Don't You Dare Quit!
Five Proven Strategies to Overcome Obstacles and Turn Your Dreams Into Reality
It always seems darkest before your breakthrough.
DON’T YOU DARE QUIT.
As a fellow busy woman with more than 25 years in the executive corporate world, a nonprofit founder, and a women’s leadership consultant, one primary principle I embrace is keeping things simple.
As I take my customary meditative early-morning walk, I want to candidly share five ways to GO BEYOND THE “NO’S” OF LIFE and make your dream a reality.
Obstacles along life’s path may attempt to deter you from sharing your unique voice and message with the world. The most successful people today have faced many obstacles along the way. It took effort, determination, and perseverance for them to reach their goals.
You may experience your fair share of pain throughout the journey. Discouragement from family, friends, co-workers, and people you know and trust can be difficult to handle. But obstacles do not mean you cannot keep moving forward.
When you face rejection from employers, friends, family members, or discouragement from the world around you, remember that it happens to everyone. Rather than allowing setbacks to pull you backward, use them as motivation to keep going.
How can you turn your dreams into reality? Try these proven tips:
1. Burn the image of your dream into your mind and visualize it.
Many of the most successful people in the world today, in every sphere of influence, visualize their goals daily until they achieve them. They imagine their goals as already accomplished and do what it takes to make them a reality.
My childhood “shero,” Madam C. J. Walker, started from humble beginnings, but she had a powerful desire to succeed. She became the first female African American millionaire in the United States.
Visualizing your dream is one of the most powerful ways to help make it happen. Imagine what you will look like once you achieve it. Visualize how you will feel and picture everything that will happen when you finally reach your goal.
2. Have both realistic and ambitious goals.
Many women understand the importance of setting goals while pursuing their dreams. Often, your main goal may seem unrealistic because you cannot yet imagine fully attaining it.
However, setting smaller, more realistic goals along the way can make you far more likely to achieve your ultimate dream.
3. Resist the urge to compare yourself to others.
Many people compare themselves to others when setting goals. Comparison often leads to discouragement and feelings of failure.
Instead of comparing yourself to others, focus on your strengths and the areas where you excel. For example, if you have been working hard on your writing or your first book, set a goal to write or journal one to two pages a day rather than saying, “I need 100 pages finished in two weeks.”
In other words, stop comparing yourself to others and set goals you know you can accomplish.
4. Work on your dream every day.
You will make faster progress if you work on your goals a little each day. Rather than simply dreaming about your goals or setting them and forgetting them, take action daily until you achieve them.
Working on your dreams every day provides motivation to keep pushing forward. Even on days when you do not feel like doing much, completing one small task is better than doing nothing at all. Once you complete that task, you will feel proud of yourself for not giving up and for staying committed to your goal.
As the saying goes: “Eat that elephant—one bite at a time!”
5. No excuses.
It is important to avoid allowing distractions and obstacles to get in your way. In the real world, something will always try to hold you back, but do not let that stop you from pursuing your dreams.
Remember, if you never try, you will never know what you are capable of achieving.
I also recommend finding one or two accountability partners who can encourage you, remind you of your dream, and help you stay focused when distractions or setbacks arise.
Successful people understand the difference between excuses and legitimate reasons, and they know excuses will never help them achieve their goals.
Even when you feel overwhelmed or discouraged, remember that the only person who can truly stop you is yourself. The person responsible for making your dreams come true is YOU.
So be honest with yourself about what you want and what you are capable of achieving. Then go live that dream.
It may seem darkest before your dawn. Yet with God, all things are possible.
Remember, the world thought Jesus Christ was dead—but God knew He would raise Him up on that glorious morning.
Don’t give up.
Don’t quit on your dream.
Why?
Because God never quits on you.
Have a GREAT week!
