Five years ago, when I lived in Russia, I was dreaming about traveling around the world, exploring foreign counties and cultures, perhaps even moving abroad. Today, when I’m typing these words while sitting at Starbucks in New York City, I realize that the things that I was dreaming of have become my new reality.
On September 13, 2009, I got on the plane and came to the land of opportunity. Hard to believe that last month I celebrated five (!) years of living in America. During this time I had a chance to travel around the country, most recently went to Los Angeles to participate in a Spartan Race
to San Diego
to Miami for some quality beach time
to the city of Chicago
The list goes on. Every city has its unique vibe and character.
I’ve also been to some fascinating places abroad. Check out this stunning view from a Paradise Point in Saint Thomas
or this example of Barbadian humor
or this Piton in Saint Lucia
or this curious girl watching me perform Salamba Sirsasana on the beach in Saint Thomas
or this Pyramid of the Sun in Mexico
Finally, today’s episode of “Do Your Zest” was shot in the Peruvian Andes.
Now, I’m not saying or showing all of that to brag. But rather to remind that you can achieve anything you want if you want it bad enough. Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich said it best:
“Anything the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve” -Napoleon Hill
If you still haven’t gotten your hands on that manual of achievement, don’t procrastinate, get Think and Grow Rich now. If you embody the concepts from that book, your life will never be the same.
For the past two years I’ve been learning a lot about lifestyle design, achievement, goals with soul, high performance and other cool things. It allowed me to connect the dots and understand better why I was able to accomplish certain profound shifts. Below, I’m going to share my thoughts and practices and offer you 3 steps that’ll propel you in your journey toward creating a life you are dreaming of.
1. You are the source
Any change in life can come either from the outside or from ourselves. Waiting for that change to happen, for inspiration and passion to come, or for a winning lottery ticket to magically appear in your hands is not going to get you far. The more effective way is to start where you are and with what you have control over. The only person you can control in this life is you. Obviously, we can influence other people but I’ll repeat, the only person you can control in this life is you.
So, instead of waiting for all the magic to come from someone or somewhere else, become the source of that magic and create it. Be proactive and start now. Ask your best nerdy friend about people who are living the life that you are dreaming of. And then study the heck out of them! Once you are clear on the principles they are following, start implementing those in your own life. Hint: don’t try to blindly copy what they are doing, look under the hood.
2. Be strategic
Regardless of how passionate you are about your endeavor, if you overdo it, you can get overwhelmed, exhausted and, eventually, burnt out. And that’s not a cool place to be in. Therefore, make changes strategically. For example, if you are passionate about being fit but don’t work out consistently, refrain from an immediate switch to daily workouts. Instead, think about what type of workouts you like and what schedule you can sustain.
In future posts I will share more strategies that will help you accelerate the results, including the Pareto Principle, eliminating the things that can derail you, environment design and others. As for now, despite all of the alluring “Zero to Hero” stories that we hear every day let me remind you that most of them were accomplished through meticulous planning. Consistency is always more beneficial than being hasty or careless just to get something done.
3. Be patient
Now is a great era of Internet and telecommunications. And with a lot of its benefits come new challenges. Media is dazzling with stories about people who broke through the barriers and became instantly successful. As a result, we live in a completely overhyped culture where people want a better body, better relationships, more money and they want it yesterday!
The truth is overnight success is the extremely rare exception, not the rule. While some people can legitimately see fast results, for most of us it takes time and smart work.
The path to producing sustainable change is a marathon, not a sprint, as it became evident from the Aesop’s fable The Tortoise and the Hare.
It is a journey and it should be just as exciting and enjoyable as your big compelling vision. So, please, give yourself time to put in the work and enjoy the process.
XO,
Peter
