I recently had lunch with a successful business woman who asked me what my ultimate life goal is. I thought that was a strange question so I threw it back at her and without hesitation she began to describe her plans to open an animal sanctuary. She talked about how she would take all types of animals into her santuary and that they would live in their natural habitats. I quickly interrupted her and asked how she would recreate the natural habitat for polar bears and giraffes on the same land. Her answer was that her sanctuary will be state of the art and use the latest technology to create an indoor and outdoor atmosphere. I immediately thought of the biosphere experiment in Arizona. The fact is it was clear to me that she had thought this out because she seemed to have an answer for every question. After hearing her description of this dream and knowing her passion for animals and her business saavy I am confident that I will see her animalsphere on the cover of a national magazine in the future.
I recently heard about a new underwater resort that is opening up in Fiji. I quickly did a search and found the website for Poseidon Undersea Resorts. Who in the world would ever think of building a luxury resort on the bed of the sea? I immediately suspected this person to be a crazy dreamer and who possibly had read too many Jules Verne books as a child. While watching the virtual tour the images were difficult for me to process as the flashed pictures of hotel rooms as glass pods under the water with sea life swimming all around. For only $15,000 per person per week you can stay 2 nights in the underwater pod and 4 nights in a private bungalow above water. The first 1000 people who stay at the resort will have their names inscribed on the building. I entered my email and information to be contacted once they start taking reservations. (I can dream about having enough cash to go!) I had to find out who inspired the building of this resort and as I clicked the About Us link it took me to a bio of L. Bruce Jones, the founder. In this bio he admits to having read Jules Verne and first thanks his parents for teaching him that anything is possible. He goes on to say, "Poseidon is a vision that I have carried in my mind for decades and has been made possible by two things: 1.) the connections and experience derived from being self-employed in the civil submarine business for 19 years, and 2.) most importantly, the incredible group of people that have shouldered the burden and responsibility of making Poseidon a reality.
Let's take a few minutes break this down to analyze his comments:
ONE. He has the mindset that anything is possible (taught by his parents).
TWO. He had connections in the submarine industry.
THREE. He had experience running a company.
FOUR. He understood the technology around submarines.
FIVE. He had the right people to team up and bring his dream into reality by creating Poseidon.
Now, how can we take these FIVE steps and use them in our own lives to create the atmosphere to turn our dreams into reality?
ONE. He had the mindset that anything is possible.
Some of us were blessed with parents who taught us this. Others of us were told to play it safe or even worse that we were not capable of success.
My thoughts are that most of us who have dreams that we have not executed on are stuck at step #1. We are still hung up on the beliefs that others put into our heads that were likely passed down into their heads. Before we proceed, we need to first take a look at our beliefs and if they are not to the "anything is possible level" work on raising them up. How?
Skip over the following and thank you parents if you are already at the "anything is possible level."
Some ideas on how to raise our beliefs to the "anything is possible level." (would love to hear more ideas from you):
1. Associate with people who believe anything is possible. Stop listening to the nay-sayers and negative people.
2. Don't share your dreams with anyone who does not have the mindset that anything is possible. They will not understand and many times try to protect you from disappointment by telling you it is not possible.
3. Read Biographies of people who accomplished great things in their lives up against tremendous odds. Here are a few of my favorites:
4. Read books that help focus our minds on the positive expectations. Here are a few of my favorites:
5. Write out your dream and keep it in places that you can read daily.
6. Stop watching or listening to negative information. Take that time to read something positive.
7. Listen to lectures or talks from people who have achieved their dreams for a source of inspiration and ideas.
8. Realize your unique talents and gifts and understand that we are exceptional at something or in some areas. Is this an area that can tie into your dream acquisition?
TWO: He had connections in the submarine industry.
How many times have we heard of a person becoming very successful only to find they had connections. I know so many people who are in the career they are in or business they are in because they had industry connections? Many of us have connections and are not cultivating them and they are lying dormant and not helping us turn our dream into reality. We may work in an industry now and have great connections with suppliers or vendors that could help spring board us and turn our dreams into reality. For those of us who don't have any connections in any specific industry the advise I have is to go out and get Keith Ferrazzi's book Never Eat Alone and he will clearly explain the way out of this maze.
Once we write down all of the connections we have in a particular industry--and all of the connections we need but don't have--we can work with the people we do know to help us bridge over to the others and start those connections.
THREE. He had experience running a company. Because his dream is Poseidon which is a company he leveraged his knowledge from successfully running his other company to start this one with less of a learning curve.
I had a dream of running my own company--and had never owned a company before People Performance Solutions so there was definitely a learning curve on the business and financial aspects of starting a company. The amazing thing is this did not stop me from stepping out and the fact is I just worked with experts in business and finance to bridge the gaps I had to create a successful launch. In addition, I have a great network of friends who offered advice and support along the way.
Because many of us don't dream of owning a company but rather dream of being at a higher position in our companies we can apply this same information to help us. The fact is whatever level you are at now, you likely started at a lower position, which means you in fact were promoted in the past. By working on gaining the knowledge, connections and confidence to get the next promotion realize that if you have done it before you can do it again.
FOUR: He understood the technology around submarines.
This meant that since he understood the technology behind under water vehicles he had an understanding of what it would take to develop the underwater pods. Many of us have deep understandings about our fields and areas of work. We also have deep knowledge in our hobbies and interests outside of work. We tend to read about and study what we are interested in so over time this knowlege we have deepens. Out of our current knowledge, what do we know that can be leveraged to get us closer to making our dream a reality? Simon Cowell took his experience with being a BMG UK record label producer and exec along with his experience with marketing TV and pop music to make Pop Idol in the UK and later American Idol a huge success. Jon Bon Jovi is currently taking his experience in being a rock star with 24 years of experience leading his band Bon Jovi into the Arena Football League with his role as founder and co-owner of the Philadelphia Soul. He is using his fame, passion for football, and expertise to promote his team. Isn't it interesting that the teams name has a musical tone?
Take some time to think and write how you can take your current knowledge and bridge it over to help make your dream a reality.
FIVE: He teamed up with the right people.
Nobody becomes successful alone. Successful people surround themselves with a team of experts. It takes more than one person to build a bridge.
SIX: For a bonus, the last item is he never lost sight of his dream.
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