Five Ingredients to Achieving Your Dreams

How committed are you to having a creative and fulfilling life? Would you move across the country, leave a relationship, or do something others would consider “crazy?” Many creative people attempt it and give up after a setback knocks them down. Over the last two years, I collected a pile of artists’ business cards while attending art fairs and festivals, and today more than 25% of them are no longer active on their social media accounts or websites. They just vanished; they gave up. This is not surprising when you look at our current economy, the increasing cost of living, the challenges faced when starting something new, and the likelihood of their fears and self-doubts stopping them. The odds can feel as if they’re stacked against you no matter what you do. Over the last couple of years, I’ve shifted my beliefs around this very idea and I hope I can help you shift too.

I recently watched the 2023 Amazon Prime Original movie, A Million Miles Away, starring actors Michael Peña and Rosa Salazar. This true story of Jose Hernandez, a NASA Astronaut, created a vivid picture of how determination, tenacity, and focus are the “ingredients” for achieving your dreams.

Early in the film, Jose’s father, a migrant farm worker, explains to his young son what his “recipe” for happiness and success in life is. This poignant conversation occurs when he sees his boy get frustrated after falling face down in the mud while working in the fields. Mr Hernandez’s five ingredients really resonated with me, so I’m passing his wise words onto you all with a recommendation to see the film for yourself and seek out new opportunities.

The five ingredients in Mr Hernandez’s recipe of a happy life are:

1. You have to know what you want.

2. Look at where you’re standing. How far do you need to go?

3. Think about how you’re going to get there.

4. If you don’t know how, you have to learn.

5. When you think you’ve made it, you’ll probably have to work harder.

Following this recipe one step at a time absolutely can guide you through achieving whatever you really want, but there is one important element I believe is missing. Your personal “why,” the reason behind what you want. #1 should instead read, you have to know what you want and why you really want it.

We all learn through our experiences – the good, bad, painful, and pleasurable ones have all contributed to shaping our identity and beliefs; they often alter our perceptions and drive our decisions too. If you get burned by a hot plate, you’re more likely to make sure the next plate isn’t hot before touching it, right?

I was following the recipe all along.

In December 2020, I began working through the aforementioned ingredients without really knowing the recipe that was revealed in this inspiring film. First, I reconnected with my dream of creating art full-time and understood what was at risk for me if I didn’t follow this creative calling. That was #1, what I wanted and why it was important to me.

Using a process called the Rapid Planning Method or RPM, introduced to me by Tony Robbins, the world-renowned leader in professional development, gave me the tools to identify where I was and how far I needed to go (Dean Graziosi’s “gap theory”). This process illuminated several paths that could lead me to my goal. These processes provided me with an understanding of ingredients #2 and #3, knowing where I was, how far I needed to go, and how to get there.

For me, the challenge became which path to choose. It wasn’t completely obvious to me at first. I didn’t have all the experience or knowledge to pursue the opportunities I had laid out. That’s when I sought to learn more about each one. I trained with several different incredible communities (Sage Events, xchange, Positive Intelligence, Dean Graziosi, and Tony Robbins). All of them taught me useful skills, but the most powerful lesson I learned while adding ingredient #4 was that the path I needed to take wasn’t the one I thought it would be. This is where I became overwhelmed by what I thought I should learn. That’s when I stepped back and told myself, “Stop ‘shoulding’ all over yourself.” The truth is, doing what you love inevitably illuminates what you need to learn at the moment you need to do it; you’ll have to recognize what that is and when it’s time for you to learn it.

The final ingredient, “work hard even after you think you’ve made it,” is where I am today and probably will be for the foreseeable future. I’m not afraid of hard work, having gone through the first four ingredients gives me the courage and confidence to push through any challenges, obstacles, and setbacks that I will face. I wouldn’t say I’ve “made it” yet, but I have a plan. I’m pursuing my dreams one step at a time. The best part is that fear and self-doubt are no longer a part of my decision-making process. My creative brain is trained to focus on solutions and trust in myself.

To wrap up this post, I leave you with a few anecdotes I’ve learned along the way.

If you get overwhelmed by what you think you must learn or achieve, most likely you’re making it more difficult than it has to be. Start with the simplest thing that will create momentum toward the next thing.

Celebrate all the steps you take, large or small, forward or backward.

Making your how-to list too complicated can keep you from actually doing what you love. Don’t make the how-to list till after you know what you want and why it’s important.

Perfection is the enemy of progress. Don’t focus on the things you’ve already done, you cannot undo them.

Ask yourself what others, who are successful in doing what you want to do, have that you don’t, and then find a way to align with those things in your own way. Learning from the experts is the quickest path to getting what you want. Invest in yourself.

Making mistakes and trying new things that fail, are the fastest ways to get the experience and clarity you need to take the next step forward.

Reaching out to others for guidance and support is how you can make hard work less challenging and success even sweeter.

When setbacks, challenges, and obstacles arise, think of them as opportunities and lessons, they are the key to becoming a stronger artist.

Where your focus goes, your energy flows. This means whatever you spend time focusing on, you will get more of it. Focus on what’s wrong or what you dislike, and you will get more of that. Think only of what matters most to you, what you want, and how to get it, and you will get closer to your goal each day.

Never compare yourself to others, only compare yourself to your former self.

It’s okay if you follow a path only to realize after some time and money is invested that you may have gone in the wrong direction. Your travels, no matter the direction, will take you where you want to go.

Be completely honest with yourself and others, dishonesty will end in disaster eventually.

Never let the voice in your head stop you from doing what is in your heart. It’s the voice that comes from your heart that knows what’s best for you.

Thanks for reading!

If anything I’ve said in this post resonates with you or has given you hope that you can follow your calling without fear or doubts, I’d love to hear your story. Interested in learning more about the communities and programs I mentioned above? Connect with me directly – I’m happy to share more details.