What were you like at 18? Did you think you knew everything and that you could achieve everything you wanted?

At 18, I got a new athletics coach named Bob Smith. Bob is one of the best sprint hurdles coaches in the country. He coached John Ridgeon to a Silver Medal at the Seoul Olympics so he knows what it takes to succeed at the highest levels.

Bob had a small and very exclusive training group, so it was a huge honour when he offered his help.

The previous summer I was ranked 6^th in the country, so I thought I was good. So, you can imagine my surprise when Bob said

“You’re not strong enough to life weights.”

Bob was right, and he proved it to me in a few short months. Bob made me stronger, more explosive and with greater strength endurance than I ever imagined… without lifting a weight.

(If you’re not an athlete or gym lover, then let me tell you that this is everything that you need to run fast.)

Because I wasn’t strong enough to life weights, Bob got me doing exercised that used my bodyweight, different jumps, press-ups and sit-ups etc.

What was the effect of my blind obedience to Bob’s direction?

The first race of the season, I ran the fastest time in the country!

22 years ago, I wanted to compete at the World Junior Championships. Training was about excellence and improvement. Today, my running is focused on keeping my waste the same size. That’s my only success measure.

Today, I run to get round. Running more than 4 times a week is cause for a huge celebration. In fact, as someone who suffered from M.E. (also known as Chronic Fatigue) for 12 years, just running 10k (no matter how slowly) is a celebration.

Physically, my 40 year old body is unrecognisable from my 18 year old body. Mentally, I haven’t changed at all.

My passion, drive, ambition, and desire to live the life of my dreams… and my willingness to chase my dreams no matter how crazy they may seem… is still the same.

What I’m chasing has changed! But my commitment to my dreams hasn’t changed at all. At 18, I wanted to be a world class athlete and a professional Jazz musician. At 40, I want to be a world class copywriter and direct response marketer.

My ambition, drive and passion has found a new home.

The writer Shonda Rhymes also talks about the same thing in her book Year Of Yes. She writes that at college, her dream was to be Toni Morrison. Shonda wanted to be a famous novelist.

Today Shonda is one of the most celebrated TV writers with shows like Gray’s Anatamy and Scandal.

Is Shonda Rhymes living the life of her dreams? Absolutely! Every day she is fortunate enough to work in her Dream Job for 12 to 14 hours a day!

You might be thinking, that doesn’t sound like a dream job. And you’re right. Even dreams have their upside and their downside.

In my experience, chasing your dreams is A LOT HARDER than you think. And when you reach the first level of success, the improvement grind continues. You have to work just as hard to stay current and competitive. Plus… the competitive drive that got you where you are today forces you to improve. It forces you to dream bigger and work harder.

Improvement requires focus, hard work and the willingness to fail. You see, if you are going to improve, you’ve got to push yourself to do things you haven’t done before. You have to stray from the comfort of the safe waters and risk crashing on the rocks. You have to fight the wind when you’re terrified, exhausted and just want to quit. And you have to find joy and beauty in the struggle.

Are there days when I want to quit?

Yes! Absolutely!

But…

No matter how hard it is, no matter the setbacks, I am always grateful for the fact that I’m living the life of my dreams, and the fact that I’ve achieved more than I ever dreamed.

Yes, I’ve got bigger dreams that keep me pushing and striving. And when I look back 10 years, I can’t believe what I have become.

What does it take to chase and achieve your dreams?

1. Courage
2. Drive
3. Faith
4. A Guide

Why does it take courage? Because the world is going to tell you that you are crazy. Your family and friends are going to tell you to stay in your job and to play it safe. I’m sure their warnings are given out of love because chasing your dreams does not guarantee you will achieve them. Chasing your dreams guarantees hard work and a lot of fun.

Why does it take drive? Because no one is going to force you to put in the work. Your friends and family are not going to force you to start your day at 5am. You have to make the time to do the work that pays the bills and make the time to improve your skills. You have to make time for self-reflection to work on your strengths and weaknesses. You have to put in the time to seize new opportunities.

Why does it take faith? Because you are going to have setbacks that are bigger than you imagined and in those moments you need to have faith in yourself. You need to know that you can achieve the success that is just outside your grasp… if… you say committed!

You see, I believe that success is more about discipline and commitment than it is about genius.

As an athlete, Bob Smith never promised that I would run a specific time. In fact, where never spoke about goals like that. What I knew was that success was in the discipline of regular training. What I knew was that, with expert guidance, and a supportive training group, that I would surprise myself.

Did I ever achieve my full potential as an athlete? No!

M.E. (also known as Chronic Fatigue) stole that from me.

Do I regret the hours of training? No!

The blessing of training with one of the best coaches in the country and a small, supportive group of elite athletes taught me how to achieve all of my dreams!

Steven King writes about this in his book On Writing. He calls it the guy with the cigars. He’s the one who can sprinkle fairy dust on your work. It’s the fairy dust that brings the fame and fortune that you are seeking.

How do you find the guy with the cigars? You don’t, he finds you!

If you want the guy with the cigars to show up, then you need to have a seat for him, and you need to let him know where you’ll be every day. So, you need to be in your office, or coffee shop, or wherever else you work at the same time every day. That’s the disciple. That’s the success process. And if you follow the process with faith every day, then the guy with the cigars will show up.

Why do you need a guide to achieve your dreams? Because what got you where you are today will not take you where you want to be. It’s as simple as that.

As an athlete, I had to do the work. And without Bob’s training plan I never would have got strong and explosive. Without Bob’s expert eye, my hurdles technique would never have improved. Without Bob’s patience, I might have been frustrated by the amount of work required to shave a two tenths of a second off my personal best. Without the taunting, and support of my training partners, I wouldn’t have pushed myself as hard in training. I wouldn’t have believed with the same commitment that I could achieve my dreams.

What Does This All Have To Do With You And Your Customers?

If you are selling a transformation, then you are selling a proven way to achieve a specific result. That’s obvious, right?

What else are you selling?

You are selling the believe that change is possible!

And…

That is far more meaningful and powerful than making more money or losing more weight.

You might be showing people how to regain the success they once had. Or you might be showing people how to believe in the dreams that they gave up on long ago because their friends and family told them they were crazy.

You might be showing people how to believe in their dreams after the harsh reality of real world feedback knocked them to the floor and left them in a pool of their own blood.

Living the life of your dreams is not easy. But it is rewarding and it is fun. And with courage, drive, faith and a guide, you can achieve them.

So get clear on who your customers are. What do they want?

And…

Why do they want that goal?

Once you get past the superficial desires for a bigger house, faster car and better holidays, what’s left?

You see, that’s the real prize. That’s what they want. That’s what you are helping them achieve.

Is that doing what you love and being well paid for it?

Is it proving to yourself, that you can get anything you want if you are prepared to work hard enough at it?

If you can show your audience how you can help them stamp on their fears and doubts so they can live the life of their dreams, then they will want to work with you over anyone else.

How do you do that?

You tell your own stories of struggle and success. You share how you stamped on your own fears to get where you are today. You share how you wake up each day with the same courage and conviction as when you started.

So start telling your stories. They can be line in the sand stories like this. They can be how you got where you are stories. They can be daily struggle stories.

Have the courage to tell them truthfully, sharing your fears and frustrations on your route to achieving your dreams.

If you’ve found this useful, interesting, or funny, then please leave a comment blow.

If this blog can help anyone you know, then please email it to them.

Until next time…

Carpe diem

Roland Eva

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