The Simple Secret to Living Your Dreams

Posted on May 07, 2024 by David Luscher, One of Thousands of Performance Coaches on Noomii.

I enjoy spending time with authentic people. By that, I mean individuals who are comfortable with who they are and have no hidden agendas. The “what you see is what you get” crowd that a dear friend would refer to as “the real ones.” Even if I disagree with their values and beliefs, I respect them for being honest. Unfortunately, this level of authenticity is harder to come by.

Increasingly, our society seems to value presenting oneself as an image rather than becoming a person of authentic substance. An individual who is always looking for praise (clicks and likes) instead of one who is constantly growing and contributing to those they love. Regardless of why this is the new norm (social media, smartphones, etc), embracing the inauthentic mindset distracts us from an opportunity to obtain real growth and success.

The process to obtain this success is so simple. It’s a system that can be used consistently to empower us toward our dreams and goals. A system that will expand us and create a new identity of what we can achieve. All we have to do is constantly collect new empowering ideas and experiences. Is it that easy?! Almost.

Author Ken Follett once asked, “How do you know you want to write a novel if you’ve never read one?” Also, how do you know you want to play a symphony if you’ve never heard one? How do you know you want to play shortstop for the New York Yankees if you’ve never seen a baseball game? I bet that if you look back on your life, something inspired you to follow the path that you’re on. How would you have found that path had you never been exposed to the idea or experience?

Pursuing new ideas and experiences that we haven’t been exposed to yet takes work but it can be done anywhere we are. They can be found in lectures, biographies, movies, plays, podcasts, and books. We must actively look for them.

My favorite Jim Rohn quote is "Books are what you step on to take you to a higher shelf. The higher your stack of books, the higher the shelf you can reach. Want to reach higher? Stack some more books under your feet! Reading is what brings us to new knowledge. It opens new doors. It helps us understand mysteries. It lets us hear from successful people. Reading is what takes us down the road in our journey. Everything you need for a better future and success has already been written.”

Destructive beliefs have the power to destroy our lives. New empowering ideas and experiences lead us to positive beliefs about who we are and what we can achieve. They are available to us if we look for them.

There is one final step in this process that is so often overlooked. We must act upon the new idea for it to produce a positive change in our lives. It’s not enough to know something. Action is required.

This is where the rubber meets the road for those who have embraced an inauthentic mindset. It’s easy to snap a selfie, post it to social media, and go through life pretending. That’s why so many people do it. If you’ve read this far into the article, you’re not one of those people. I believe you want more than that. Act upon your new-found idea and let it lead you to a more fulfilling life.

Here is my four-step process:

1. Search for compelling ideas and experiences that will move you in the direction of your dreams and expand who you are.

2. Act upon them!

3. Observe the outcome. Did the experience produce the outcome you were hoping for? What can you learn from the experience? What does it mean to you?

4. Repeat steps 1 – 3