By
J. Roux MalanIntroduction
How many times in your life did you have a dream that never turned into a reality? Perhaps you had the dream to own your own business online or to be your own boss. Perhaps you had the dream of going overseas, but you never had enough money.
Why is it that many of our dreams do not come true? In my mind there are two major reasons for this situation. The first reason might be that we skipped some vital steps in what I call the creative cycle. The second reason might be that we did not have the patience for the creative cycle to bear its fruit. So what do I mean by the creative cycle? We see the creative cycle at work in the seasons of nature: spring, summer, late summer, autumn and winter. Each and every creative process on earth have to go through these five phases of creation to bear fruit. Let us now look at each of these five phases in order for us to turn our dreams into reality.
Step 1: Create a vision!
Every new creative cycle in our lives start from a certain "nothingness" or "winter". This is the time where millions of sperms (read ideas) are swimming upstream to meet the ovum in the darkness of the womb. This first step is driven by our deepest yearning to create something new. The great trick in step one is to find our greatest yearning. You need to ask yourself two important questions. Firstly, "What exactly do I want to create in my life?" and secondly "Why do I want to create that in my life?" You need to be very clear about the "what?" and the "why?" of your vision.
Many of our dreams does not come true because either we were not clear on what we want to create or we did not have a real desire to create it in the first place. You really have to dig deep on this first step. What do I want to create? Why do I want to create it? Ultimately you need to find your own passion. Without a passion to create you will never realize your dreams.
How do you know that you have a passion to create something? You must become aware of the levels of energy that you FEEL in your body when you think about something that you want to create. If you feel a surge of energy when you think about a specific dream you want to create you can be pretty sure that you are onto your passion. On the other hand if you think about an idea to create something and your FEEL a drain of energy it is a sure sign that you are looking down the wrong alley. Your passion will give you effortless energy. If you have to make yourself do something that something is definitely not your passion. Stop dead in your tracks and ask yourself: "What is it that I really want to create and why?" Then monitor your FEELINGS and keep at it till your feel an effortless surge of energy to create that dream.
Use a pen and paper to explore your passion. Use pictures cut from magazines. Create a collage. You need to put your vision into words and pictures. For example: I want to create my own business from home. Secondly, write down the why. For example: Because I want to make enough money to travel the world. Then ask the why question again: Why do I want to make enough money to travel the world? Why? Because I want to see the world! Why? Because I want to broaden my mind? Why? Because I want to grow in my vision of myself and the world! Why? Because I want to make a difference in the world! Why? Because I want to bring peace and understanding in the world? Why? Because I want to leave a legacy of peace to the children of the world! Keep asking why until you get to the very bottom of your own motivation. Tap into your deepest urge to create. It is that energy and only that energy that will ultimately give you the drive to stay with your dreams until they turn into a reality.
If you fail to find your deepest creative urge you will run the risk of quitting before you realize your dream. Take the time and ask yourself: "What do you want to create?" and "Why do you want to create it?". If you found the answer to these to questions then you are at the point of conception. The magical moment when out of trillions of sperms that one and only one sperm meets the ovum. Celebrate the moment in writing and in pictures. Make a large collage about the dream you want to create. Then go on to the next phase.
Step 2: Create a plan to fulfill your vision!
The next part in the creative cycle is the time when your vision starts to grow. It gets a brain, organs, hands and feet. We can compare this stage with the growth of the fetus in the womb. We can't "see" the result of our dream in the physical world yet, but we can "feel" it becoming more lively by the day. This is the part were we start to plan for our vision. Our vision might be to own a business. It might be to shed a few pounds. It might be to go on a once in a lifetime vacation. Whatever it is the big question in this part of the creative cycle is: "How?" The important question is: "How am I going to turn my vision into a reality?" It is the planning and research stage of the creative cycle. After the "what?" and "why?" of the first phase we need to ask "how?" in the second phase of the creative cycle. And when we have answered the "how?" question we need to flesh out your plans even further by asking "when?". Again you need to write down your intentions. I am going to start my own business on the internet (vision) by promoting affiliate programs on the internet (how) within the next two years (when).
Your vision is taking shape. It becomes a plan. But it is still a bit vague therefore we need to bring it more and more into a sharper focus. I am going to earn $1000 a month from my own internet business (concrete vision) by promoting five of the best affiliate programs on the internet with a blog (how) two years from today (when).
It is kind of like in the movies. First the camera shows you the big picture. The idyllic scene in the middle of the Amazon with beautiful green trees and a breathtaking waterfall. Then the camera begins to zoom in and you start to see a couple in the distance. You can't see what they are doing at first, but as the camera draw nearer you see that they are kissing each other. You see that the girl is blond and that she wears a blue dress. The camera zooms in even more and you see a little drop of blood on her cheek and so on and so on. You get the picture. As you become more and more detailed in your plans you move nearer and nearer to the present time where you go over into the next phase of the creative cycle. Always remember that your point of power is in the present moment. The next cycle is all about our present moment.
