"Live your Dreams and Believe in Yourself, That is the Only Way to the Top"
 Andrew LaPointe

One of the benefits of being human is our ability to chose among the many opportunities that present themselves each and every day. We can select to do this or do that. However, in the final moment of our lives our choices will be no more. Thus, at the end of your life would you rather say "I’m glad I did" or "I wish I would have"?

In the moment of a decision, we weight the benefits of the pending results against each other and select the one, which we believe, is most beneficial to us. With all the decisions we encounter every day, is their a secret to making the right decision every time? Yes there is.

The secret to making the right decision every time is determine what will take you closer to your life-time goals. Did you notice I wrote "life-time goals" and not "long-term goals". The difference between to two is vast. Long-term goals are things you would like to accomplish, while life-time goals are a must. These are goals that must be achieved no matter what it takes.

One of the best ways to determine the difference between your life-time goal verse your long-term goal is ask yourself the following question: "If I knew I was going to die one year from today, what would I want to accomplish before I died?" One year is very good length of time, because it gives you the time you need to achieve your goals, yet it limits how much time you can waste.

The answer to that question is your life-time goals. In fact, make a list of the top five goals you would like to achieve. Once you have this list, prioritize it and systematically work to accomplish them.

Now that you have rediscover your reason for being on here, how do you reposition your life so you can live your dreams? We will answer this question later, but first let’s talk about the biggest obstacle you must overcome as soon as you decide to follow your life-time goals. This is other people’s opinions and criticism. You may hear others say, "Who does she think she is, she has a husband and family, why did she quit her job to become a golf pro" or "He’s 50 years old, he can’t start a business".

A STORY OF OTHER PEOPLE'S OPINION AND CRITICISM:

I know a woman who owned 20 acres of development real estate. The connecting 20 acre parcel was owned by her dead husband’s sister. This woman had always dreamed of building an open staircase to the second story of her home. However, she and her husband never seemed to get around to building it. At the time we met, her husband had been dead nearly five years and she was thinking about selling her 20 acres and using this money to build her dream staircase (among other things).

When her dead husband’s sister and her children heard about what she was thinking about selling the property, they made her life miserable. The children would call her up nearly everyday and tell her that they were entitled to the property. Her sister-in-law would call her up on the days her kids didn’t and tell her that her dead brother wanted the property to stay in the family.

She was also told that if she did sell it, it wouldn’t be right for her to make a profit, because it was "family" property. The reasoning was if she wanted to sell it, the sister-in-law should have the right to buy it from her to keep it in the family. (The sister demanded it be sold back to her at the original purchase price. The current price per acre is probably $5,000 and the cost basis is about $200 per acre). These other people’s opinions were tearing her up inside.

The kids weren’t interested in their mother’s dreams of building a staircase and traveling, they were only waiting until she died. At which time, they would get the property as their inheritance. The sister-in-law wanted the property so she could own the whole 40 acres.

The worst part of this story is that these people’s opinions and criticism originated from their own greed, discomfort and/or insecurity. Remember, people that criticize you, secretly envy you. They know they do not have the courage to do what you are doing, even though they are dying inside to follow your lead. These people cannot muster the strength to follow their dreams, so they attack others who are aggressively pursing their dreams. So don’t worry what other people think, do or say. It’s your life not theirs.

REPOSITIONING YOUR LIFE TO FOLLOW YOUR LIFE-TIME GOALS

So now that you have rediscovered you life’s passion, how do you reposition your life to follow your goal? The answer is simple, yet many won’t do it. The answer: Do whatever it takes. If you absolutely know what your destiny is, the only person you are failing is you. When you are on your death bed, you can’t go back, so do it now.

A STORY ABOUT DOING WHATEVER IT TAKES

I know a family that decided the husband should follow his life-goal. This family was in their early thirties and they had two children. To make this work the husband quit his job and had to live and work in another state. He only came home on the weekend for two years. He had an eight hour drive each way. Yet they did it. Once they decided this was the only way they would be happy, they gave up the short-term (two years together) in exchange for a better future for the remainder of their lives.

Knowing what you should do is usually the easiest step, the remaining steps are the hard ones. However, once you know what you need to do, the need step is to get out into the world and do it. The only question remaining is: Do you have the courage?

Courage is taking the action you know you must do in order to accomplish a goal. It is stepping outside of your comfort zone confidentially. Countless examples of courage can be found everyday in our Armed Forces. These men and women know they must perform tasks that are sometimes outside of their comfort zone.

I’m sure the first time an Army Special Forces Ranger parachuted from an airplane there was a brief moment of being outside his comfort zone. But he kept doing it and now he is his among the elite of our fighting force. The same can be said about members of the Marines, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard.

You and I can tap into this outstanding personal quality of courage they show every day. Maybe the first step to following your life-time goals and building courage is to learn everything you can about your chosen path. Remember "a rolling stone gathers no moss". The next step is to talk with your family about your goals. The third is to review your finances. This will let you know what you need to do to make sure you can financially survive during the first couple of months of your transition. You will also find out if you need to sell stuff to pay off debt or help with possible moving costs. Finally, confidentially follow your own lead and reach for the stars. Good Luck.

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