: Just QUIT, no one will notice. But you know better. You know that the “messy middle” is a time for battle, a time for perseverance. Put on your battle armor and go to war for your dreams!
2. Phone a friend. Call the person (s) who have entrusted to carry your dream with you. Tell them you are struggling and allow them to step into the battle beside you. You were made for the challenge. You were made for more!

The Finale – Crossing the finish line:

1. Running on faith. Realizing your dreams will take faith. Faith is: believing and taking action on what you can’t see. For the Pivot Leadership book launch, this means, launching a book without seeing the final proof, risking rejection, and financial investment to see the goal of a best-selling book come to fruition. For me personally, running on faith is trusting that the vision God put on my heart many years ago, is the same one He plans to see through.
2. Forget the Dream Hackers. When people who care, see you struggle, their instinct will be to protect you by telling you it is okay to quit. Unless these people are leaders, reliable in character and living out their own dreams, don’t listen. Dream Hackers like the safe life. There is nothing safe about living out your dreams. Tweet this
3. Enlist the help of others. The finale can make you feel like you are swimming upstream. Enlist the help of others (especially if they have a speed boat) to work beside you, encourage and energize you. I guarantee, reaching your goal in collaboration with others will be the most rewarding and fulfilling part of your journey.

I would love to hear your thoughts on Beginnings, middles, and finales…Steps to realizing your dreams. Please don’t hesitate to share your stories or comments below.

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Until next time, have an incredible week!

Angela