As chapters in Dynasty's story close, I have to move ahead to the future. Unlike most, I was unable to really get any use out of Amazon Associates. I will be sorry to see it go here in IL. However, life goes on and I'm nowhere near giving up because I'm losing A.A. Today's post is about one's dreams and goals. We all have them. If not, this is a time where you should consider creating some. What are your aspirations? What are some of the ways you'd like to improve your way of living? Do you have just yourself or a family to care for? Our lives change and seasons change with them. Do you have goals that are easy to re-arrange, or are they rather concrete? How realistic are they? Is the sky really, truly the limit? It's good to keep things like that in check while we are planning. While you're trying to do for yourself, you have to consider whom exactly your decisions effect in the long run. If you have a family, does it work with their needs and wants? Of course, we can't always get what we want and this is why consideration is a top priority.
My father, for example, is the goal-creating master. He has a two-year plan with every new year. As a child, I always wondered why in the world he kept so many of those notepads in his personal office. Was he doodling? Was he making paper airplanes and flying them off to France? I know he used some of them as ledgers for his bills. For the most part, however, he was using these very notepads to plan out for his future. This would not be revealed to me until I was well into my early twenties. Ah-ha, there's a reason for everything! Intrigued in his method, I sat quietly as he told me how the process began. At the start of every new year, he sits at his desk and writes out his priorities. These are usually finances, ideas on properties, investment ideas, and sometimes things about me--his only child. In this economy, we've all got to find our "hustle" so to speak. For my dad, his interests are in solar power and renting properties. He also wants me to finish school. Once the goals are set, he writes down notes about how to go about them. Or maybe he keeps a thought in his head.
He also has "goals for the day". Yes, all 365 of them and he's REALLY on the ball about it. The man literally finds something to do or learn each and every day. Sometimes it's a good lesson, sometimes it's a hard one. Other days, he just putters around taking this person to point A and B and so forth. Still, he makes plans. For instance, when we needed a new toilet for the bathroom, he made an entire day of it. On that same day, his girlfriend had to be somewhere within an hour after our trip. Now, we live in Chicago. The toilet was all the way in Calumet City. His girlfriend's stop was closer to Downtown. So Dad had a plan. "We get up early", he says the night before. "We're leaving at 11:30", he says the next day. In the car, he's laid out the plan. "Twenty minutes in the store after a 19-minute ride. Then, we get the toilet back home. Afterward, it's off to Lisa's thing and we're done!"
Without a hitch, this small goal helped to complete everything we needed to do that day. It was amazing to see my father work. But then again, he's been goal-oriented like this all of my life. Even when I don't think he's got a plan, there's a plan! He'll randomly pop up and say "uh huh, I had a plan to...." and will smoothly tell you the when and how and why that was lying underneath all along. It's truly an amazing aspect to be able to cultivate.
Now, it is your turn. What are your dreams and your goals? What would you like to accomplish in a day, a week, a month, a year? Is it something small and home-related like cleaning up a space? Is it something bigger like continuing your education? Do you have dreams of writing or drawing or taking photos? Perhaps you are a gardener with the perfect mulch and the world needs to hear about it. If your goals have to do with finances, begin to do the work! Straighten out that credit after the messy divorce. Squirrel away for that boating trip to Greece! What's important here is that you acknowledge these dreams and goals. Give them a life. Write them down so you don't forget them. Make a to-do list. If somebody questions you or makes fun, look right over it because this is your life. I had that happen to me. A young girl came into my room and saw my little list. She giggled and said "oh, why do you have a to-do list?" I let her know it's how I rememeber some things and there's nothing wrong with it. These were my goals to accomplish and they were the things I needed to get done before it was too late.
There is nothing wrong with making a list. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. The same goes for the "realism" factor of your goals and dreams. While you can't do everything all the time, don't let someone say you can't do ANYTHING, period. The same girl who laughed at me has a dream of being a singer. Although she's a bit on the hard-headed side, I wouldn't dare tell her she CAN'T do something. In time, she will either put in the work to follow her dreams, or go on to something else like most young girls do. It's all up to her.
In my case, my dreams are all circulated around the arts. I'm not the greatest artist, but I do enjoy spending time with Photoshop CS3 and taking a picture or two. My heart belongs to writing, however. I am crazy about writing stories, in love with composing poetry, and I'm dabbling in my first teeny tiny play. While I fear what future critics might say (as past professors have been both very kind and very...not...), I can't let that stop me from writing. This is my passion, my love, and my gift. This is what I feel God gave me to give to the world. I am growing, budding, changing, and pruning this craft. I too have goals around this desire to write. I want to be published and be able to hob-knob with not only celebs, but other people who love to read and write. I want to reach people who've always wanted to say what's on their mind, but have been afraid to. With that in mind, I make a plan each day. Is today a blogging day or a Deviant Art day? Is today time to spend in my writing folder or a day to spend with the camera, reciting a poem? What is Veronica going to do to work on her goals? I also have to prioritize. I have housework to do, birds to clean after, my health, etc. As much as I'd LOVE to spend all day writing, I can't. Still, I have set myself to devote some of my day on working on myself.
