11 Tips for Getting Everything That You’ve Always Wanted in Life

Getting all the things you want in life is easier than you think.

There are specific steps you can take to improve your chances of achieving a healthy lifestyle, a rewarding career or fulfilling relationships.

Here are 11 useful tips for achieving your life’s goals – starting today:

1. Understand the difference between a goal and a dream

A dream is something you want to accomplish ‘sometime’. A goal, on the other hand, should have a definite deadline.

Without a future date in mind to complete your goal, you’re still just dreaming. Get it done next week, next year or before you turn 40. Wrap your goal in a timeframe.

2. Don’t let others tell you what your limitations are

Do people laugh when you tell them you want to raft the Amazon, lose 30 pounds, write a detective novel or become a flamenco dancer? If they do, ignore them.

People are more likely to shoot down other people’s dreams when they are incapable of dreaming themselves.

3. Take a few small steps before you take the big one

Have you always wanted to climb Mount Everest? Try a few smaller mountains first, both to increase your skill level and to determine if serious mountain climbing is really ‘your thing’.

Sometimes you need to take small steps to reach big goals.

4. Get help and inspiration from others

Reaching your full potential in life isn’t a solo operation: you need the support of family, friends and mentors. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance in trying to tackle your goals.

Most great achievements in life are inspired by those we admire and want to emulate. Seek out people who share your passion.

5. To achieve what you want in life, discard what you don’t want

If you’ve always wanted to run in the Boston Marathon, you might want to quit smoking first. If you are stifled by your current circumstances, relationships or environment, change what needs changing by ‘spring cleaning’ your life.

To make a move toward something positive, you must first rid yourself of all that is negative.

6. Selfishness can be a good thing

Sometimes, you just have to do what’s best for you. One of the main reasons people don’t achieve their goals in life is because they’re too busy trying to please everyone else.

Live your dream, and let others try to live theirs. Don’t let people make you feel guilty about doing what makes you happy.

7. Write your goals down, and tick them off the list

Grab a pen and paper right now, and write a list of the top 20 things you want to accomplish within the next 20 years. Set a specific date in the future to complete each one.

By writing a list, your goals are easier to focus on, and you can work on fitting them into your schedule.

8. Start reading

The best way to achieve realistic goals is to absorb all the information you can in order to get the job done.

Read about special techniques, read about others who have achieved similar goals, and read anything that will give you solid facts about your chosen goal so you can get there more quickly.

Information is power, and reading will give it to you.

9. Make your goals more specific; vagueness is your enemy

Saying “I want to be happy, have a fun job, live near the beach and travel” is pretty vague – it doesn’t really get you anywhere.

However, if you say “I want to move to Key West, work as a Scuba instructor and make enough money to travel to Tuscany in August next year”, then you have narrowed things down to achievable specifics.

10. Throw away all the excuses

When it comes to achieving your life’s ambitions, you are probably your worst enemy. It’s those little voices inside us that hold us back: the ones that say ‘I’m not good enough’, ‘I just can’t do it’ or ‘No matter how hard I try, I know I’m going to fail’.

Before you can live your dream, you have to believe in yourself and get rid of all the dubious excuses.

11. Be prepared to make the necessary sacrifices

If your dream is to hike the length of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Canadian border to the Mexican border, you have to understand the sacrifices involved and be ready to accept them.

Yes, you will see some of the most spectacular scenery in the United States, but you’ll also have to leave your job (and income) for awhile, say goodbye to your friends and family for a long period, spend money on hiking gear and food supplies and learn to cope with cold, heat, rain, blisters, sore muscles and potential encounters with rattlesnakes and poison ivy.

To get something worthwhile in life, you usually have to give something else up; be ready for the sacrifices, and embrace them as part of the process.