Step 3: Back up your plan with massive action!
You can dream as much as you like, but if you do not take action NOTHING is going to materialize. I know that is obvious, but secretly all of us wish we could skip this phase of the creative cycle. We wish we could snap our fingers and our bank account will bulge with bars of gold. It is on this wishful thinking that all the money scams in the world are built. If you still live in this dream world I want to wake you up. Remember your dreams can only become reality if you back it up with MASSIVE action. The more dreamlike your dreams still are the MORE action you need to take to get them going. This is the birthing phase of the creative cycle. Need I tell you that birth is a painful and laborious process.
This is the most dangerous part of the creative cycle. It is the part in the creative cycle where your dreams can die a still death, because you are not prepared to do the laborious act of pushing. Did you ever try to push a car all by yourself? Do you remember the great effort and willpower it took to get that vehicle moving? Once it was moving it became a breeze. Remember with each and every dream you want to realize there will always be the difficult and painful part where only sheer determination and willpower will get you through to the next phase. It is often in this birthing phase of the creative cycle that people quit. I know from experience. I once set up my own portfolio of shares, but after two year sthe growth was minimal. I decided to quit and I sold all my shares. A month later the share market started to rise phenomenally and I missed out on it because I did not believe in my own ability to pick out winning shares. I gave up during the laborious and painful birthing process.
Very often we sabotage ourselves on the road to success, because it is at this phase of the creative cycle that our deepest fears rise to the surface of our consciousness. You will have to confront your fears if you want to be successful. Napoleon Hill talks about our six basic fears and he names them in the order of their most common appearance: The fear of poverty, of criticism, of ill-health, of loss of love, of old age, and of death. He states that our fears are nothing but states of our mind and I agree. If we do not realize our dreams because of our fears it is our thoughts that brought us to defeat. Therefore you need to take control of your thoughts if you want to defeat your fears. How? Listen what Hill says: "Mind control is the result of self-discipline and habit". How do you control your mind? Stay focused on what you want and not on what you don't want. If you are riding a car and you see a tree in front of you and you fix your eyes on that obstacle where are you going to land? Obviously you are going to wrap your car around that tree. Keep your focus on your goals and take massive action.
Step 4: Build on your successes and learn from your failures!
This is the phase in the creative cycle where you have the baby in your arms. All the laborious work of creating a vision and a plan and taking massive action is beginning to pay off. You see the first fruits of your labor, but it still needs a lot of your attention. It needs proper feeding and caring. Your success is in its infancy stage and you sometimes wonder if it ever will grow up. In order for you to keep going you need to celebrate the slightest success that you experience on the road to realizing your dreams. This is the moment when you need to name the baby. Each baby is different and you need to get to know your baby and build a relationship with it. You will only be able to do that through experimentation. If you want to succeed you need to experiment and build on your successes and learn from your failures. In order for you to experiment you need to overcome your fear of failure.
Remember that your failures are your teachers. See all your wrong decisions and your failures as part of the learning curve. Failure often becomes a blessing in disguise. Failures often are doors to new opportunities. In the creative cycle failure is represented by winter. Winter in the time of the year just before spring. If you can rest in the winter of your failure according to the creative cycle it become the breeding ground of a new spring and an invincible summer. Keep on trying until your see growth. When you see growth continue with the actions that brought that growth and discontinue those who inhibits the growth of your brain child. Celebrate your successes and learn from your failures.
Step 5: Announce your success to the world!
If you believe it or not there are numerous people who would like to celebrate your success with you. All of us are drawn towards the energy that successful people project except if we are jealous of their success. You will find both kinds of people on your road to success. Remember when Jesus was born? King Herod wanted to kill him while the wise man from the East came to worship him. The baby of success that you brought into the world will have the same effect on the people around you. Remember there are more people who would like to celebrate the birth with you than those of ill will. So be proud of your success and announce it to the world because that is the way in which you will find people who would like to be your partners and assist your growth to its full potential. You need to communicate your success to the world in order for it to grow. As you grow your realization to its full potential you will need to go through the creative cycle numerous times. You will need to readjust your vision, create a new plan, back it up with massive action, celebrate your successes, learn from your mistakes and announce your realization to the world. The creative cycle is life itself. It will never stop. We are in a constant cycle of growth and renewal. We might as well enjoy the journey. Dear to dream and be prepared to work hard but effortlessly in order to realize your dream.
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