Success seldom occurs by accident or chance. Most often it is the result of planning, preparation, and perseverence. The following four steps serve as a guide to help you identify, pursue, and achieve your dreams.
1. Dare to Dream
It is often said that success is created twice - first in the visions
of your mind and then in actual reality. Virtually every success
attained by the worldís greatest athletes and coaches once began as a seed
of thought, hope, and inspiration in their minds. They envisioned
the scholarships, awards, and championships in their minds, and then worked
hard to achieve them.
Your first step to success is to engage in ìpossibility thinking.î
Spend a few minutes thinking about this question - ìWhat could I achieve
if I really set my heart and mind to it?î Forget about limitations
and obstacles for now and tap into the power of your imagination.
Envision the future that could be.
2. Define Your Mission
After exploring your future possibilities, begin to narrow in on the
few that really inspire and motivate you. Pick one or two that you
really want to go after at this time in your life. Envision them
in great detail as if you had already achieved them. By specifying
the few possibilites that inspire you and describing them in detail on
paper, you create a mission for yourself. Missions are powerful long-term
goals that provide you with an important sense of meaning and motivation.
Missions create a strong sense of purpose as well as the energy to pursue
your goals.
NBA Rookie of the Year Damon Stoudamire understood the importance
of defining a mission at an early age. Despite doubters because of
his small size, Damon defined missions for himself to earn a college scholarship,
win the Pac 10 Player of the Year, and win the NBA Rookie of the Year.
These missions, created first in his mind, gave him the motivation to make
them come true. In essence, missions help you turn possibilities
into probabilities.
3. Commit to Your Mission
The difference between wishes and missions is commitment. Commitment
is the single most important factor that differentiates champions from
the average. While everyone wishes they could be successful, only
a few make the commitment to pursue their dreams. Commitment entails
action. It means determining your destiny not by fate or luck, but
by determination, sweat, and hard work. A commitment is a promise
to yourself that you will consistently do what is necessary to achieve
your mission.
On the same sheet of paper that you described your mission, specify
the actions that you need to take to give yourself the best chance of reaching
your mission. I encourage you to involve your coach to get his/her
insights on the specific things you can do to achieve your mission.
Once you have detailed the actions that lead to your mission, sign the
sheet as if it were a contract to signify your commitment. Post this
sheet somewhere you can see it often (locker, bedroom, etc.)
4. Take Advantage of Each Day
Finally, successful athletes like Olympic dual gold medalist Michael
Johnson recognize the importance of quality training on a daily basis.
Johnson understood that consistent quality practices were the key to long-term
success. Day after day, week after week, and month after month, his
quality practices added up to increased confidence putting him in an ideal
position to win gold in the 200 and 400 meters in Atlanta. In this
way, successful people view practices as important investments in their
overall mission rather than dreaded sacrifices.
Each day ask yourself, ìWhat can I do today that will bring me
at least one step closer to my mission?î By focusing on how you can
advance closer to your mission each day, you add a sense of purpose to
your training rather than just going through the motions.
By using these steps to identify, commit to, and pursue your mission,
you set yourself up for success. For once you get your heart and
mind headed in the right direction, youíll never have to worry about your
feet.