The one thing you shouldn't do is get yourself on a pedestal or get so high that it hurts to come down. Ever heard of the "high horse"? Don't even think about mounting that bad boy. There's confidence, and then there's being pretentious. The key is to remain balanced. I hope your dreams do come true and the things you want will happen if you're willing to do the work. From hard work comes the beautiful fruits of labor, patience, and time.
My father, for example, is the goal-creating master. He has a two-year plan with every new year. As a child, I always wondered why in the world he kept so many of those notepads in his personal office. Was he doodling? Was he making paper airplanes and flying them off to France? I know he used some of them as ledgers for his bills. For the most part, however, he was using these very notepads to plan out for his future. This would not be revealed to me until I was well into my early twenties. Ah-ha, there's a reason for everything! Intrigued in his method, I sat quietly as he told me how the process began. At the start of every new year, he sits at his desk and writes out his priorities. These are usually finances, ideas on properties, investment ideas, and sometimes things about me--his only child. In this economy, we've all got to find our "hustle" so to speak. For my dad, his interests are in solar power and renting properties. He also wants me to finish school. Once the goals are set, he writes down notes about how to go about them. Or maybe he keeps a thought in his head.
He also has "goals for the day". Yes, all 365 of them and he's REALLY on the ball about it. The man literally finds something to do or learn each and every day. Sometimes it's a good lesson, sometimes it's a hard one. Other days, he just putters around taking this person to point A and B and so forth. Still, he makes plans. For instance, when we needed a new toilet for the bathroom, he made an entire day of it. On that same day, his girlfriend had to be somewhere within an hour after our trip. Now, we live in Chicago. The toilet was all the way in Calumet City. His girlfriend's stop was closer to Downtown. So Dad had a plan. "We get up early", he says the night before. "We're leaving at 11:30", he says the next day. In the car, he's laid out the plan. "Twenty minutes in the store after a 19-minute ride. Then, we get the toilet back home. Afterward, it's off to Lisa's thing and we're done!"
Without a hitch, this small goal helped to complete everything we needed to do that day. It was amazing to see my father work. But then again, he's been goal-oriented like this all of my life. Even when I don't think he's got a plan, there's a plan! He'll randomly pop up and say "uh huh, I had a plan to...." and will smoothly tell you the when and how and why that was lying underneath all along. It's truly an amazing aspect to be able to cultivate.
Now, it is your turn. What are your dreams and your goals? What would you like to accomplish in a day, a week, a month, a year? Is it something small and home-related like cleaning up a space? Is it something bigger like continuing your education? Do you have dreams of writing or drawing or taking photos? Perhaps you are a gardener with the perfect mulch and the world needs to hear about it. If your goals have to do with finances, begin to do the work! Straighten out that credit after the messy divorce. Squirrel away for that boating trip to Greece! What's important here is that you acknowledge these dreams and goals. Give them a life. Write them down so you don't forget them. Make a to-do list. If somebody questions you or makes fun, look right over it because this is your life. I had that happen to me. A young girl came into my room and saw my little list. She giggled and said "oh, why do you have a to-do list?" I let her know it's how I rememeber some things and there's nothing wrong with it. These were my goals to accomplish and they were the things I needed to get done before it was too late.
There is nothing wrong with making a list. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. The same goes for the "realism" factor of your goals and dreams. While you can't do everything all the time, don't let someone say you can't do ANYTHING, period. The same girl who laughed at me has a dream of being a singer. Although she's a bit on the hard-headed side, I wouldn't dare tell her she CAN'T do something. In time, she will either put in the work to follow her dreams, or go on to something else like most young girls do. It's all up to her.
In my case, my dreams are all circulated around the arts. I'm not the greatest artist, but I do enjoy spending time with Photoshop CS3 and taking a picture or two. My heart belongs to writing, however. I am crazy about writing stories, in love with composing poetry, and I'm dabbling in my first teeny tiny play. While I fear what future critics might say (as past professors have been both very kind and very...not...), I can't let that stop me from writing. This is my passion, my love, and my gift. This is what I feel God gave me to give to the world. I am growing, budding, changing, and pruning this craft. I too have goals around this desire to write. I want to be published and be able to hob-knob with not only celebs, but other people who love to read and write. I want to reach people who've always wanted to say what's on their mind, but have been afraid to. With that in mind, I make a plan each day. Is today a blogging day or a Deviant Art day? Is today time to spend in my writing folder or a day to spend with the camera, reciting a poem? What is Veronica going to do to work on her goals? I also have to prioritize. I have housework to do, birds to clean after, my health, etc. As much as I'd LOVE to spend all day writing, I can't. Still, I have set myself to devote some of my day on working on myself.
The one thing you shouldn't do is get yourself on a pedestal or get so high that it hurts to come down. Ever heard of the "high horse"? Don't even think about mounting that bad boy. There's confidence, and then there's being pretentious. The key is to remain balanced. I hope your dreams do come true and the things you want will happen if you're willing to do the work. From hard work comes the beautiful fruits of labor, patience, and time.