Beautiful buildings, luxury homes, high-end sports cars, and exquisite works of art begin in the imagination of those that create them. The human mind has an amazing capacity to think, dream, and envision. Once seen in the mind, the brain is able to fine tune that vision, the details are etched to precision, and we are able to close our eyes and see that fantasized creation. What’s even more amazing is that we are able to then take that thought, put it down on paper, collaborate with others, gather the required materials, and turn that dream into a reality.
What most people fail to realize is that their lives are no different than a piece of art. Great lives don’t just magically happen, no more than revered structures design themselves. Left to chance, you’ll surely end up wondering what happened to the life you thought you’d live. The ability to design the life we want is one of our most valuable gifts.
If we can have the life of our dreams, why do so many people live a life of mediocrity? Why do we accept less than optimal? Where do we go wrong? How do we get so off track?
It starts with our beliefs. We tend to follow the paths that are familiar to us. It’s what we’ve seen–it’s what we know. When you are traumatized when someone says to you, “You sound just like your mother,” that’s because as much as you don’t want to sound like your mother, that’s where you end up if you put no effort into being different from your mother. If you don’t restructure your mind’s vision of how you want things to be, the mind will create from the familiar. And the familiar is what we have always seen and known.
This is why so many people end up in the same types of neighborhoods, share the same levels of drive, and achieve the same level of socio-economic class as their parents. It’s what they know. It’s a path that’s been laid. It requires less effort. And it requires little thought.
This is why it is so important to surround yourself with people that are more successful than you, to read biographies of bigger thinkers, and to explore the lives of those that are doing, or have done, the extraordinary. One of my favorite quotes is, “A mind once stretched by a new idea can never regain its original dimension.” You have to give your mind food for thought. You must feed it images and ideas that it doesn’t already have. Your mind must be stretched.
Next, you have to believe. Ask yourself… why them and not me? What do they have that I don’t. How are they getting what they want, while I am not getting what I want. Often times, they are no smarter than you, they don’t start with more resources, and they aren’t simply luckier than you. The difference starts with belief. They believe they can, and you believe you can’t. Limiting beliefs have gotten you where you are and will keep you from having or doing more. It starts with designing the life you want, but it’s believing you can have that life that gets you to take the action needed to get there.
Listening to others can stifle your plans as well. The world is full of nay-sayers. Share your biggest dreams with friends and family, and you’ll likely get shut down, scoffed at, and even laughed at. Part of that is jealousy, part of that is their own limited beliefs, and part of that even comes from their love of you and them trying to protect you from failure. Of course, they will discourage you. They haven’t seen what you’ve seen in your mind. They can’t see it, feel it, or taste it like you can.
Accumulating wealth, a physically fit physique, a fulfilling career, a loving, passionate marriage, and a life filled with meaning doesn’t just happen. Achieving high levels of any of these requires work. Before the work, there is a visualized and desired outcome. And before you can see it, you must believe it.
So, if you take nothing else from this blog, open up your mind to the idea that you can have the life you’ve dreamed of. The possibility of greatness, excitement, happiness, and fun is there. You can turn a disaster into a masterpiece. You can become a participant, not just a spectator. You can go from being impressed to becoming impressive. If you can see it, you can achieve it. The sooner you see it, the sooner you will achieve it. To have the life you want, you must see the life you want. So, get to work NOW on designing a better life… the life you could have if you could have any life… the life you thought was no longer possible… the life you’ve always dreamed of.
