DREAM BIG focus small

Do you make resolutions for the new year or choose a word to focus on for the year?

I don’t make resolutions because they are hard to keep, and I believe that if you want to make a change or start something new, do it now!  Don’t wait for an arbitrary day like January 1 or even Monday.  If it is important enough to do, do it now.

Instead, I am continuing with a phrase I heard last year that resonated with me – DREAM BIG focus small.

We have all had big dreams that we have either forgotten about or abandoned because they seem so far out of reach!  Don’t let your dreams fall by the wayside because of the overwhelm of trying to achieve them.

I have read that focus is one of the toughest things for entrepreneurs.  We have great ideas but then get easily distracted by everyday life events. I am sooo guilty of that!  I have a great idea, and then another, and another.  I then forgot about my original idea until I find someone else has done the same damn thing and I am kicking myself for not implementing that idea when I first had it.

I know that staying on task to achieve my goals is sometimes a challenge for me, so I try to organize myself and write down every brilliant idea I have. I have also started breaking down the big goals into smaller tasks and focusing only on those while keeping blinders on.

The keys to DREAM BIG focus small then are first and foremost – DREAM; then focus on the small tasks that will move you forward.

“You have to dream before your dreams can come true.” – A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

As humans, we seek out the small boosts of dopamine and serotonin when we complete tasks, much like we get when we do things like finish a level in a game (game creators are geniuses in this way).  When we focus only on a big goal, which can take a long time to achieve, we do not get those little hits of dopamine and become frustrated by not reaching that goal.  By breaking up the big goal into smaller, more manageable pieces we can reach the milestones, providing a hit of happiness, and pushing us to achieve more.

Below are the steps I try to adhere to as I work toward achieving my dreams of helping as many drivers & teams as possible to achieve their own dream of racing.  A secondary part of this is that I want to be able to leave my ‘regular’ job to allow myself more time to be able to work on that first part. 

Know your dream and write it down. 

I have this written down on a desk calendar that I see every day.

Understand the reason why you want to achieve your dreams.

Without this understanding, you will stray from achieving your dream and lose focus along the way.

Break your big dream down into manageable goals.

Your smaller goals give you direction and allow you to complete them in a set amount of time, giving you that hit of dopamine we all crave.

When setting your goals, make sure they are the ones that will make a difference.

I get caught up in doing tasks that I like to do and that makes me feel productive for a short amount of time.  However, when I look back at my days, I find I have lost a lot of time looking at emails or working on the wrong tasks.  If the task does not get you closer to your dream, it likely does not need to be done.  I know that sales and marketing are the two things that will move my business forward (good thing I do love to do one of those things) and will be concentrating more heavily on them.

Eliminate distractions or plan work around events you know will be distracting.

Working at home in a tiny house, I have a lot of things that can distract me from working toward my goals.  Some of these things cannot be changed so I must be strategic in how I schedule and plan tasks. For instance, I will not schedule time to work on tasks that need my full attention while my entire family is home. I know that if I have a few free minutes, I often pick up my phone and scroll mindlessly or play those games that provide instant gratification.  When focusing on tasks I put my phone in another room.

Automate, Delegate, and Delete.

Set your bills to be paid automatically.  Automate any other activities that you can. Delegate tasks to other people if they do not need to be completed by you.  Delete emails that you do not immediately need or want to take immediate action on.  Unsubscribe from emails that are not useful.  Concentrate on things that only you can do.

Get Organized

I love paper.  Writing things down helps me remember, but I tend to end up with notebooks everywhere and do not know where I wrote these important things down.  Last year I started moving my notes to a One Note document.  I found I had notes that were repetitive, no longer served me, or were outdated.  I know where I can find things on a tab and within pages in those tabs.  It’s still a work in process but has already saved me a lot of time.

I have learned to say no. 

As a people pleaser that is hard to do. I have said no to working with some drivers, which sounds counterintuitive to my goal.  But I have learned two important lessons.  The first is to say no to the things that are not going to move the needle forward enough.  The second is that I know if the task to be done does not have a big enough impact I will not focus on it and will not do a good job completing that task and no one will be happy with the lack of progress. 

Make decisions and move quickly.

Making decisions and ruminating over them takes a lot of brain power and is a waste of time and resources.  I often find myself second-guessing and worrying about what will happen if I make the wrong decision.  Very few decisions are life-changing and require as much thought as we put into them.  Make the decision and move on.  A good thing to remember here is that things tend to work themselves out.

Get started.

It is a good thing to research, be informed, and make sure you are doing something right.  Ultimately, however, the best way to learn is to just do it and improve on the process as you go.

Dreams are our vision – our focus is the plan.