Some people dream of great accomplishments, while others stay awake and do them. – Unknown
It looks really pretty in a picture. Someday, I plan to go there and see it in person. But that will take a little more doing and a little less dreaming, right?
What does that mean?
This quote reminds us that it takes effort to accomplish anything. Dreaming is a fun pastime. It is a place for our imaginations to take us. However, dreams aren’t real, and never will be.
Our dreams aren’t going to just become reality on their own. At some point, we will have to get busy and make the things we dreamed about happen by actually going out and doing them.
This quote points out the difference by comparing those who sleep and dream to those who are industrious enough to stay up late and work on the achieving the things they have been dreaming about.
After all, the surest way to get what you always wanted and have dreamed about is to get up out of your comfy bed and get busy. Put in the hours, think and strategize and work on the obstacles. And keep after it until it is yours.
Why is taking action important?
Your dreams won’t get up and do the work for you, will they? So if you want them, you’re going to have to get busy, aren’t you? Taking action is the key to getting things accomplished. After all, that’s what the “do” in the quote is all about.
It is your actions, not your dreams that will cause your accomplishments to come into being. No amount of dreaming, planning, plotting, or scheming will do the trick. There is no substitute for effort. I may sound like Captain Obvious with this, but if you want it don, you’re going to have to do it, right?
While the quote may sound like it is describing an individual exercise, it will often involve the assistance of others. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it is frustrating. But you may need to have someone else do something to get to your great accomplishment. Keep after them, and do what it takes to get it accomplished
Where can I apply this in my life?
What are your dreams? What do you think about in your spare time, something you might actually want to do at some point in your life? Now take a moment and consider what you have actually done to make it happen. If it’s still a dream, the answer probably is very little, right?
Now think of the things you have actually accomplished in your life. How do you measure your successes? How many of them were once a dream, but are now reality? Now take a moment and consider what you have actually done in order to make it happen. You had to stay up and work, right?
Or sometimes you might have gotten up early, while others slept and dreamed their dreams, you were working on yours. Training for a triathlon, working on your car, writing a book or a blog, there is always something to do when you are in pursuit of accomplishing your dreams.
Grab some paper and consider what some of your not yet accomplished dreams are. You might want to start with those which you have already started, and with which you have some idea how to continue. Then add others you’d like to start and see if you can’t get at least three of each.
Select one to start with and write down what you already have done to get you closer to accomplishing it. This might be as simple as doing a little research or gathering some parts of the project, to help get you started.
Take a moment to look at how much you have already done in moving towards your dream. Be sure to list everything that you did besides the dream. Even if it’s as simple as an internet search for pictures of the Eiffel Tower in preparation for a trip to Paris, France, you’ve done something.
What about dusting off the French book from back in school? Parlez-vous Français? Have you looked at what the weather is at different times of the year? When are the flowers and trees in bloom, or do you have allergies? When is the place full of other tourists (either to meet with, or to avoid)?
Have you checked what the prices are for air fare and hotel rates? What about the exchange rate for currency? What about travel around the city, rent a car or take taxis? Those are all steps that get you closer to your dream, provided seeing the Tower was one of your dreams.
With every dream there are things that are fairly easy, and things that are a little harder. For those in Europe, getting to France might be fairly inexpensive. For those of us on this side of the Atlantic, it’s a bit more expensive.
What is your plan to save for the trip? What are you doing to actually save up for it? How much each week or month are you setting aside? How much time off will you take, and how will you arrange it with your employer? Lots of details, right?
So, that was one example. What have you come up with, and what is your plan for getting your dream accomplished? It will be an iterative process, and things will always happen that alter your plans. Be flexible and be persistent, and always keep taking action towards your dream.
There is much you can accomplish, but you have to stop sitting there and simply dreaming about it, and start doing something about it.
From: Twitter, @tonyrobbins
confirmed at : here (4th one down) and here (4th from the bottom)
Photo by brianburk9
While researching the quote, sometimes it was listed as “via Danielle Luedtke.” However, I could never find the point of origin of the quote being tweeted (or posted, or whatever) by her, to confirm that link. Nor could I find any solid sourcing other than “Unknown.” Hey, at least they didn’t say the quote was by “Mark Twain” or “Confucius,” right?
