Have you ever had the desire to do something? Ever had goal you wanted to achieve? Or a dream you wanted to pursue? Maybe it’s a business you wanted to start or a hobby that you wanted to learn. Perhaps you wanted to go back to school or take up a trade. Hopefully the answer is “yes” because the fact of the matter is that we all aspire or have aspired to do something. Did you have difficulty getting started? If so, this post is just for you!
I had goals that I sat on for a very long time. I wanted to write blogs and create videos. I wanted to start a website, and I wanted to take my hair business to the next level. I felt like I had the encouragement and the support from close friends and family, but what stopped me? Excuses.
As a full time working wife and mother of 2, I felt as though I had no time. After work, my evenings are met with cooking dinner, doing homework with my daughter, spending time with my family, preparing for the next day, and then bed… in that order. God forbid I needed to run an errand or attend an extracurricular activity. But one day I decided that excuses wouldn’t get me very far. If other busy men and women can chase their dreams, then I can too because we all have the same 24 hours in a day! For about a week straight, I traded in several hours of sleep to write, make videos, and make custom wigs. Honey, I was tired, but it worked. And guess what? I’m still alive.
…But then came FEAR! “What if no one supports me?” “What if I’m not good enough?” “You want to blog, no one cares about what you have to say!” “You want to take your hair business to the next level? There’s a million other women out there selling hair, doing hair, and making wigs…full time!” I soon realized that “God has not given [me] a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (II Timothy 1:7). Fear still creeps up every now and again, but I continue to stand on the promises of God.
So what stopped you? Did your dream seem unattainable at first? Sometimes we look at the end goal and immediately become overwhelmed and feel defeated. Adjust your mindset. Focus on the individual steps you need to take and the items you need to execute on. Create an action plan for yourself. If you do, everything will surely fall into place. Creighton Abrams said it best, “When eating an elephant take one bite at a time”. And that’s exactly what I did!
The bible says, “Write the vision, and make it plain” (Habakkuk 2:2). Another thing that helped was writing down my goals and the steps I needed to take to achieve them. I focused on one step at a time and it wasn’t overwhelming at all. In fact, it gave me the momentum that I needed because with each step I checked off of my list, I knew that I was that much closer to my dream!
Many of you may know that I am a self-taught hair stylist. Doing hair is something that I love to do, not solely for the money, and not just to have a side hustle. It’s the look on a women’s face when she first look into the mirror after sitting in my chair. It’s the attitude and the confidence that breaks through when she looks and feel beautiful. Witnessing this is bone chilling for me…and that my friends, is why I decided that I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to turn my dreams into reality! I was finally hungry enough for it!
So go after that goal and chase that dream! Go back to school, learn a new hobby! Start that business or get that next degree! What are YOU waiting for? If you take the right approach: writing it down, making time, shutting down the negative noise in your head, yours dreams and goals will begin to seem like they are within reach… and they will be!
Share your goals and actions plans below. I’d love to help and offer advice to help you get started!